Wizarding World - Diagon Alley Discussion (Opens 2014)

[youhow2]

everything I keep hearing is if there is a train or something connecting both parks it would have to be built up and high (cause of floats and etc)

I believe the magical invention you are looking for to solve that problem is a simple Railroad crossing...

 

[ChristopherSE]

What if (this is purely hypothetical. just something I came up with last night) jaws became the north pole from the Polar Express, and if you were going to IoA, you would take the Hogwarts express. But if you were going to USF, you would take the Polar Express. And of course Mythos and Sinbad and Poseidon would all bite the dust to make way for Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic or whatever. Would that please the masses?

 

[Dr. Emmett Brown]

What if (this is purely hypothetical. just something I came up with last night) jaws became the north pole from the Polar Express, and if you were going to IoA, you would take the Hogwarts express. But if you were going to USF, you would take the Polar Express. And of course Mythos and Sinbad and Poseidon would all bite the dust to make way for Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic or whatever. Would that please the masses?

[video=youtube;LgDlMHEuQZ0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgDlMHEuQZ0[/video]

 

[Tbad556]

What if (this is purely hypothetical. just something I came up with last night) jaws became the north pole from the Polar Express, and if you were going to IoA, you would take the Hogwarts express. But if you were going to USF, you would take the Polar Express. And of course Mythos and Sinbad and Poseidon would all bite the dust to make way for Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic or whatever. Would that please the masses?

SeaWorld Orlando already uses the Polar Express property as an overlay for Wild Arctic during the holidays.

 

[amonuniversal]

Fear Factor is back

I honestly wasn't sure where to put this, and I didn't think it was worthy of a new thread. So with all the talk about Potter expanding in to USF, using the Fear Factor Live venue and all, I thought this fit here (which it probably doesnt). Besides the point, if Fear Factor is making a come back on TV, they will most likely keep the venue…I would assume. Anyway just some news I thought I would share that could impact the Potter in USF speculation.

UPDATE:
Here is the link to the promo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEpf2EJDLlo

 

[Hatetofly]

Doesn't it come on tonight?

 

[Felipe]

I honestly wasn't sure where to put this, and I didn't think it was worthy of a new thread. So with all the talk about Potter expanding in to USF, using the Fear Factor Live venue and all, I thought this fit here (which it probably doesnt). Besides the point, if Fear Factor is making a come back on TV, they will most likely keep the venue…I would assume. Anyway just some news I thought I would share that could impact the Potter in USF speculation.

UPDATE:
Here is the link to the promo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEpf2EJDLlo

Yeah I mentioned it a couple of pages ago:

Also, as much as I (and most) want FFL gone and something different put in the theater, I think we won't be rid of FFL for a while... The TV show is coming back and that could mean that there'll be new interest in it... or that Universal will think that and they'll choose to keep it

Sucks... but it was inevitable. With shows like Wipeout, 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show, etc. being on TV now a days, Fear Factor was bound to come back. Now I do think the TV show is ok, but the park show is a whole other thing. We're stuck with it for now. Emily mentioned a few pages back that FFL is staying at least for a couple more years.

--- Update ---

Doesn't it come on tonight?

Yup! It's on right now on NBC.

 

[youhow2]

It looks stupid so far.

 

[ChristopherSE]

[video=youtube;LgDlMHEuQZ0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgDlMHEuQZ0[/video]

SeaWorld Orlando already uses the Polar Express property as an overlay for Wild Arctic during the holidays.

 

[PWT]

I honestly wasn't sure where to put this, and I didn't think it was worthy of a new thread. So with all the talk about Potter expanding in to USF, using the Fear Factor Live venue and all, I thought this fit here (which it probably doesnt). Besides the point, if Fear Factor is making a come back on TV, they will most likely keep the venue…I would assume. Anyway just some news I thought I would share that could impact the Potter in USF speculation.

UPDATE:
Here is the link to the promo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEpf2EJDLlo

But wait THERE'S ONE MORE THING Fear Factor Live will stay Fear Factor Live for 2 years.

 

[The_Bled]

My inside source says they're beginning the planning project for the next attraction and it IS themed to Gringotts.

 

[violarum]

Since this might be partially related to Phase II, I (happily) noticed today that

a) The dementor soul projection is now full color and does not include any of the silly clouds around the heads.
b) There is definitely either more lighting or more blacklight paint on the dementors, and they were definitely a big surprise.
c) The basilisk now ejects a more yellow-tinted smoke as opposed to its previous blue-purple smoke.
d) (!!!) Universal has listened. There is now one more dementor to the left of the soul-sucking one as completely illuminated as its brethren.

Also, the new castle queue definitely provides for some spectacular views of the castle and its rocks. I still think, however, that before ANY new Phase II stuff begins, is is imperative to cover up the show building with rocks. Universal knows forced perspective, and it knows rocks. There is also money.

 

[Teebin]

Since this might be partially related to Phase II, I (happily) noticed today that

a) The dementor soul projection is now full color and does not include any of the silly clouds around the heads.
b) There is definitely either more lighting or more blacklight paint on the dementors, and they were definitely a big surprise.
c) The basilisk now ejects a more yellow-tinted smoke as opposed to its previous blue-purple smoke.
d) (!!!) Universal has listened. There is now one more dementor to the left of the soul-sucking one as completely illuminated as its brethren.

Also, the new castle queue definitely provides for some spectacular views of the castle and its rocks. I still think, however, that before ANY new Phase II stuff begins, is is imperative to cover up the show building with rocks. Universal knows forced perspective, and it knows rocks. There is also money.

Thank goodness they appear to be backtracking and making up for their last minute shortcuts. Now if they modify the observatory room to be more 'blue' moody and windy and spend the $800K to make the willow scene what it was supposed to be (no company in their right mind bid much less). Nassal was brought in at the last minute to knock out a severely truncated version for a reported $200K.

 

[TSSD]

Since this might be partially related to Phase II, I (happily) noticed today that

a) The dementor soul projection is now full color and does not include any of the silly clouds around the heads.

I kinda liked it the way it was. Just seems more like a soul getting sucked out to me. The other changes are all great though!

 

[Hatetofly]

Thank goodness they appear to be backtracking and making up for their last minute shortcuts. Now if they modify the observatory room to be more 'blue' moody and windy and spend the $800K to make the willow scene what it was supposed to be (no company in their right mind bid much less). Nassal was brought in at the last minute to knock out a severely truncated version for a reported $200K.

This is the one thing that I would of loved to of known what it was supposed to be like. Forget anything else I want to know what they really had in store for the Whomping Willow scene.

 

[Teebin]

This is the one thing that I would of loved to of known what it was supposed to be like. Forget anything else I want to know what they really had in store for the Whomping Willow scene.

Monsieur Tortois has the original engineering plans. I have seen them and when I first saw them... (and I am hard to impress)... I nearly choked on my own spit... Imagine a near 1 million dollar animatronic. It was massive and frightening... you should have pulled around out of the tunnel (which I told you about a long time ago) for 4 seconds to see the dark cloudy skies and then this monster tree coming at you... from all its 45 foot height.

 

[Hatetofly]

Sounds like it should of been amazing rather than cool. Oh well I guess the botched rock work was really more important. But as for the million dollar animatronic, is that really that expensive now a days? I mean didn't the hopping brer rabbit cost disney a cool million in the early 90's for splash mountain. He was the most expensive and complex animatronic to date then wasn't he? The only reason I bring that up is because if you can't fork over 800k more in a 240+ million dollar project for one of the key moments in your flag ship attraction it just seems blah... :shrug:

 

[Teebin]

Sounds like it should of been amazing rather than cool. Oh well I guess the botched rock work was really more important. But as for the million dollar animatronic, is that really that expensive now a days? I mean didn't the hopping brer rabbit cost disney a cool million in the early 90's for splash mountain. He was the most expensive and complex animatronic to date then wasn't he? The only reason I bring that up is because if you can't fork over 800k more in a 240+ million dollar project for one of the key moments in your flag ship attraction it just seems blah... :shrug:

In credit to to UC and Universal ad nauseum and in hindsight, they focused on the ride system... if it didn't work, then they had nothing. I was ignorant too, thinking that it could have been great had they delivered all that was designed... but I am sure we would all agree that what would be the point if it kept shutting down because the ride system was a disaster.

 

[Vyrus]

And who knows down the line whenever they decide to update the attraction, which I'm sure WB and JK will make them update it at one point, they could install the more complex WW and maybe the price would have gone down :shrug:

 

[Teebin]

Pulling the choo-choo talk back into this thread. The train has been speculated regardless of whether they tear down all of LC or not. Plenty enough room to do that if Sinbad goes.

Re: a train between the two parks I offered another idea.

Another option is that there is no real full train at all. Just the illusion that there is. All the train cars are separate units that travel individually much like any dark ride vehicle. In this case it would be 80 people per car with 4, 6, 8 cars on the track being switched back and forth on two separate tracks at each station, much like EE or Mummy. I wouldn't be surprised if it ran on mega coaster rails instead of traditional track via a linear induction motor (LIM) system.