One of the extraordinary moments of the first Harry Potter book and film is when our hero first spies Hogwarts, the school he'll soon be attending, from his train (and, indeed, we the reader and viewer see it, too).
The castle turrets and imposing towers seen in the distance provide a thrill and a joyful jolt. It's a jolt that's not dissimilar to the one that drivers on the 101 Freeway and people around the Valley have been receiving these days as turrets and towers rise, behind scaffolding, at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is on its way, is what those turrets and towers say, and while its arrival isn't a secret — Butterbeers were raised at the theme park at an initial announcement near the end of 2011 — some other details have been shrouded. Shrouded like the Forbidden Forest by cover of night.
But the lights are on now, or soon will be: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens at Universal Studios Hollywood in the spring 2016, an announcement revealed on Tuesday, June 2.
More reveals set to send social media into a happy tither? A "Hyper-Realistic 3D-HD" attraction called "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" will be part of the world, one where guests don "Quidditch-inspired goggles."
Big stuff, bigger than the giant spider Aragog.
But then the huge "fully immersive themed land" has been "five years in the making," so the goodies, like the just-revealed ride, will be on the gargantuan side.
U.S. & World
Then again, anybody driving the 101 Freeway in Universal City or standing at a high vantage point around the Valley can already see that, with their own eyes.
Like Hogwarts itself was constructed, stone-by-stone, we're watching what is sure to be one of the most magic-laden, fan-anticipated, tower-terrific places on the 2016 calendar, here or anywhere, rise, rise, rise.
