Opened as the flagship attraction of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida — an indoor steel roller coaster/dark ride built by Intamin, combining motion-based 3-D projection, animatronics, and physical sets, on the former site of the Jaws ride.
Everything that changed here
across the land, newest first- 2023
Hermione Granger's onboard corridor audio was re-recorded to sound closer to Emma Watson, replacing the original 2014 voice that fans had long criticized; script and visuals were unchanged.
original 2014 Hermione voice→closer Emma Watson match
20143 changes
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Hogwarts Express opened at King's Cross Station as the grand opening of the Diagon Alley expansion, debuting a themed train ride linking Universal Studios Florida to Hogsmeade Station at Islands of Adventure (Park-to-Park admission required).
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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley opened on the cleared Amity Island site, with Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts standing where the Jaws lagoon had been.
The site was demolished and reclaimed rather than re-themed in place, so Gringotts is a site successor rather than a reskin of the Jaws building, and no replaced_by pointer is asserted.
20121 change
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Jaws carried its final boatload of guests at 9 p.m. and closed permanently after more than 21 years, with demolition of the ride and the Amity area beginning soon afterward.
20111 change
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Universal Orlando Resort announced that Jaws and the entire Amity area would close permanently on January 2, 2012 to make room for a new experience.
Wikipedia gives the December 2, 2011 announcement date; the Orlando Informer post carries a later December 2011 stamp but confirms the permanent closure and the 9 p.m. cutoff.
19931 change
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A completely rebuilt Jaws reopened with a new ride system by Intamin and new sharks by Oceaneering International, replacing the original explosive finale with an electrocution ending drawn from Jaws 2.
Wikipedia dates the reopening to the summer of 1993 and Orlando Informer to 'nearly three years' after the 1990 opening, while thestudiotour.com says 1994, so only the year is asserted.
19902 changes
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Universal shut the ride down after roughly two and a half months of near-daily breakdowns of its mechanical sharks and effects, and sued the ride's designer over its engineering.
Filed as a change rather than a closure because the ride reopened rebuilt in 1993. Sources place the shutdown in August 1990 without naming a day, so only the month is asserted. Wikipedia names Ride & Show Engineering, Inc. as the defendant; Mental Floss describes the suit as against MCA. -
Jaws opened as an original attraction of Universal Studios Florida, taking guests on a boat tour of Amity Island that was interrupted by a great white shark.
Opening-day attraction, themed as Captain Jake's Amity Boat Tours and the anchor of the Amity Island area.
That's every change on the record in Diagon Alley since 1990.
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