

The ride through Gringotts bank, featured in the first and final Harry Potter movies, seems to be so exciting, Universal Orlando wants to develop a ride for it.

That’s great news for Harry Potter fans visiting the popular theme park in Florida. But it’s bad news for one of the park’s last original attractions: the Jaws ride.

Universal Orlando permanently closed Jaws Monday, a tour boat adventure that took you through Amity Island and brings you face to face with the monstrous shark himself. The ride is an expanded version of the Jaws creature featured in the Universal Hollywood backlot tour, and has been a part of the park since it opened 22 years ago.

But a lot has changed since then — mostly thanks to J.K. Rowling, whose Harry Potter creation has boosted the popularity of Universal Orlando significantly, even in the face of heavy competition from DisneyWorld and the newly opened Legoland in nearby Winter Haven.

Robert Niles, a writer for the Theme Park Insider blog, says he had a chance to review concept plans Universal has for the area where Jaws and the surrounding Amity carnival games. The main attraction? A new Gringotts ride mirroring what fans got to witness in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” last year.

While Harry Potter is part of the Universal theme park family, there is one logistical issue to deal with. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — which includes Hogwarts castle, Diagon Alley and more, are part of Universal’s Islands of Adventure, which opened in 1999. The Jaws ride is in the Universal Studios side, and is a good distance from the rest of the Harry Potter area.

But that’s not an issue. Part of the concept Niles said he saw was a way to transport Harry Potter fans from one part of the park to another (assuming they have a two-park pass).

“On the southeastern portion of the plot, a second attraction is designated,” Niles said. “I can’t tell from the plans what this attraction will be, but its position is consistent with the rumor of a Hogwarts Express ride connecting the two Harry Potter [areas], as this attraction points into the back-of-house access road that runs straight into the rear of Sinbad theater where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is expanding into in Islands of Adventure.”

Those who choose to walk will actually get a chance to experience something from the books. According to the conceptual plans, pedestrians will have a single entrance into the new Harry Potter area, forcing them to traverse around a “center obstacle.” What could this be? Niles has a suspicion.

“This would fit with being a ‘secret entrance’ to Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter books and films,” he said. “There is also what appeared to be labeled an 8,900-square-foot restaurant building located immediately to the left of the entrance to the island. Could this be the Leaky Cauldron?”

More details of what Niles saw can be found on his blog.

The deal to license the Harry Potter concept at Universal was an expensive gamble for NBC Universal, but one that apparently has paid off. It cost more than $200 million to build, and includes a roller coaster, a handful of motion ride, shops and other recreations from the films.

It opened in June 2010 to heavy fanfare, and has since welcomed hundreds of thousands of additional visitors. Last month, NBCU announced plans to expand the park, but provided little other details. However, they did say Harry Potter areas would be built in other NBCU parks, including what was later confirmed to be Universal Orlando.

Disney, which has remained the dominant theme park destination in Florida, is trying to answer. It announced plans last year to create an area based on the most successful movie of all time, James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Although a trilogy of films are planned for that franchise, it’s not clear whether Avatar will have the same draw that Harry Potter does — which continues to go strong even though neither the book nor movie sides are producing any more product.

However, Universal is not in any position to take over the top position as a top vacation destination any time soon. Disney attractions brought in 120.6 million visitors in 2010, while Universal managed just 26.3 million, based on numbers provided by the Themed Entertainment Association.

None of what Niles shared has been confirmed by NBCU, and should be treated as any rumor would. The Jaws ride was a popular attraction which had been overshadowed in recent years. The only remaining original attractions at Universal Orlando now are “E.T. Adventure,” “Lucy: A Tribute” and “Universal’s Horror Makeup Show.”