Hogwarts Castle at Islands of AdventureThe Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando
- Best time
- Weekdays outside the school holidays; be at the gates when they open
- Getting there
- About 20 minutes by car or shuttle from Orlando International Airport
Why it’s in the log
Universal built Harry Potter into Orlando one land at a time. Hogsmeade opened at Islands of Adventure in June 2010, with Hogwarts Castle and the Forbidden Journey ride inside it; Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, a roller coaster, was added in 2019. Diagon Alley followed at Universal Studios Florida in July 2014, with the Escape from Gringotts ride under the dragon on the bank's roof.
The two are linked by the Hogwarts Express, running between King's Cross and Hogsmeade stations, and you need a ticket for both parks to ride it. When Epic Universe, Universal's third Orlando park, opened in May 2025, it added a third land, set in 1920s Paris and the Ministry of Magic.
Mentioned alongside
Orlando
Central Florida's theme-park capital, where Universal has built Harry Potter into all three of its parks.
Paris
The tourist-menu brasseries are a five-minute walk from the ones locals still argue over.
Alley
Helsinki, FinlandA young couple's Kallio bistro, honest plates and artisanal wine, still running on almost no reviews.
