A massive Hogwarts castle will loom over The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, slated to open in the spring at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando, and house a ride that its creators say will exceed the technology and storytelling of the park's Spider-Man 3-D thrill ride.

In interviews, park officials would reveal little about the ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, except to describe it in superlatives and promise more details closer to its opening.

``This really is the biggest of the big, in terms of attractions and storytelling and the use of technology,'' said Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative. ``It will take you through a very immersive, compelling, visceral experience. . . . Immersion in this experience will be beyond 3-D.''

Hogwarts and the ride are the dominant features of the much-anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was partially unveiled in a limited webcast from the park Tuesday morning.

The section -- at 20 acres, as large or larger than the other areas in the park -- will have two other rides, currently part of the Lost Continent section, that are being redesigned to fit the Harry Potter story. The Dueling Dragons twin rollercoasters will become the high-speed Dragon Challenge, featuring elements from the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. And the Flying Unicorn, a junior rollercoaster that was closed for remodeling last year, will reopen as the Flight of the Hippogriff, named after one of the magical creatures -- part eagle, part horse -- under the care of Hagrid.

The rides are set around Hogsmeade Village, which will have medieval British architecture and ambience and will include businesses that fans will recognize from the books and movies. In Honeydukes, visitors will be able to buy sweets including Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans. At the Three Broomsticks and Hog's Head Pub, Butterbeer will be available. At the Owlery, guests can send postcards via owl. And at Ollivanders Wand Shop, the appropriate wand chooses the wizard, instead of the other way around.

``It's not just a retail experience, but retail theater,'' Woodbury said.

He and Paul Dario, producer of the new section, said the books provide an extraordinary level of detail that the park will reproduce, from mugs of pumpkin juice in the pub to the Sneakoscopes -- a device that detects acts of the Dark Arts -- available at Zonko's Joke Shop.

``We've tried to bring many experiences and heroic moments from the films and the books to life in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter,'' Dario said.

Although the official outline of the attractions did not mention the evil Lord Voldemort, Woodbury hinted that guests will encounter him: ``I can say that there can't be good without evil, and we did not stop at just the topics that are what we call candy-coated.''

The theme park will use the same visual settings created for the Harry Potter films -- Alan Gilmore, an art director who worked on the movies is on loan to Universal. And although J.K. Rowling, who wrote the books, has not set foot on the park's construction site, members of the park's creative staff have met with her in Great Britain.

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