Since I’m reworking my MG fantasy, I suppose it’s only natural Harry Potter seep into my thoughts. Even if I wasn’t stuck in fantasy mode, it’d be hard to ignore Universal Studio’s Wizarding World attraction that opened last week in Orlando. Local media has covered it for over a month with glowing reports of sneak peaks.
Part of me yearns to experience the man made creation of JK Rowlings’ world and yet … I worry that path leads to disappointment. Would I be crushed by the theme park version of Hagrid’s hut? Would the shortcomings of the wands sold in Ollivander’s shop tarnish my memory of the story?
In the afterword to his audio book Enders Shadow, Orson Scott Card essentially says he prefers audio versions of books over movies because they leave visualization in the realm of the mind. I read the Harry Potter books after I saw the first five movies. For me, the cinema enhanced the reading, lending me a portfolio of images I wouldn’t have imagined so fully. But it does limit the mind. How would I have seen the boy wizard before Daniel Radcliffe played the part? I’m sure some dedicated readers felt the movies didn’t pay tribute to the books. And those readers might be equally disappointed in Universal’s attraction. Still, it’s difficult to ignore the temptation to walk the magical halls of Hogwarts.
