The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to open April 7 in California

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is set to open at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 7, the theme park announced Tuesday.

"More than five years in the making, and inspired by J.K. Rowling's compelling stories and characters that were brought to life in the Warner Bros. films, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is being masterfully recreated with impeccable detail as a real-world interpretation at Universal Studios Hollywood. The land will be faithful to the visual landscape of the fiction and films, including Hogwarts castle, which will serve as its iconic focal point," a news release said.

"Hogsmeade will bustle to life with the same vitality of a quaint local village: merchants hard at work, a train conductor welcoming new arrivals and a pub packed to the gills with hungry patrons, but with the added element of enthusiastic guests intent on experiencing them all, including the land's signature ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and the family outdoor coaster Flight of the Hippogriff."

Food mentioned in the books and movies will be sold at Three Broomsticks and Hog's Head, and visitors may shop at iconic venues and locations such as Honeydukes, Ollivanders, Owl Post, Zonko's Joke Shop, Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, Dervish and Banges, Gladrags Wizardwear and Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods.

Florida's Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure theme parks already have their own wildly popular version of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter where guests may travel between the two sections aboard the Hogwarts Express.