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

[mantaguy]

I would much rather have had another showroom. You can buy character wand at the outdoor cart, and the birthday ones are more "magical" if you will.

 

[gannonsmovieworld]

I would much rather have had another showroom. You can buy character wand at the outdoor cart, and the birthday ones are more "magical" if you will.

By the looks of the picture, I think the room is too small for another showroom. :smiley:

 

[Splatter]

Another showroom would be a waste of resources and money. The place just opened and the capacity is semi small so that is why there is such a wait. In a few years the wait will never be as long and clearly people are willing to wait for it. In a few years or less it will pretty much be next group or a walk in.

 

[mantaguy]

Another showroom would be a waste of resources and money. The place just opened and the capacity is semi small so that is why there is such a wait. In a few years the wait will never be as long and clearly people are willing to wait for it. In a few years or less it will pretty much be next group or a walk in.

The thing is now, when FJ is a walkon, Ollivanders can still have a legitimate 30 minute wait.

 

[Splatter]

People are willing to wait it. It is not a high concern of Universal and if you think about it. 30 min is not that bad. We are spoiled theme park junkies who view 30 min as a nogo. Forbidden Journey as an unbelievable capacity rate, one that I actually think hurts the experience when you rush by all the detail in the castle.

 

[Vyrus]

Ollivanders needs a 2nd showroom. Period.

The fact that only one person out of 25 is able to experience this is bad enough. With a 2nd room there is a higher chance that more age ranges get picked instead of just a little kid.

 

[Splatter]

Ollivanders needs a 2nd showroom. Period.

The fact that only one person out of 25 is able to experience this is bad enough. With a 2nd room there is a higher chance that more age ranges get picked instead of just a little kid.

A second room does not just pop up overnight. There would be a lot of construction on the area and structure itself(which there is no room for in this building) and then they have to design and synch all the special effects that are in that room and then get another person from entartainment to fill it only to have that room closed most of the year. The hype will die down eventually and Universal likely does not see it fit to build another one.

As far as children getting picked. It does not happen all the time because both times I have seen Olivanders it was a psyche out after having kids line up in front the host picked an older woman in the back. We are just gonna have to get over it. That is the way it is with all illusions and magic. They don't want to risk picking a teen or adult because if they don't buy into it they tend to want to show how fake it is and ruin the fun for everyone else.

 

[Manx27]

I went into the second room last week.
There is a door in the back of Ollivander's show room that empties out into it. Even the Wand Master himself had a note of surprise in his voice when he invited us guests who had just witnessed the show to exit through the door behind us and into the shop.
It is very small and at the time I had the suspicion that they just converted a stock room.

On a side note, this was the first time I had seen a Wand Experience since the soft open. I LITERALLY walked on the second time. I walked right from the street and was the last one in the shop in a half-filled show.
It was a unique show. The Wand Master (for lack of a better term) chose a brother and sister. He tried each wand once with each kid with the usual blunders. He then swapped the wands, and of course they were the perfect fit.
Nice way to include more than just one kid

 

[Tbad556]

More TV attention for the Wizarding World is coming soon. From @FloridaThrills:

Bert the Conqueror at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! http://twitpic.com/3g8lgs

 

[Splatter]

Good tv synergy win there. I am hoping for a new Universal Orlando Resort Travel Channel special soon. That sould be nice. I have a friend who auditioned for this casting call for bert the conqueror.

 

[Bryan]

oh I thought what they built was a second ollivanders show

so what they have is a new area to dump people from the show out of?

 

[Splatter]

oh I thought what they built was a second ollivanders show

so what they have is a new area to dump people from the show out of?

That is what it sounds like, which is a very good thing because when supercrowded the fact that the show typically exits out of Dervish and Banges creates capacity issues. A few weeks back the girlfriend and I were told we had to wait and go through Olivanders in order to go into dervish and banges. It is unfortunate that it is sometimes the only way, so this is a welcome change for busier times.

 

[Manx27]

Yes. The second exit door is in the back of the show room and it does allow for a quicker "unload" from the room.
Hopefully it will have the added effect of a slightly quicker moving line.

 

[figment1986]

More TV attention for the Wizarding World is coming soon. From @FloridaThrills:

There has also been some NBC affiliates hanging around the train for 2 days now... no idea what that is for though. Bert was just finishing up for the day when I got that (and a few higher quality shots)

 

[Frogki]

There has also been some NBC affiliates hanging around the train for 2 days now... no idea what that is for though. Bert was just finishing up for the day when I got that (and a few higher quality shots)

I saw the report two days ago on Nightly News, just about the huge cold snap affecting the country. They were talking about how it's even cold down here, and the tourists who came down here expecting to escape the cold were sadly mistaken xD... They showed quite a few tourists in winter wear that's not normally seen down here and complaining about it rotfl...

 

[Manx27]

Well, tomorrow it's supposed to hit 74 degrees.
Personally, I went the other day for the very purpose of experiencing WWOHP in the cold.
Plus the trade-off of an empty park vs some cold weather is a plus.

 

[Splatter]

Well, tomorrow it's supposed to hit 74 degrees.
Personally, I went the other day for the very purpose of experiencing WWOHP in the cold.
Plus the trade-off of an empty park vs some cold weather is a plus.

There ya go. Hogsmeade never looked so believable either on a lot of these dreary cold day photos.

Also, Universal is still winning buy selling even more scarfs, beanie caps and hoodies than ever before out of emergency purchases since people did not expect this.

 

[Obi Ubamba]

The WWoHP could use a few new ads. The one out now is a bit boring and doesn't really capture the feeling of the area.

 

[Splatter]

The entire resort needs to get on advertising. Besides Potter I can't recall the last national ad campaign other than the Surrender ones...and that was in 04.

 

[Brian G.]

The entire resort needs to get on advertising. Besides Potter I can't recall the last national ad campaign other than the Surrender ones...and that was in 04.

They had that Super Bowl commercial in 09 for that free ticket, but that only lasted a short time.

But yes, they need to grow their marketing beyond Potter.