1-16-10: Islands is packed. It’s a holiday weekend, and the weather is no longer icy. Just around closing time, sounds like a perfect time for a Potter Update! Lots of pictures, and really now that the ice has melted…for now, work seems to be going on at a break neck pace.
The traces of the boy wizard can be seen from the entrance to the parking garage and now to the booths at Citywalk. While someone told me that the merchandise has been there for a while to promote “Half Blood Prince”, there is a booth in front of the AMC Theater selling Harry Potter figures, and hats. No big deal, especially since there is no merchandise in any of the other shops yet. Is this just a way to test the waters?
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On to Islands. Rach took a tour earlier in the day while I was out with the kids, and took a slew of pics. Work is going by so fast that as we walked through together she kept saying “that wasn’t there an hour ago”. In the pics below pay attention to the Three Broomsticks and the surrounding buildings. They go from being painted white to having a concrete looking substance on them. Looks like the beginnings of the snow. A lot of brick work on the outside was sheeted in plastic, and the wind looked like it just had fun with it. Just next to the green house, an arch is going up, you can see part of it encased in plywood. The park closed at 7 and the workers showed no signs of slowing, with the castle being lit up and a lot of little flood lamps illuminating the doors and windows. This is the first time I saw it, and DAMN! So much more excited than I was. I cant wait to see lights on in the Great Hall. Flying Hippogriff seems like its a new color, but its just brighter now. Work progresses as the deadline gets closer and closer.
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Something is still happening over at the old Triceratops Discovery Trail. Just peering in from the path, you could see loads of lights on, and the paths looked a lot clearer in the past. They might just be using this for Potter construction…but I hear otherwise. It would be a big relief on the potter crowds if there was one more attraction close by. Give the lines something to spill into when the wait times get over 4 hours…and you know they will.
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That wraps it up for this trip report. Stay tuned for more updates as we get them. And we may have some kind of surprise for you Potter faithful in the next few days. And now I bring you random pictures…..at night.
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