Wizarding World - Diagon Alley Discussion (Opens 2014)

[Civic Minded]

I think if they are more than doubling the Potter themed area, it seems like an important enough part of Universal to justify some sort of themed resort/hotel room area. I bet a lot of people are only drawn there to see the Potter related stuff, and they would be interested in staying in the hotel too.

Count me as one of those people. There's plenty to do at IoA, but it's Potter that draws us there in the first place. They desperately need some more Potter themed acreage to help disperse some of the crowds. We were there last week and it was borderline unbearable. Also, I believe WWoHP only got half of an "island" for itself, sharing the other half with the remains of Lost Continent. Somebody will certainly correct me if that's wrong. To me, the new London area will finally bring it up to a full size section, only split across two different parks.

 

[knokout1]

Count me as one of those people. There's plenty to do at IoA, but it's Potter that draws us there in the first place. They desperately need some more Potter themed acreage to help disperse some of the crowds. We were there last week and it was borderline unbearable. Also, I believe WWoHP only got half of an "island" for itself, sharing the other half with the remains of Lost Continent. Somebody will certainly correct me if that's wrong. To me, the new London area will finally bring it up to a full size section, only split across two different parks.

Well Lost Continent was a big island, but yes WWoHP didn't have very much space to squeeze into. IMO they did really well with the space they had.

But you're right Hogsmeade is a bit of a squeeze, but honestly the other islands aren't that much bigger, it's just so popular.

 

[IzzyB]

Count me as one of those people. There's plenty to do at IoA, but it's Potter that draws us there in the first place. They desperately need some more Potter themed acreage to help disperse some of the crowds. We were there last week and it was borderline unbearable. Also, I believe WWoHP only got half of an "island" for itself, sharing the other half with the remains of Lost Continent. Somebody will certainly correct me if that's wrong. To me, the new London area will finally bring it up to a full size section, only split across two different parks.

To be fair all the parks were borderline.... heck they were unbearable. And I go mid-summer and don't care. So can't judge by the last 4 weeks. Christmas and new years this year were worse than ever for crowds.

 

[grizzlybarely]

To be fair all the parks were borderline.... heck they were unbearable. And I go mid-summer and don't care. So can't judge by the last 4 weeks. Christmas and new years this year were worse than ever for crowds.

Glad to hear it. Looking forward to TEA releasing the 2012 Attendance Report. Assuming I did my math correctly, if IOA sees the same growth rate it has seen from the previous two years, it will have caught up with some of the WDW parks.

 

[Swiminn6]

They just need a third gate

But I hope they add a few suites in the London section, seems like they would have a few good locations! Problem is that those rooms will have a CRAZY high demand rate!

 

[Disneyhead]

Glad to hear it. Looking forward to TEA releasing the 2012 Attendance Report. Assuming I did my math correctly, if IOA sees the same growth rate it has seen from the previous two years, it will have caught up with some of the WDW parks.

I actually think all the Cent. FL parks may see a slight decrease with possibly the exception of IOA. Which I am guessing will just remain flat.

 

[Swiminn6]

I actually think all the Cent. FL parks may see a slight decrease with possibly the exception of IOA. Which I am guessing will just remain flat.

Do you think this may be because the buzz isn't as high as it was when everyone knew that the Wizarding World opened? Didn't Orlando see an outrageous amount of people visit this past year and set a new record? Or perhaps the whole "fiscal cliff" thing?

I feel like the Universal parks will see a flat rate if not an increase because it's on everyones minds for some reason! I talk about the parks in school a lot and I've been surprised to hear how many people like Universal now! No one really thought about the parks much in my school, Disney, Disney, Disney of course but I think now that people have taken the initiative to visit the parks because of the Wizarding World, they realize what great parks they have become! They definitely have a rising fan base! Of course this also may be because I've been raving about UOR to everyone but who knows! Not trying to bash Disney either, all great parks in Orlando!

 

[BJCool]

The Royal Pacific already has this:

So I wouldn't be surprised to find a Potter version somewhere on-property.

Portofino Bay also has this:

Though it was rumored that these Seuss rooms were slated to be rethemed a while back.

 

[rhino4evr]

I have a feeling that if Universal wants to do a "harry potter" room, then they need JK's permission and consent. Which may not be all that easy. It seems like a no brainer that it will happen eventually, but I think Universal is more focused on getting the expansion done. Also, it's possible that new hotel they are building could have some Potter stuff in it.

And to respond to the "people said the expansion was too much Potter"...I actually still believe that it is. The only reason I am not "upset" about it, is that the plans that are rumored seem even more ambitious then the original park. Anytime a theme park tries something new and ground-breaking it's worth getting excited for, no matter what it is.

 

[captainjack]

I plan to be home the day that DA has it's grand opening. If you thought the lines to get into IOA were bad the day that the WWoHP had it's grand opening...just wait :rofl:

 

[Teebin]

^ We already measured the plans months ago. While not movie tight, it will be theme park 'not recommended' tight, much like Hogsmeade and the area of The Magic Neep.

 

[captainjack]

I'm not waiting 6+ hours just to get in to Universal I'll just go and be amazed at one of the soft openings. :thumbs:

 

[Hatetofly]

I'm sure most us will get in for softs long before the Grand. The softs for phase 2 should be a couple of months long.

 

[Skipper Justin]

The hogwarts picture in that video definitely does not look exactly like our version and the Olivanders looks much bigger. I would love to see some of those images!

 

[Teebin]

I wonder how many more employees this addition might require relative to Jaws and Amity...

 

[Felipe]

I'm not waiting 6+ hours just to get in to Universal I'll just go and be amazed at one of the soft openings. :thumbs:

That's the way to go! I had an incredible time during softs for WWoHP 1.0, and you can bet I'll do whatever I have to do to get in during softs again this time! :thumbs:

 

[ReelJustice]

Look familiar to anyone?

**Content Removed: Playing it safe**

Credit: SpinsTheWorld :look:

 

[Hatetofly]

Someone be brave

 

[UK-Trigg]

Wow, would that be at nassal. someones been very naughty.

 

[Teebin]

Hmmm... any mention of who is doing that work? I could have possibly known 3 years ago but alas, I have no idea. Can anyone read the sign on the piece in the background... it appears to be something for another client and maybe says CAFE something... and what is the distant painting in a frame?

^ it is possibly Nassal... not definitely. Most workshops have steel roofs.