Japan Getting Harry Potter Park

Hogwarts is coming to Honshu. Universal Studios is planning to open a Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Osaka by late 2014, reports the Guardian. The park, like the one in Orlando and the one under construction in Hollywood, will feature rides, a Hogwarts castle, and a Hogsmeade village. The Orlando Potter attraction has boosted attendance at Universal Orlando by 68%, and demand is likely to be just as high at the park in Japan.

The Potter movies grossed nearly $900 million in Japan, and millions more were made from merchandise like magic wand chopsticks, but with no more books or movies to come, Universal needs the theme parks to magic more money out of the franchise, notes the Los Angeles Times. Execs say that with two parks now under construction, they have all the Wizarding Worlds they can manage for now, but they'll certainly be willing to take a look if more opportunities present themselves. (More Japan stories.)