The Potter and the Pippin

The amazing impact of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure Theme Park has led the resort to break attendance records over a 12 month period.

According to this article, the resort's previous record year was 2004, which had 12.1 million visitors.  This past year, June to June, saw 13.4 million guests.  The second quarter of 2011 saw an increase in visitors of over one million, an amazing increase for such a short period of time.

So - when does everyone think the Wizarding World will overtake the rest of the park's Lost Continent section?

Bay Beach Amusement Park has had such continued success with their newly recreated Zippin Pippin wooden roller coaster that they have now added nighttime lights to the ride to extend its operating hours.

As of this past Sunday, the ride had already taken over 300,000 passengers - that's 100,000 more than the City estimated it would need to have to be a financial success.  The coaster's season will run through September, plenty of time to up those numbers even more!