The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood

[Rideguy70]

That is certainly a fair enough point, lol

 

[Ryan]

Hey, they've been doing it for ages:

 

[Lori]

I went yesterday and it was the busiest I have seen so far. You could hardly walk in the lower lot. Transformers was listed at a 60 minute wait time and the line was outside. Mummy was listed at 45 and the line was outside. Jurassic park was 40 minutes. FJ was 120 minutes and the line was far into the outdoor queue. Even Shrek was 30 minutes! The Upper Lot did not feel as crowded but still tons of people. By the way, the level of distraction was out if control. People crashing into each other, large groups blocking pathways, people backing into stuff etc... wow.... WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING PEOPLE!

 

[12th Man]

Lots of foreign tourists. That is what always seems to happen at USH. Lots of people just wandering around, bumping into you. It is pretty annoying, but at least they aren't taking a dump in the lawn.

 

[Lori]

GoHawks..... truth there.... and there were MANY foreign tourists. But most I'm talking about were not foreign but regular families and teenagers.

 

[Park Man]

We want Universal to be jammed packed with tourists this summer. We want them to dust off their timed entry ticket machines. We want merchandise to absolutely flow out of those shops. We want Disney to feel the pinch.


Because then Universal will continue with its aggressive expansion plans and Disney will give us something new more often than once every 8 years.


And then this fall, after the tourists go home, it will be very interesting to see how Universal will try to win the locals back. Because locals have been pretty much ostracized by the ticket prices, as seen by the quiet spring. They’ve got all summer to think of a way to avoid a quiet fall.

 

[Freak]

We want Universal to be jammed packed with tourists this summer. We want them to dust off their timed entry ticket machines. We want merchandise to absolutely flow out of those shops. We want Disney to feel the pinch.


Because then Universal will continue with its aggressive expansion plans and Disney will give us something new more often than once every 8 years.


And then this fall, after the tourists go home, it will be very interesting to see how Universal will try to win the locals back. Because locals have been pretty much ostracized by the ticket prices, as seen by the quiet spring. They’ve got all summer to think of a way to avoid a quiet fall.

They do have HHN to bring in the dough, so I'm not sure if they're really concerned about the daytime during the Fall. During the Spring, it may not be as busy as everyone imagined, but there was still a descent amount of people there to where the higher-ups seemed satisfied. Even during the slower times, there are still foreign tourists that visit the park. 

 

[Ryan]

I went yesterday and it was the busiest I have seen so far. You could hardly walk in the lower lot. Transformers was listed at a 60 minute wait time and the line was outside. Mummy was listed at 45 and the line was outside. Jurassic park was 40 minutes. FJ was 120 minutes and the line was far into the outdoor queue. Even Shrek was 30 minutes! The Upper Lot did not feel as crowded but still tons of people. By the way, the level of distraction was out if control. People crashing into each other, large groups blocking pathways, people backing into stuff etc... wow.... WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING PEOPLE!

Summer is here...

 

[Park Man]

They do have HHN to bring in the dough, so I'm not sure if they're really concerned about the daytime during the Fall. During the Spring, it may not be as busy as everyone imagined, but there was still a descent amount of people there to where the higher-ups seemed satisfied. Even during the slower times, there are still foreign tourists that visit the park. 

The fact that they are constantly adjusting the annual pass program shows that the higher-ups are not satisfied. The elimination of the CA resident pass, the addition of the plus passes, both regular and Costco, and the additional Sunday in May offered to all Costco pass holders shows they are not happy with local attendance.


Sure HHN will bring in the cash, but you know these corporate types; that won't be enough for them. They'll want their park busy during the day, too. At the very least, we're going to see a lot of lifted blackout dates during the fall.

 

[Armadillo4]

I went yesterday and it was the busiest I have seen so far. You could hardly walk in the lower lot. Transformers was listed at a 60 minute wait time and the line was outside. Mummy was listed at 45 and the line was outside. Jurassic park was 40 minutes. FJ was 120 minutes and the line was far into the outdoor queue. Even Shrek was 30 minutes! The Upper Lot did not feel as crowded but still tons of people.

I was in the park last Sunday as well and can attest to this. It was pretty crowded even well into the evening--when crowds have usually thinned out. And I thought...ok, here are the summer crowds.


I'm not at the park today, but I just took a look at the wait times and it seems like the park has reverted back to spring-like crowds. It's only 4:20pm, but Forbidden Journey is only 15 min. The Studio Tour and Despicable Me are only at 10 min. The longest wait time is Transformers at 30 min. This just feels weird. I think the park is expecting those summer crowds as the park calendar shows a closing time of 8pm or 9pm all week long. I wonder if we'll see those park hours cut back again, or if the crowds really begin to show up this week. It will be interesting to see what happens. 

 

[Lori]

Well yeah it was a holiday weekend last week so most kids didn't have school. I bet it will get busier in the next week.

 

[12th Man]

It's been so quiet    Let's just post pics of Butterbeer! 

Finally, here's some Orlando Butterbeer:

P.S. If you're ever thirsty or craving sugar...Look up "Butterbeer". It'll make your stomach grumble

 

[Ryan]

Well at least no pics of Butterbeer potted cream, that would drive me crazy. It's the most amazing thing ever  :wub:

 

[12th Man]

Anyone else want to share their Butterbeer pictures?

 

[Ryan]

View attachment 97


View attachment 98


Amazingness. Also a pic of the best counter service meal I've had in a theme park ever. EVER.


The rib platter meal at Three Broomsticks with Potted Cream and Gilly Water came out to be about $30 and was so insanely worth the money. Not a single bit of this meal wasn't tasty as hell (the corn on the cob was the most surprising, clearly roasted to perfection), but that potted cream... oh my god. It was heaven in a pot. I won't fully rest until I get to enjoy it again.


I also had the French toast earlier that morning with pumpkin juice which was wonderful as well. In the future I have no idea why I would eat anywhere but Three Broomsticks.

 

[12th Man]

I have never had a bad meal at the Three Broomsticks. Probably the best food I've had at a theme park! There's a reason why the line is ALWAYS outside the door

 

[chris.g]

How about Butterbeer... in a STINE!? Eh...? 

 

[javierm27]

It's pretty busy here today. 180 minute wait. 

 

[Rideguy70]

Have they used the timed ticket entry?  They were in the process of setting them up in the morning.

 

[ItsAtrap]

Not that I saw. They set up the ques and then closed them off by about 11AM. I never saw anyone using timed entry.