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It's a whole lot easier for Utahns to visit Hogwarts.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood opens Thursday, April 7— and fans of J.K. Rowling's novels and the eight movies they spawned won't want to miss it.

"We want you to be immersed," said art director Alan Gilmore, who oversaw the construction. "In our minds, you're not really visiting a theme park, you're visiting a place. An experience."

The best news for Utahns is proximity. It's a relatively easy day's drive — about 700 milies — from Salt Lake City to Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles; it's more than 2,300 miles to Orlando. Airfare to Southern California is a fraction of air fare to Florida.

(It's about a 13,000-mile flight from SLC to Osaka, Japan — site of Universal Studios Japan and the third WWoHP.)

Universal is not releasing figures, but it's estimated that the new attraction — built on the site of the demolished Universal Amphitheatre — cost $500 million.

The movies brought the books to life; the Wizarding World brings the movies to life. You feel as if you've stepped inside the films.

And none of it feels flimsy. The structures — crafted of carved concrete on steel frames — are massive. It doesn't feel new, it feels as if it has been here for centuries.

"Every stone, every wood beam, every roof, every shingle, everything feels absolutely real," said Gilmore, who was an art director on the second, third and fourth Potter films. "You can feel the weight of the buildings. It feels medieval.

"We want people to really feel that they've traveled to a very ancient Scottish village."

When you're in the Wizarding World, you're immersed. You're separated from the rest of the park.

The attraction is sort of shoe-horned into a 6-acre site that's about a third the area of WWoHP in Florida. (And it does not include Phase 2 of the Orlando attraction.) But California's Wizarding World doesn't feel cramped.

"It was a challenge, but the environment worked quite well with us," Gilmore said. "If anything, the environment is better because we have hills in the background to work with. We framed views looking through Hogwarts at the hills in the background — almost as part of our design."

There are no hills in Orlando.

As you enter the WWoHP, it is, yes, magical. You're in Hogsmeade, with Hogwarts looming in the background.

"It was important to us that we have the moments when you step into Hogsmeade and see Hogwarts in the distance," Gilmore said. "As soon as we knew we could create those moments, we were OK."

The main attraction is the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride in the castle. The high-def, 3-D ride sends you soaring over Hogwarts, to the middle of a Quidditch match and to close encounters with Dementors, the Whomping Willow and a dragon.

If you're lucky, the line to the ride won't move too fast because there's so much to see. You'll pass the Mirror of Erised, Profesor Sprout's herbology class (complete with baby Mandrakes), Dumbledore's office, the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, the Fat Lady's portrait and the Gryffindor Common Room. It's stuffed with details pulled from the movies and books.

"You have to visit us many times to really experience all the layers," Gilmore said. "And not just in the castle, but in the shops and the streets. You can look into every corner and see something special."

Hogsmeade — complete with snow-topped roofs in the California sunshine — is a marvel. You can visit a Hogwarts Express steam locomotive and the Owlery, complete with animatronic owls.

There are eight retail shops with more than 600 items — everything from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw apparel to magic wands to broomsticks to Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. And "every flavour" does include booger and vomit, per the books.

The shops include Dervish and Banges, Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods, Gladrags Wizardwear (a clothing store), the Owl Post (a functioning post office), Honeydukes, Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, Zonko's Joke Shop and Ollivander's wands.

A "regular" replica wand will set you back $39.95; for $8 more, an electronic version can be used to cause various magical things to happen in 11 shop windows.

You can eat at the Three Broomsticks, which features British-style food like fish and chips and bangers and mash. Alcohol is served at the Hog's Head Pub, and you can get butterbeer at the restaurant or from street carts.

The butterbeer (crème soda and butterscotch) is delicious, by the way.

The new WWoHP has one thing its Orlando counterpart does not — a replica of the Hogwarts Express train car in which Harry rode. You can get your picture taken there — for $24.95.

Parents should expect to pay for extras. And prices can be steep, although if the young 'uns want one of those Nimbus or Firebolt broomsticks, maybe they ought to cough up the $300 themselves.

The WWoHP also features the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster (the only outdoor coaster at Universal Hollywood). You reach it by way of the Care of Magical Creatures grounds, passing by Hagrid's Hut along the way — and getting some instructions from Hagrid himself.

Gilmore said he's seen some "amazing reactions" from preview crowds at the attraction — particularly from kids.

"It is so exciting to watch kids as their faces light up," he said. "There's just a sense of innocence come to life. They absolutely believe they're living the same journey as the characters J.K. Rowling created. And that's really amazing."

Twitter: @ScottDPierce —

Merlin's beard!

O For information about tickets and park hours, go to universalstudioshollywood.com