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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade (Orlando): Part 2

Enough of the he said, she said rumor this, rumor that. Let us all :focus:

I truly hope everything on this ride is operational and moving in some sort of way, I really hope we don't get a peter pan dark ride where everything is stationary with a cool moving ride vehicle.

But I know this won't be the case. How do I know this, because there is no way that Uni goes through everything it is going through and not have it be something that doesn't blow you away.
 
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Enough of the he said, she said rumor this, rumor that. Let us all :focus:

I agree. Everyone needs to move on. A lot already have, but some just keep bringing it up. Never used to have this problem on OU. Kind of miss the old days now (a few months ago lol).

Back to topic, I always wondered how Uni was doing everything for 200 mil, but now that I know that they did Mummy for 45 mil, it makes sense. I can't believe how much they can get out of so little an investment.
 
^^I agree and at the same time give me some green spray paint and a ladder and I'll do the Hulk too.
 
Well how much to Hard Rock park cost? And they built a Theme Park. I Guess 1 new ride and a new facade on Dueling Dragons and new cars for Flight of the Unicorn and then some Buildings and shops and facades can be pricey.
 
Im sorry but I have to say that uni is cheap. Disney did Expedition Everest, which reportedly costed 100 million. And uni is doing a castel, new ride system, classroom sets , hogmead , trains for the FOTH, and interior quene of DC for just 200 million?? That is like 500 mil to me . :p

One random question- If you were to add up the total cost of paint bought for this entire project, what would it be ??
 
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Not cheap, frugal, they make sure they get their bang for the buck. The thing you have to remember as well is that UO already owned the rights to the Kuka arm ride system, so that cost was not factored into the price tag. It was originally gonna be used for a Van Helsing ride (THANK GOD IT WASNT). So that is why the cost for everything was more for the theming and in ride elements for the ride itself. If they had to factor in the rights to the Kuka system, the announced budget would have been MUCH higher.
 
Well true, but correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't a contracter give himself some leeway just in case changes were to come about? I mean a project of this magnitude and the amount of approvals it needs before going public it should be known that changes would be coming.

If Universal wanted something changed that was beyond the original scope and contract that they signed, Universal would have had to submit a change order to Nassal and Nassal would give them a price for the change. If Nassal completed something and it wasn't to the standards required by UO, then they would have had to fix it, eating the cost of fixing it.
 
A good friend and one time live show manager at Uni told me that the mummies that pop-up in the big room were supposed to do a whole lot more than just pop-up yet the contractor for that went belly up trying to complete these. Another company was brought in, the additional movement that the mummies were to have was abandoned and thus they just pop-up. If you know any more details regarding this please let me know.

Originally the mummies were supposed to drop from the ceiling onto the vehicle. I believe the leaked Universal Creative concept video showed this.
 
It will definately be interesting to see how the ride vehicles interact with the different elements in the ride. I would love if it does get entangled in the branches of the willow, and that the dragon breaths real fire and the dementors truly do suck out your soul and you see it in flying in front of you. So many possibilities, what do you guys think?


(this is my attempt to get everyone :focus:)
 
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It will definately be interesting to see how the ride vehicles interact with the different elements in the ride. I would love if it does get entangled in the branches of the willow, and that the dragons breaths real fire and the dementors sucks our your sould and you see it in front of you. So many possibilities, what do you guys think?


(this is my attempt to get everyone :focus:)

It is a very good attempt to get back to topic. :lol:

Before, some people said that a dementor animatronic would be placed on the robotic arm's base and it would come out on its own robotic arm right in front of you. I doubt that would happen. It might just lower from the ceiling out of nowhere and scare the crapola out of you!
 
It is a very good attempt to get back to topic. :lol:

Before, some people said that a dementor animatronic would be placed on the robotic arm's base and it would come out on its own robotic arm right in front of you. I doubt that would happen. It might just lower from the ceiling out of nowhere and scare the crapola out of you!

I'm personally hoping for its own arm and we get up close and personal. It would be awesome if they breath cold nasty breath on you when they suck out your soul.
 
It is a very good attempt to get back to topic. :lol:

Before, some people said that a dementor animatronic would be placed on the robotic arm's base and it would come out on its own robotic arm right in front of you. I doubt that would happen. It might just lower from the ceiling out of nowhere and scare the crapola out of you!

That's very possible. It's not that outlandish to say that a Dementor could be on an arm on a one-way track to come and get your soul and then go backwards and reset for the next car. Totally plausible.
 
Well it wouldn't have to be on a rotating track per-se, maybe fixed in place and hidden behind a black out curtain and it pops out at you and maknig the curtain look like a giant cloak.
 
Anyone want to warrant a guess as to how much this mother ran over budget? Anybody out there know anybody who would know an approximate amount?

Ran??? Jymmy, it's still runnin! Runnin and runnin and runnin...
I had it described to me just today as a Univeral Orlando accounting nightmare...
 
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Ran??? Jymmy, it's still runnin! Runnin and runnin and runnin...
I had it described to me just today as a Univeral Orlando accounting nightmare...

Oh I figured it was still running hahaha! Every day this place isn't open and things are still left unfinished, it's running like crazy. I was just wondering how much? Tens of millions?
 
If Universal wanted something changed that was beyond the original scope and contract that they signed, Universal would have had to submit a change order to Nassal and Nassal would give them a price for the change. If Nassal completed something and it wasn't to the standards required by UO, then they would have had to fix it, eating the cost of fixing it.

^ Hits the nail on the head. To shed a little more light on the issue - when highly competitive jobs come around contractors have been known to actually bid less than they need to cover their costs. This ensures they have one of the lowest bids. They then try to recoup losses based on change orders (an amendment to the contract that adds to the contractor's responsibilities in exchanger for additional compensation from the owner). They will nitpick ANYTHING that was not explicitly stated in the contract and nickle-and-dime the owner to death. Conversely, the owner tries to write the contract such that they can force the contractor to eat any and all unexpected costs that come up. This gets REALLY bad in government jobs where the lowest bid must be accepted. Both sides (contractor and funding agency) hire teams of lawyers from the get-go in anticipation of the contractual arguments to come.

This sort of scenario can see the contractor go under if they don't have large cash reserves and the owner wins the legal battles. It can also result in the contractor walking away if they have won the legal battle (ie - their contract is fulfilled) and the owner won't pay for the change orders.

Note that I know nothing about the business practices of UO or their contractors. I'm just pointing out things I've seen in other industries.
 
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