To those who don't get the appeal of
Harry Potter, it all boils down to one pretty simple thing; they're really, really good stories, with an addictive quality that's near unparalleled. People who try and call JK Rowling out on her fairly prosaic written style or her occasionally derivative ideas are really missing the point; the thing that makes everyone go nuts over the
Potter story is that it's one of the most epic whodunnit page-turners in history, intricately planned from first page to last, and Rowling's real achievement as a writer is that she's kept that gripping momentum going almost without lapse for six entire books. I've heard people talk about
The Da Vinci Code being addictive, but that doesn't come close to
Harry Potter for sheer, crack-like "just-one-more-chapter" compulsion, and the need for one last fix is the reason why millions upon millions of people - kids, adults and everything in between - will be abandoning all decorum and queueing up at midnight on July 21st like rabid, frothing nutcases.
If you've never even tried reading the books, then I think it's worth giving them a try; I was a bit sceptical to start with too, but I soon found myslef getting hopelessly wrapped up...
Still, the other big selling point of the book is how involving and coherent Rowling's fictional world is, and this park seems like a decent way to celebrate that. Would I be interested in going? Probably not, but I'm sure there are plenty of folks who would, and it's not like it affects me in any way if I don't go, so what the hey. Besides, JKR seems pretty enthusiastic herself, and that counts for a lot with me; she's always come over as an incredibly sound, grounded woman, and she's every bit as cool and forthcoming with her fanbase as Craig and Lauren are with us lot.
Plus, as has been said, she's got more than enough money; all things considered, I really doubt she'd approve anything like this unless she thought it was going to be faithful and respectful to her work and her fans...