Wizarding World - Diagon Alley Discussion (Opens 2014)

[Felipe]

!!!

I wish I had insider info -.-

Anyways, I'm excited to hear something, anything, related to more Wizarding World! :happy:

 

[JungleSkip]

There have been new rumblings. Teebin have you heard that the holdup could be JKR demanding a larger footprint? Too large for IoA alone? I'll leave it to JungleSkip to elaborate.

Why do I have to do all the hard work?

Bah...I'll post all of it tomorrow.

 

[Jymmymack]

Why do I have to do all the hard work?

Bah...I'll post all of it tomorrow.

You tease, you. :thumbs:

And if JKR really is after a larger blueprint, that is a pretty big kick in the balls.

[video=youtube;yMQhXc1dHIQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMQhXc1dHIQ[/video]


Pretty late in the game to demand a whole park when you've already built the anchor in one park.

 

[JungleSkip]

Pretty late in the game to demand a whole park when you've already built the anchor in one park.

A whole park isn't in the cards... But a lot more than we would have guessed seems to be. I know I'm being a bit short but I'm headed to bed.

 

[Jymmymack]

Pushing past Sinbad into the gap behind?

 

[ReelJustice]

Why do I have to do all the hard work?

Bah...I'll post all of it tomorrow.

It's your story to tell.

 

[ReelJustice]

Those "in the know" keep referring to the latest news as "Phase 3" which is something I cannot wrap my head around.

Should I interpret that as Phase 2 wasn't good enough for JKR, so now we move to "Phase 3": the completely insane phase that will have TSSD and Potter fans everywhere jumping for joy and clamoring for Universal vacations???

 

[Jymmymack]

[video=youtube;9nLhe2yj5fQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nLhe2yj5fQ[/video]

 

[ReelJustice]

Posts by user who goes by some variation of "Spirit" around the Disney sites. Very reputable and real. He said these things on Magic:

Exactly ... and UNI has some amazing things headed down the pike. Potter Phase II has grown so large that it has outgrown IOA ... it's like in that movie Jaws 'we're going to need a bigger park' ... or is that 'we're going to need to borrow some land for an existing one?'

This next one is presumably about Kong replacing Twister:

I also greatly enjoy Twister (something about flying cows!), but it isn't going to be around for long ... I hear a big monkey is making a comeback in true Hollywood fashion!

I don't know that I'd go that far. But WWoHP is absolutely the most impressive O-town theme park development of this century BY FAR ... and just wait for Phase II ... so big it's going to be in TWO PARKS! (no, I am not kidding! kiss the plastic sharkie bye-bye!)

When someone brought up being sad at losing Jaws:

All I can say is if there's one thing scarier than a shark it's a woman with the initials JKR when she sees plans she doesn't like!

Apparently JKR wasn't happy with the first plans. And these are some new ones.

It looks like Transformers isn't coming here, after all ... basically because there's too much other stuff on the way, including Potter's HUGE, mind-blowing expansion.

^^I'm not sure what he meant by Transformers not coming. As of today, I heard it may be replacing the old Hard Rock building from a friend of Spirits.

I haven't seen the plans (and am not going to go over them like a fanboi with the Fantasyland redo art when I do) ... but, yes, they will be removing and moving quite a bit ... but this satisfies Rowling and allows UNI to reap Potter benefits in two gates instead of one.

And I am very much looking forward to it.

Jaws has had its time ...

Nope. Both expanding in IOA and BEYOND ... and I just heard it this week, but have had it confirmed by two others.

That be the plan ... apparently connected by the Hogwarts Express.

But Amity, Jaws and Fear Factor stage (which isn't used most of the time) would cease to exist under the plan.

~GFC~

Essentially, the latest rumor is a resurfacing of the very old rumor that Potter will span both parks with a Hogwarts Express connecting the two. This is all pretty overwhelming to me. Presumably, JKR wasn't happy with the plans to put Diagon Alley near Hogsmeade. Hard to believe that they would go through so much expense to do this, but we've heard this rumor before. The last we heard it was this year from either Briman or Dave (I forget). Where there's smoke there is fire?

Also, Teebin said there were troubles with the negotiations. Could lend credence to the idea that JKR had something bigger in mind.

I got this off of Google Maps earlier:

Potter/Sinbad is at the bottom left and Jaw/Amity are at the top right.

 

[Jymmymack]

IF this is actually true...

It's a complete logistical nightmare of a clusterf*$k. Just look how far apart those two plots of land are. Forcing people to take the train and the nightmare it presents with having to present your ticket to enter the other park. And before anybody says, "Nobody would force them," let's be real. Everybody and their mother is going to want to ride the Hogwarts Express.

I know a lot of people were complaining about the violation of themeing that putting Diagon Alley next to Hogsmede would be, but this is WAY worse. The main attraction of WWoHP is rounding that curve and seeing Hogwarts. Seeing Gringotts at the end of Diagon Alley will not have the same impact, which wouldn't be a problem if it were just a component of the WWoHP, but not as it's own separate main attraction.

 

[TSSD]

Should I interpret that as Phase 2 wasn't good enough for JKR, so now we move to "Phase 3": the completely insane phase that will have TSSD and Potter fans everywhere jumping for joy and clamoring for Universal vacations???

Coincidentally enough, I HATE this idea! Replace Jaws just so Phase 2 can be bigger??? Ridiculous. As it is, I don't think the WWoHP should be expanded unless they have a GREAT, AMAZING, SUPER idea, and this ain't it. The two park thing is ridiculous, and getting rid of Jaws for it is insane. I dunno who this "Spirit" guy is, but if he's right then Uni is stupider than ever.

Oh, and just so you know, I've never really liked the idea of a WWoHP Phase 2 anyway, so I'm probably not the best example of someone who would be "jumping for joy and clamoring for Universal vacations".

 

[Jymmymack]

Coincidentally enough, I HATE this idea! Replace Jaws just so Phase 2 can be bigger??? Ridiculous. As it is, I don't think the WWoHP should be expanded unless they have a GREAT, AMAZING, SUPER idea, and this ain't it. The two park thing is ridiculous, and getting rid of Jaws for it is insane. I dunno who this "Spirit" guy is, but if he's right then Uni is stupider than ever.

Oh, and just so you know, I've never really liked the idea of a WWoHP Phase 2 anyway, so I'm probably not the best example of someone who would be "jumping for joy and clamoring for Universal vacations".

I was VERY excited about it, but this just seems awkward and wrong. It just doesn't make sense. Like UC decided to cram their noggins full of all the fanboy proposals that were completely lacking in logic and feasibility, pick one out of a hat and go, "Looks good to me."

 

[Felipe]

IF this is actually true...

It's a complete logistical nightmare of a clusterf*$k. Just look how far apart those two plots of land are. Forcing people to take the train and the nightmare it presents with having to present your ticket to enter the other park. And before anybody says, "Nobody would force them," let's be real. Everybody and their mother is going to want to ride the Hogwarts Express.

I know a lot of people were complaining about the violation of themeing that putting Diagon Alley next to Hogsmede would be, but this is WAY worse. The main attraction of WWoHP is rounding that curve and seeing Hogwarts. Seeing Gringotts at the end of Diagon Alley will not have the same impact, which wouldn't be a problem if it were just a component of the WWoHP, but not as it's own separate main attraction.

Ditto! I know I and everyone I know would go ride the Hogwarts Express!

But would they really get rid of Jaws? And would they put train tracks over the back lot / internal roads they use to service everything and supply the stores around the parks?

Doesn't Uni own the plots of land south of IoA? If it's not enough to just use what's left of the Lost Continent and maybe even adding some of the land in between US and IoA, then maybe they should consider expanding southward, if they're going with the Hogwarts Express idea to transport people to a different location.

And I'd keep it all under IoA's admission, not getting UO in the mix.


PS: If an expansion is coming, and it's Diagon Alley, they need to remove Ollivander's from Hogsmeade, expand Dervish and Banges/Owlry. Then they need to build a new Ollivander's in Diagon Alley with two or three show rooms.

PPS: Should we be looking at Pottermore to see what Phase 2 will look like

 

[ReelJustice]

Like I said, it's a bit much to take in, but once I got over the initial shock, I like the ambition behind the idea. The idea of having 2 distinct areas dedicated to Potter in separate parks connected by a train is an exciting prospect. Just seems unlikely or feasible.

In retrospect, a smaller 3rd gate on the Wondersea Island plot dedicated to the WWoHP would have been preferrable, but we have what we have now.

Even if none of that happens, I've had more than one source say that the new E-Ticket will be more impressive than Forbidden Journey, and the expansion plans are large.

If nothing else, it's fun to have more fuel to throw on the rumour fire.

 

[emily7793]

IF this is actually true...

It's a complete logistical nightmare of a clusterf*$k. Just look how far apart those two plots of land are. Forcing people to take the train and the nightmare it presents with having to present your ticket to enter the other park. And before anybody says, "Nobody would force them," let's be real. Everybody and their mother is going to want to ride the Hogwarts Express.

I know a lot of people were complaining about the violation of themeing that putting Diagon Alley next to Hogsmede would be, but this is WAY worse. The main attraction of WWoHP is rounding that curve and seeing Hogwarts. Seeing Gringotts at the end of Diagon Alley will not have the same impact, which wouldn't be a problem if it were just a component of the WWoHP, but not as it's own separate main attraction.

I don't think the train ride over to Universal would take any more than 5 minutes from unload to onload. There are buses for us backstage if we want to go through to IOA or Universal from the back, and strictly driving, it's not a long distance. Now, I can totally agree with you on ensuring that guests who are trying to get into Universal have tickets to Universal. You can imagine tons of confused guests who are mad that they can't get into Universal and don't understand that they need the 2-park ticket.

 

[Disneyhead]

Here is a thread I posted over at IOACentral in July 2008:

http://boards.ioacentral.com/index.php?showtopic=12660

and it carried over to page 16 of the original WWOHP thead here:

http://www.orlandounited.com/forums/showthread.php?9-The-Wizarding-World-Of-Harry-Potter/page16

 

[JungleSkip]

Let me throw some perspective on the fire before people sacrifice themselves to an animatronic shark.

There is a LOT of guess work going on here on some of the details by all parties involved. Jaws being removed is "happening" from one source, and another is saying that the Wizarding World will simply skirt up against Jaws once complete and it's highly improbable that Jaws gets the axe. One thing is for sure it seems, and I've been told it by multiple people as well as read it on multiple sites from reputable sources:

JKR was not happy with the original Phase II plans, and these are most likely the whispers of the new plan that is in place to satisfy her. And I've heard multiple reports of "Phase III" and how gigantic this is going to be. I've also been told the signature ride will make Forbidden Journey "look like Small World". Whether this attraction is involved in Phase II or Phase III, I have no idea.

Now, I'm not going to lie and say I have any idea how this will work and what will actually be coming, though in my personal opinion (as is basically everyone's) is that one will at least be Diagon Alley with Gringotts. I've also heard talk that our signature ride could be either Gringotts or Ministry of Magic related.

Also, IF and I mean IF (that's a BIG IF) Jaws is indeed replaced with Potter, I honestly think we'll see the complex become one park.

 

[JungleSkip]

Also...people have lost site of some other things dropped through those posts, mostly that Kong will return in this equation and that MORE than just Potter is on the way.

Just to reiterate something from a friend, who posted this info on Discussion Kingdom after speaking to ReelJustice and me about all this.

Hard Rock is getting axed for Transformers. This is what's been said to me, it conflicts with other information, but I trust my source very much. IMO... it could still go both ways.

Don't know why y'all are hyped over WWoHP 2. We've known about that, and what that's going to entail. HPatDH stuff.

...WWoHP 3 is where it's at. (Hey, this sounds like a Apple event!) That will be the major expansion, and yes, will have something that BORDERS the other park. I'm unsure if they two parks will be linked. I heard that they will be not.

And the main part of all this? Something that puts FJ to shame.

No, I'm not trying to be cryptic, just trying to as carefully as I can, put SOMETHING out there for consideration. This could all change tomorrow.

And no, Avatar isn't the only thing up Disney's sleeve

He said in another post that Jaws is unlikely to be demolished.

 

[jtsalien]

1. This is the problem when you give someone like JKR creative control. She needs to understand the situation she's in. When she decided to go with a land, she gave up the right to create something much bigger like a park. Despite it's success, Potter is NOT bigger than IOA and more importantly the integrity of the entire resort. Her ego is hurting what could have been a great expansion and attraction, and turning it into something that's going to be so big that it's going to implode on itself.
2. Linking the parks would be a terrible mistake. The ticket taking and confusion at entrance to the train would be a nightmare. People have enough trouble at the front gate, and it can only be worse in this situation. And if they went to one ticket, the prices for shorter trips would go through the roof. A lot of people do the one park a day option to save money. If it was one price for both parks, it would be even more than a one day at Disney. And the two ideas just don't fit well together. Yeah, I know it can be done, but that doesn't mean it should be.
3. Honestly, I don't know why Universal would be up with this attitude from JKR. She needs them, they don't need her. They shouldn't chase the money and success from the first Potter and lose sight of the way they work. There are more properties than Potter out there. What made it great wasn't neccessarily the fact that it was Potter, it was what Universal did with it.
4. Spielberg vs. JKR? I take Spielberg every time. I pitty the fool who gets to tell him about these plans.
5. I didn't like the idea of this from the beginning, but I accepted the fact that IOA was going to be better for it by replacing a dieing land. Jaws and the Studios are not dieing. But this can kill them.
6. To end on a positive note, Kong replacing Twister? Yes, please. A billion times.

 

[Vyrus]

In my humble opinion, if JKR becomes TOO unresonable then she might force them to shelve any expansion plans whatsoever.

I understand UO wants to reap in the money from HP, but they have to be logical as well. Sacrificing a signature attraction like Jaws for HP would be IMHO dumb.

No if lets say the expand WW is in the empty plot of land behind JP and keep everything within the IOA borders, that could be more logical, but again, everything is up in the air right now, and in all honesty having DA next to Hogsmeade is not a big deal cause this is a theme park, not a real life re-creation of the stories, and that is one thing I think JKR doesn't get and is possibly being too hard nosed on.

People want to be immersed in the world, it doesn't have to be exact down to every detail.

With that, I would take ANY expansion over none and would be happy to get anything, but I wouldn't be happy about losing Jaws, I don't mind FF:L so much, but not the shark.