At a press conference today, the man closest to Harry Potter, actor Daniel Radcliffe, weighed in on his reaction to the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park addition to Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure. In his opinion, it's movie sets that can be deceptively inexpensive. He found the world of the theme park to be the most durable version of his literary universe.




Appearing in the tightly-controlled environment of the Three Broomsticks restaurant and pub with fellow actors Rupert Grint (Ron), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), and Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), he talked about what it was like to film the live-action sequences that are now a permanent part of the park's marquee ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. He also talked about what it was like to see (and hear) himself performing as part of the thrill experience.

He also let slip one of the code names for the theme park expansion, used back when it was still top secret: Strongarm. As we now know, that word is in reference to the ride's newly-conceived robotic system, which carries four-person benches along a track at the end of powerful robot arms capable of a range of motion unique for a theme park ride vehicle.

As for the other offerings at the park, Radcliffe prefers the frozen version of Butterbeer. Englishmen usually suffer the most watery fruit juice imaginable; he was also able to enjoy our storied Florida orange juice, he said, "so I thank you for that."

Radcliffe and company only wrapped shooting on the movie franchise last Saturday, only to be whisked to the opening of his mini movie appearance in Florida. On the final day of filming, Radcliffe says, the cast was shown a reel of moments from the long history of shooting, which he found "devastating." He hopes it will appear as a DVD extra when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released.

But next year, he confirmed, he will be starring on Broadway as Finch in a revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that has previously starred Robert Morse and Matthew Broderick. The young actor has amassed a fortune estimated at $63 million, so clearly, here's a man who can afford to experiment in the future.

Previous Wizarding World coverage:
WalletPop's video tour
Scenes from the opening kick-off party


Follow WalletPop's Jason Cochran on Facebook.
You can also a look at our other coverage right here!