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Universal offering Harry Potter vacation packages that kick in May 28th

Harry Potter should be accepting guests to his new theme-park home by the end of May.

Universal Orlando introduced new vacation packages tied to its under-construction Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction Thursday. The deals are good for travel beginning May 28.

Among the perks are breakfast at the new Three Broomsticks restaurant, a commemorative Wizarding World ticket and the ability to cut in line with Universal Express Access.

But May 28 is not being considered the grand-opening date for the $200-million-plus expansion of the Islands of Adventure theme park, Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said.

“It’s to help people plan their vacations,” he said Thursday. “It’s a day in which we know we’ll be able to deliver everything we’re offering them as far as vacation packages.”

The resort expects Wizarding World to be in operation before that, but is sticking with its “to be revealed in spring 2010″ mantra. There could be soft-opening dates or previews, as is common with many new attractions.

“Obviously it’s our goal to open the Wizarding World of Harry Potter as soon as it’s ready,” Schroder said.

The packages begin at $285 per adult for four nights at select hotels near Universal. A higher-end package with those Potter-specific extras and hotel room on Universal property starts at $645 per adult. Reservations can be made at www.universalorlando.com.

The vacation-package announcement is Universal’s latest push, which has included a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl earlier this month.

Until Thursday’s announcement, Potter fans were forced to play a guessing game on booking reservations.

Rhonda Poelma’s 11-year-old daughter Savanna, a Harry Potter fan, convinced her to take a leap of faith on Wizarding World. After talking with a Universal representative on the phone, the Denver mother of two made reservations for early June.

And she lucked out.

“I was just taking a stab in the dark. I went with late spring, post-Memorial Day weekend,” Poelma said. “We really wanted to get it in this season while it was still new.”

Poelma visited Orlando seven years ago and went to Walt Disney World. This will be her family’s first time at Universal, which they will follow with a cruise to the Bahamas.

Setting an opening time frame is an important step, said Ray Braun, a senior vice president at Economics Practice at AECOM, a Los Angeles-based consulting firm that does economic research for the theme-park industry.

“You build your marketing campaign around your big new attractions every year, so you have to build your marketing campaign. It has to be on the front of your brochure, and you have to deliver on that,” he said.

“In this case, this is so big, this is like opening a whole new park,” Braun said. “This is going to have an inpact on all of Universal’s neighbors as well, in terms of the parks. There’s going to be an uplift, and I’m sure all of the other parks want to have some knowledge about when that uplift is going to hit too.”

At local AAA offices, Wizarding World posters distributed by Universal have created buzz — and questions. Now there’s at least a bit more information to go on.

“Once they see the poster, they get all excited and ask about when it is opening,” said Vanessa Jones, AAA senior motor club manager of metro Orlando.

“It’s people of all ages — old and young,” she said. “We’re expecting it to be a good attraction for Central Florida and, of course, for Universal.”

Wizarding World, which will be included in regular admission to Islands of Adventure, will feature rides, eateries, stores, merchandise and atmosphere based on J.K. Rowling’s books and movies about a boy wizard. Universal’s version of Hogwarts Castle will house a dark ride, still wrapped in mystery, called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Hogsmeade Village will feature shops, including Ollivanders, where theme-park guests will be able to buy wands. Two current roller coasters at Islands will be rethemed to be Potteresque.

Universal’s media release emphasizes that the “May 28 travel date was set to help consumers with vacation planning and does not represent the opening date for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort. Universal has announced that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will open in Spring 2010. Specific opening information will come as soon as it is available.”

Lucy Clark

Marketing Director and Photographer for Realtors, Alan and Jane LaFrance.

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