Since I was at Universal yesterday and they said the opening in uncertain, but speculated to be February or March, it makes me wonder when they will soft open as that tends to be two months before grand opening. Insanely excited to find out!!!
I would too, and I could still use my annual pass for that It almost looks like it could open in December haha, but who knows. That would certainly be brilliant marketing on Universal's part and it could therefore grand open around March, in time for Spring Break.How insanely awesome would it be if they did soft openings in December? I might cry a little...
Really!? That's crazily exciting! So if we're lucky, I could still use the last of my annual pass for that!! How did you hear about that?Well from what I was told, Universal is pushing for a soft opening next month... we'll see if that actually happens or not. Being able to have a "warm butterbeer" during Grinchmas would be, as Jill St Stevens would say "FAAABULOUS"...
However, I am still taking that December soft-opening with a huge grain of salt... but stranger things have happened (like 2 extra "after party" nights of HHN).. The only reason why I DON'T see it happening next month is due to the current construction with Hollywood Grill & Not-HoH (although I'm sure Not-HoH will get completed sometime this month since they've already started work on the in-park Studio Store next to it).
In other news, I wandered into the Feature Presentation store on my way out of the park on Saturday after HHN... noticed merchandise had been rearranged since the last time I was in there a few months ago, so not sure how recently they moved things around. This is probably old news to most of you, same with there seeming to be some new merchandise that was not originally in there.
Oh, good point! I almost feel like that may be visual intrusion when next to Springfield.Do we think they're going to add some sort of arch or something to the exit/entrance of the land over next to Stu's Disco? Or will it just be a normal path with no defining entrance to it?
I think there will technically already be an archway from inside the land next to Forbidden Journey as well, which arguably makes more senseSame source as the rest of the stuff I've heard, pretty much proved credibility after saying FJ would be in 3D about 2-3 months before it was officially announced. But, credibility or not... things can happen. So as great as it would be to have WWOHP soft open in December, I'm not holding my breath.
I believe it will just be a path with no defining entrance other than the "trees" & a short wall.. I'll ask & see, but I'm pretty sure that if there was going to be some type of archway, it would already be there & we would be able to see it.
They started testing and construction with Forbidden Journey a year before they started Hippogriff construction. I think we'd see Forbidden Journey soft-open too, unless its the "Gringotts case" where the ride has too many kinks to soft-open.Damn, this is getting more and more exciting by the day! I remember early on this year when the rumor first started of a potential December soft open and most people thought it was crazy. Now though, the land looks like its ready to open tomorrow. Obviously there's still a ton of tiny scenic details that they're adding in as well as finishing interiors, and it's hard to track the progress of interior work, but man is this place coming together. Wesker's source has definitely proven credibility, and if Wizarding World could potentially soft open in December minus Forbidden Journey... I think we'd all be ecstatic.
The only issue with your reasoning is simple: social media. The second Wizarding World opens, I can betcha anything it'll be bonkers within a few hours, and if not right away, then the next day 100%I was about to type up a reply decrying the idea of Potter soft-opening in December and how that is never, ever, ever going to happen.
But... well... I mean, if you think about it:
1) This catches Potter diehards off-guard. They have been repeatedly told 2016, 2016, 2016. Unlike Diagon Alley, this will prevent the bottlenecking of people waiting outside a land that just isn't going to open that day. If you think they are some people so rich and dedicated to be able to stand at USF for nearly a month straight, over a dozen hours every day... well extend that idea to California. Especially LA. That would be triple the amount, easy. So as long as nobody tips off any Mugglenet users, they should be fine.
2) The fear of capacity slamming the parks due to Potter openingand not being prepared is null and void. It's Grinchmas, so it's already a formality. If anything, it would spread those tight crowds around to make things more manageable.
3) It would also rev up the crowds in Janurary and February, which is notoriously slow for USH. I still remember working those months... oh no wait, I kinda don't. Because in Jan/Feb 2013 I worked very, very little. Two weeks of January that year, even with calling in to nab a shift, I struck out and just never worked. Even my (awful) roommate asked me if I got fired because I was in the apartment every single day. After that, for another three weeks I only worked once or twice a week at best, for six short, short hours. (this is also the time in which I even put in some time for JPRA and Mummy) I was not very low on seniority, and the days in which I actually got to come in, Transformers was a walk-on literally the entire day. I mean, never a full RV. Ever. It was unbelivably dead. Needless to say, they may as well take advantage of a slow time, while keeping profits high and attendance higher than usual. It's a win-win for Universal.
So, still, grain of salt totally but surprisingly it's not too boneheaded or far-fetched of an idea. I do think the earliest that the land will have its grand opening is March,
But the parks are going to be packed no matter what, Potter diehards or not. If you open in the middle of the insane crowds at an unexpected time, then at least there's nobody just blocking paths for an unopened land, and capacity will be swelled already. It'll run Potter thru the ringer with the normal theme park audience. Of course some diehards will worm thru, but around the holidays most are either on vacation already or concerned with their families. Social media or not, it's a strange time of the year where that sort of thing gets tossed out the window. It's such a perfect idea to catch them off-guard, in a time where you literally have to be INSANE to go to the park. (especially since you aren't guaranteed entry)The only issue with your reasoning is simple: social media. The second Wizarding World opens, I can betcha anything it'll be bonkers within a few hours, and if not right away, then the next day 100%