I'm not a Potter fan. But only because I know absolutely nothing about the franchise, and I'm not into "fantasy" at all. I'm also not a hater. I'm just completely indifferent to it. That being said, I really want to be able to "like" this new land in one of my all-time favorite parks. I mean, I liked Lost Continent just fine and I wouldn't normally be into any of the themes that land represented either.
So even if I'm not into the theme, that doesn't mean I can't still find something else about it that really gets me hooked. I was hoping there would be some amazing new theme park technology, but so far I haven't seen that surface either. Really, it seems that in order to fully appreciate this new land, you HAVE to be into Potter.
I feel like this is the Potter version of the "Star Trek Experience" that used to be in Las Vegas, and to be honest, that didn't make much sense to me either because it was targeted to "Star Trek Fans" and not really to the general public. To your average Trekkie, they went ape**** over it, but to random people, they didn't seem to get it. They would go "well, it was a pretty cool simulator, I guess, but I'm not into Star Trek." They focus on all the little details as opposed to emphasizing the concept.
People may be lining up NOW, but what about 5 years from now? Or even 10? Is Potter the kind of franchise that has the staying power and the wide audience that something like The Simpsons does? It's easy to answer "yes" to that question now, but as popular as the franchise is from book sales and box office receipts, like the Star Trek Experience, is this going to appeal to someone who hasn't read any books or seen the films?
I'm not into comic books at all, but the Spider-Man ride makes sense to me. Men In Black is pretty easy to follow for people who have never seen the films. Even Twister, by the very name of the attraction alone is easy to understand even if you never knew a movie by the same title existed. Attractions such as those seem to have taken a step back and tried to appeal to the masses, not just to people who have seen the films or read the comics. These attractions emphasize the concept, not just focus on little details.
Bottom Line...
I guess what I'm saying here is, Wizarding World is such a perfect opportunity to be able to "introduce" people to the world of Harry Potter who know absolutely nothing about the franchise. But everything I've seen so far, just like the Star Trek Experience, does NOT speak to that person, but instead speaks directly to the die-hard fan.
I'm not dissing the idea or saying what has been created doesn't look cool. Just saying that it seems like they may be missing out on a great opportunity to widen their audience.