2017 Holidays at Universal - New Wizarding World Holidays

[epcyclopedia]

I'll be going into the parks for a few hours tomorrow, gonna try staying until the evening so I can see the Christmas lighting. It looks beautiful.

A lot of what Universal got grief about in the past for their holiday decor was that it looked tacky, sparse, and too homogenized.

These sort of bolt-on wreaths, garlands, etc.. that were all the same fake greenery with nothing but metallic colored balls of 2-3 sizes jammed into them.

Potter eschews that entirely, going for a very classical look. And further, the other areas of the parks seem to have more decor and while not a huge amount of variance it’s not the same as before. I didn’t get a pic, and unless I’m remembering the area wrong from the past, even the New York facades over by Fallon actually look vastly improved in decor.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Little update:

TM-only preview on 11/17 with park entry at 10:15pm (says be there no later than 11pm) for The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts.

"Viewing will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis and you may be asked to queue/wait for your opportunity."

So, they appear to have some sort of crowd control system planned out.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Little update:

TM-only preview on 11/17 with park entry at 10:15pm (says be there no later than 11pm) for The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts.

"Viewing will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis and you may be asked to queue/wait for your opportunity."

So, they appear to have some sort of crowd control system planned out.

If you think about it, Hogwarts and Diagon Alley have always been set up with controlled entry....if you think about how Ozzy's (jk) light were set up at the other studios, they could really cycle shows through Hogwarts in the evenings couldn't they??

 

[Alicia]

Little update:

TM-only preview on 11/17 with park entry at 10:15pm (says be there no later than 11pm) for The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts.

"Viewing will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis and you may be asked to queue/wait for your opportunity."

So, they appear to have some sort of crowd control system planned out.

Media Preview will be on Thursday night (16th) and video will be allowed so expect the full show to be posted online by the end of night.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Media Preview will be on Thursday night (16th) and video will be allowed so expect the full show to be posted online by the end of night.

Ahhh.. Then I'm definitely getting the vibe they want TMs to be crowd control guinea pigs.

 

[Alicia]

Ahhh.. Then I'm definitely getting the vibe they want TMs to be crowd control guinea pigs.

With it being scheduled to show from dusk till close I wonder if this’ll be sorta like Osborne lights display where everyone waits in a giant line and they corral groups in every 5 minutes and start the show over, back to back to back alllll night long.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Ooo... aaah...



And i didnt expect it to go inside of Hogwarts! (But that's California, no?)

 

[bob albert]

Anyone know what the Christmas food options are?

 

[Bobharlem]

Media Thursday night, so event at 830 and 830pm (Already gull) Friday followed by team members, then public start Saturday.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Ooo... aaah...



And i didnt expect it to go inside of Hogwarts! (But that's California, no?)

There was a tree right before the Gryffindor Commons when I went on Sunday.

 

[Andysol]

I want to make clear that this parade is far superior than it's predecessor and the floats are beautiful and plentiful. I just don't think it's something to get worked up about... You and I are much closer in where we stand than you think.

Just in case there was any doubt, they are using the new parade building for the Holiday Parade. The old one still houses Superstar, as the second new parade building is not finished yet.

I do think this will be an impressive parade and a vast improvement over the predecessor, it's just not something that gets me overly excited. While the parade is certainly more float heavy now and longer, it's still just a parade to me (parade's don't excite me much). A nice one at that though.

I don’t understand the hate for the new parade idea- in particular if it just adds to what they had.

Personally, I Preferred the Macy’s parade to Disney’s any day of the week- and I have little kids. My only fear is that they actually get more like Disney’s and remove some of the other floats and people walking. But if it’s basjcally taking what they had and adding- how could anyone not want that? Macy’s was already a long parade.

Santa, balloons and rockettes- all in front of New York. I couldn’t ask for a better parade as is. So here’s hoping for even further improvement.

 

[Teebin]

Wow, so they had to run hidden power to all of those Hogsmeade facades. Either that or power was run with this in mind back in 2009.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

And i didnt expect it to go inside of Hogwarts! (But that's California, no?)

Yup, California from what I can tell got a lot of the holiday decor in their FJ done; and it looks great.

 

[Andysol]

Wow, so they had to run hidden power to all of those Hogsmeade facades. Either that or power was run with this in mind back in 2009.

Think they actually wired it in or just using LEDs with batteries?

If it’s wired in and they don’t have a single plug exposed that’s impressive.

JK the Nazi. She’s the best.

Just like I’ve said with every project UC does involving JKR- it exceeds our expectations. Even these minor projects. Anyone who doesn’t thing FF and MoM will be over the top incredible is mistaken.

 

[Teebin]

If it’s wired in and they don’t have a single plug exposed that’s impressive

Yeah, both Disney and Uni hide the electric almost all of the time. One step down the theme park ladder you will see the outlets and cords which puts a chink in the magic that we all expect.

 

[Andysol]

Yeah, both Disney and Uni hide the electric almost all of the time. One step down the theme park ladder you will see the outlets and cords which puts a chink in the magic that we all expect.

I recall seeing plugs at Disney before though. Maybe it was just the resorts?

 

[Teebin]

I recall seeing plugs at Disney before though. Maybe it was just the resorts?

Hmm... trees can be a bugaboo. I do recall seeing a lamp plug and outlet in the Hogwarts common room which is a real no-no!

 

[epcyclopedia]

Usually the item itself hides the plug. Otherwise it’s just a matter of running a simple cord to the location and making sure to tuck it in.

There’s a whole rule set of where it goes - not over doorways, not across guest paths, etc... a team of electricians essentially follows the holiday team.

I saw a few cords/cables/connectors on one of the garlands at Grimmald Place.

 

[shiekra38]

Ooo... aaah...



And i didnt expect it to go inside of Hogwarts! (But that's California, no?)

Did they finish the lights on the roofs? Seems like only half of them are lit

 

[epcyclopedia]

Did they finish the lights on the roofs? Seems like only half of them are lit

They will. Either one of those garlands is backwards, or someone switched the sides, or they just haven’t run electric yet. Garlands tend to have a male plug on one end and a female on the other. If they get put up backwards or switched when in pairs one can’t get power until it’s fixed.

Side note: They’ve been repainting all the snow as they go along as well.