We were at Universal Studios Orlando this week and were happy to see the west side of London look almost complete. Part of building was free from scaffolding and ready to go!

Here’s what The Harry Potter London area looked like back in late October for reference.

Back in October, here’s what the now complete building looked close up. So we can extrapolate that it took about 2 ½ months to finish from this point.

This week the rest of the London façade looks equally complete as the west side looked about two months ago.

So it’s a good guess that we’d be seeing the rest of the area look this neat in about a couple more months!

While attendance figures for the calendar year of 2013 won’t be officially released for several weeks, it’s safe to say the Universal Studios Florida will see another year of increased attendance when those numbers are made available to the public, even bigger than their four percent increase in 2012 when they saw 7,981,000 visitors cross through the turnstiles. In fact, the park and the neighboring Islands of Adventure have seen major gains every year since The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ opened back in June of 2008. And with an expansion set to open this summer – The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Diagon Alley ™– the parks have probably only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of increased attendance figures.

Ever since the Harry Potter expansion was officially announced last May, fans have waiting with baited breath for any sign of completion to the project. Universal has released teasers of the space and will be doing a live webcast soon with more behind-the-scenes information, but here’s what we do know for now: the space will be themed after London, and will have one marquee attraction, an indoor roller coaster, based on Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Much like the current Wizarding World of Harry Potter™, it will also have restaurants (including the Leaky Cauldron) and shops, and it will in fact open this year, with rumors swirling that it will open as early as June (although it may open in phases).

Stay tuned to BestofOrlando.com for full updates on The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Diagon Alley ™, including its official release date and any pertinent details on the attractions and more that await fans of the wildly popular series in 2014 at the Universal Orlando Resort!

Orlando, FL 1/17/14