All About Amusement
by Vera H-C ChanJun 18, 2007
Harry Potter may be British, but like all retirees, the boy wizard plans to head to sunny Florida after his literary adventures end.
Universal Orlando's announcement that it will host the Wizarding World of Harry Potter prompted more than a 7,000% surge in searches for "harry potter theme park." If the turnstiles to Potter's other-wizardly destinations opened this week, Universal Orlando might've surpassed Disneyland as the greatest place on Earth, at least in terms of Buzz.
The 20-acre addition won't debut until 2009, but people are managing to make do in enjoying one of the grand traditions of summer: Popularity for "amusement parks" is at its peak, with kids under 18 fueling the bulk of the lookups.
That's not even counting searches for individual parks, which are upping the ante with faster rollercoasters, wetter rides, and glossier entertainment. Disneyland (#2) plans to surpass last year's 50th anniversary attendance with its spanking new Nemo submarine ride, and both Six Flag parks in Texas (#3) and St. Louis (#31) launch Tony Hawk's Big Spin roller coaster ride. Meanwhile, Hersheypark (#9) commemorates 100 years of chocolate-infused attractions.
As summer officially gets underway, we check the top 20 amusement park destinations this week.
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