Yesterday, SnitchSeeker was invited to an all-day tour at Universal Orlando Resorts. We covered everything from Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios to the new Cabana Bay resort hotel.

Our day started at the sound stages located at the back of the theme parks. We got to have a sneak peek at the set (see image below) to be used for the webcast where James Phelps and Matthew Lewis would be announcing some of the new shops that will be featured at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley when it opens this summer. We were then shown some concept art for a few of the shops, which you can view here in our gallery.



On the set we also were treated to a rundown of a new website that has an interactive map of the Diagon Alley venue, similar to the one that Universal originally created for the Hogsmeade area. It features the locations of Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, Kings Cross and Gringotts wizarding bank. The website features video of Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid to introduce users to the site. Three separate videos of Coltrane were filmed, so that users could return and (via cookies on their computers) experience different versions of Hagrid's intro for subsequent visits. An expanded news section (three pages versus one on the original Hogsmeade website) contains a video featuring Potter actors Rupert Grint, Warwick Davis, and James and Oliver Phelps talking about how excited they are for the Diagon Alley location to open. That video and more can be found right here.

After the website presentation, we participated in a Q&A with Universal Creative reps and three actors from the Harry Potter film series - Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch and James Phelps, who discussed their thoughts on both of the Wizarding World parks. (We will have their comments up later.)

We then left the sound stages and were given a quick tour through Universal Studios theme park, stopping first at the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem attraction and then the new Transformers: The Ride 3-D, as we gingerly made our way over to the far end of the park where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley is currently under construction. There we donned hard hats and steel-toed shoes before entering the construction area. You can read about our construction tour here.

After touring Diagon Alley, we stopped for lunch at Moe's Tavern in The Simpsons section of the park. While there we were lucky enough to chat with Universal Orlando Resort's executive chef, Steve Jayson, who was head of the team that invented the butterbeer recipe currently served at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade. Jayson revealed that it took one and a half years to finalize the recipe for the brew, and that he personally flew to Scotland to present the final product to J.K. Rowling for her approval.

After lunch we were taken to the construction site for Universal's newest onsite hotel, the Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Reminiscent of a 1950's east coast seaside hotel, this 1,800-room resort is more modestly-priced for those guests on a tighter budget. It's geared toward families - six people can fit comfortably in a suite - and it will have a bowling alley and two pools, one featuring a water slide. The Cabana Bay will open in March of this year and though it will not include a fast pass (like the three other onsite hotels do) its guests will have early access to the parks, including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Our last stop on the media tour was at Islands of Adventure. First we visited The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, where senior vice president of Universal Creative, Thierry Coup, joined us. He then gave us a tour of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade and took us on the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction. Coup, who was responsible for directing the actors featured throughout the ride, said he will be going to Japan in a couple of weeks to ride the Forbidden Journey for 10 days straight to test it out at the Wizarding World park currently under construction in Osaka.