The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood
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- Jul 7, 2013
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As amazing as the WWoHP is we must remind ourself the magic is not real. It will not soft open in 2015. There is still a ton of set dressing to be done in all the shops and Hogwarts. Not to mention lighting and special effects throughout the land. It's close but not THAT close.
Yeah, true of all that. I didn't really think it was going to be soft opening in December 2015 anyway. February would be more ideal.
Anyway, moving on, Universal Studios Hollywood just released the official poster art on their Facebook Page for the Wizarding World which looks INCREDIBLE!!!
Anyway, moving on, Universal Studios Hollywood just released the official poster art on their Facebook Page for the Wizarding World which looks INCREDIBLE!!!
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Great poster, hope that actually gets turned to a full on print poster of its own!
That being said..why am I having some hope that the opening announcement is in December? It'd seem a good choice if they are planning on making it for March (which possibly seems to be that).
That being said..why am I having some hope that the opening announcement is in December? It'd seem a good choice if they are planning on making it for March (which possibly seems to be that).
The announcement in December you could be right about, but probably not soft opening. We don't know yet though
That poster is absolutely gorgeous, I think the most pleasing to the eye Wizarding World poster that Universal has released. I hope they sell a full size poster of that!
I find it funny that some of you still think it'll open end of 2015, when clear as gillywater, Universal has stated everywhere "Spring 2016" lol. Also, all season passes expiring in February of 2016 should be a giveaway as well. I think we'll see a soft opening in March and grand opening in April. Or if they REALLY keep at it, maybe soft opening AND grand opening in March.
I find it funny that some of you still think it'll open end of 2015, when clear as gillywater, Universal has stated everywhere "Spring 2016" lol. Also, all season passes expiring in February of 2016 should be a giveaway as well. I think we'll see a soft opening in March and grand opening in April. Or if they REALLY keep at it, maybe soft opening AND grand opening in March.
Grand opening in Spring 2016 is a dead giveaway for sure. Soft opening will be more than likely early 2016 than not, and obviously don't trust Wikipedia all the time, but I certainly feel like construction will be done by November or December.
Springfield was interesting though as some of the props were put in days prior to opening.
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Someone forgot to photoshop Hogwart's Astronomy Tower out of the Hogsmeade image. *facepalm*
- May 3, 2014
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I was up there today and it looks like all the scaffolding is down from Hogwarts.
As far as when we can expect soft openings…
I sincerely doubt they will open it anytime in 2015. It just wouldn’t make any sense for them to do that even if they could. The place will be packed enough as it is due to Grinchmas. They’ll want to soft open it during a slower time of year, when they need to draw people into the park and when ironing out any bugs will have a smaller impact.
As to when it will soft open…
There is a reason why Universal moved the expiration date of their season pass from March 18 to February 11 (not February 28, but February 11). That date wasn’t randomly chosen, but deliberately set. There is a strong possibility that we won’t have to wait until March for a soft opening. Of course with these kind of huge constructions projects, anything could happen. But I’ll put my money on them soft opening sometime in February after the 11th.
We all know that the interiors of these buildings require a lot of work. However, many of the exteriors have been completed for months now, and I’ve got to believe they’ve been working on the interiors for months. There is no doubt in my mind that they could easily have the interiors completed by the middle of February.
I know there are those who say, “Don’t expect it earlier than March,” but I don’t agree. Again, there is a reason why they chose February 11th as the Season Pass expiration date. If they weren’t planning on soft opening Potter, it wouldn’t make any sense for them to end Season Passes during a notoriously slow time of year.
As far as when we can expect soft openings…
I sincerely doubt they will open it anytime in 2015. It just wouldn’t make any sense for them to do that even if they could. The place will be packed enough as it is due to Grinchmas. They’ll want to soft open it during a slower time of year, when they need to draw people into the park and when ironing out any bugs will have a smaller impact.
As to when it will soft open…
There is a reason why Universal moved the expiration date of their season pass from March 18 to February 11 (not February 28, but February 11). That date wasn’t randomly chosen, but deliberately set. There is a strong possibility that we won’t have to wait until March for a soft opening. Of course with these kind of huge constructions projects, anything could happen. But I’ll put my money on them soft opening sometime in February after the 11th.
We all know that the interiors of these buildings require a lot of work. However, many of the exteriors have been completed for months now, and I’ve got to believe they’ve been working on the interiors for months. There is no doubt in my mind that they could easily have the interiors completed by the middle of February.
I know there are those who say, “Don’t expect it earlier than March,” but I don’t agree. Again, there is a reason why they chose February 11th as the Season Pass expiration date. If they weren’t planning on soft opening Potter, it wouldn’t make any sense for them to end Season Passes during a notoriously slow time of year.
- Mar 15, 2015
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While that may end up being true, it's not in concrete.
From what I know from Universal team members, some actually from within the Wizarding World, they haven't been told the exact month or dates.
You have to remember, it's just like at Disney....a team member, just like a cast member, isn't going to be getting company secrets all the time or get to stay in the loop about projects that don't pertain to their current position. Lots of times, Disney and Universal cast members get their info the same place we do: online. Sometimes they just pass it off as "inside info" just cuz they work there.
Happens a lot more at Disney. It's like a cycle. Micechat fabricates a rumor for discussion, cast members reads about it, starts believing it themselves, passes the info down to a guest, guest thinks it's true and thinks micechat is just confirming it.
Obviously there are exceptions and there are quite a few people with insider knowledge, but let's be real....it's far and few compared to those that don't have that info, so we have to always keep our expectations in a reality check.
From what I know from Universal team members, some actually from within the Wizarding World, they haven't been told the exact month or dates.
You have to remember, it's just like at Disney....a team member, just like a cast member, isn't going to be getting company secrets all the time or get to stay in the loop about projects that don't pertain to their current position. Lots of times, Disney and Universal cast members get their info the same place we do: online. Sometimes they just pass it off as "inside info" just cuz they work there.
Happens a lot more at Disney. It's like a cycle. Micechat fabricates a rumor for discussion, cast members reads about it, starts believing it themselves, passes the info down to a guest, guest thinks it's true and thinks micechat is just confirming it.
Obviously there are exceptions and there are quite a few people with insider knowledge, but let's be real....it's far and few compared to those that don't have that info, so we have to always keep our expectations in a reality check.
From Daniel Tuero on twitter..we have pics of the gargoyles and..HAGRIDS HUT.
I guess this confirms we won't be getting a Hagrid's Hut walkthrough attraction, in case there was any doubt left.
I still think that's a horrible missed opportunity. Would've been an absolutely fantastic little walk through attraction similar to Minnie and Mickey's houses in ToonTown mixed with Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground in Florida. Have some interactive props (that could work with the interactive wands), animatronic garden with animated veggies and magical creatures, and of course oversized furniture which would've made for great photo opps! If they wanted to, they could've also made it a dessert snack hut, since Hagrid enjoyed dabbling in very sloppy cooking sometimes, like cookies and cake. Huge missed opportunity, but at least it's something they can at least add in the future if someone ever approves it.
It would've been especially great in Hollywood, where they could've counted it as another attraction.
It would've been especially great in Hollywood, where they could've counted it as another attraction.
The showbuilding for Mickey's house at Disneyland is actually quite sizable. You could fit a full (but small) dark ride in there. There's no way anything remotely close to that scale would have worked. In fact, i'm quite surprised they're able to squeeze Hagrid's hut in its current location as it is!
I think there were several theories regarding a walkthrough attraction. The one I could envision best was just a redesigned queue for FotH that would take you through the hut itself. I figured it'd be nothing beyond a section of the queue where you can go inside, look around, take some cool photos, and then exit to the boarding station. While it's a missed opportunity, I think it'll also be nice to have the hut nestled up on a ledge as seen in Florida/Japan for some unobstructed views.
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Lol. I'm well aware of the size of Mickey's house, I wasn't saying Hagrid's Hut would be that size, I was just saying it could be a similar experience with lots of interactive props and photo opps. The actual size is apples to oranges obviously.
Overall, I think it's a missed opportunity. The Wizarding World, of all theme park lands, could use more interactivity. The integration of the wands in Orlando was a good start. Having a slightly creepy walk through The Forbidden Forest would also be cool. Have some photo opps with animatronic creatures, etc.
Gosh, I can't wait to step foot into the land.
- Mar 15, 2015
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I think that the wizarding world is fine how it is... Remember how they said our Hogwarts was going to look slightly different with different ornaments? Well look how that turned out LOL anyways, it was confirmed yesterday by an employee working the WWOHP store that we will definitely be getting the interactive wands along with the special spots inside the park.
Doesn't hurt to add more experiences, especially since our Park is lacking in attractions.
Also, the only people who have ever said that our Hogwarts will look different and have some random different ornaments is one or two people from this site, and it was absolutely never true lol...
As for the interactive wands, I hope that's true!
