Wizarding World - Diagon Alley Discussion (Opens 2014)

[DragonSlayer]

It would actually be very easy to achieve, with a combination of magnetic and/or mechanical trim brakes. If you look at the Eurofighter that just opened at Fuji-Q and check out the trim at the top of the drop, that's probably the best example of the sort of thing which could be adapted for use here. The B&M Dive Machines also have holding brakes with a chain, that could work but I assume it's patented by B&M. Magnetic trims seems the sensible option.

Either way, very do-able and very cool.

 

[Teebin]

Ah... me thinks there might be a good reason for a stop drop(s). From a Time Magazine review:

"The bank heist, beginning in the cool marble of the Gringotts counting room, is splendidly realized. Inside the vault (after a Temple of Doom–style roller-coaster ride that briefly breaks the Potter tone), the interlopers find that every cup they touch multiplies ad infinitum, until the room is clogged to the ceiling with a Vatican's worth of precious metals.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2082321,00.html#ixzz1Rw0CDAPv

 

[mantaguy]

For anyone with Brighthouse TV, there is an interview with Tom Felton on channel 300. Tom says he would most like to see an expansion have something to do with the Hogwarts grounds. The interviewer then says she has recieved confirmation of expansion. I find it interesting that News 13 has not shared that information in an article online or even as a short segment on the show.

Edit: Here's an article from April: http://www.cfnews13.com/article/entertainment/2011/april/229384/Universal-Orlando-says-Wizarding-World-of-Harry-Potter-expansion-is-speculation-and-rumor

 

[Brian G.]

For anyone with Brighthouse TV, there is an interview with Tom Felton on channel 300. Tom says he would most like to see an expansion have something to do with the Hogwarts grounds. The interviewer then says she has recieved confirmation of expansion. I find it interesting that News 13 has not shared that information in an article online or even as a short segment on the show.

Because it's speculation and rumor at this point.

UPDATE: Just saw the article you linked to.

 

[grizzlybarely]

A very long and steep LIM decent grab and stop could be incredibly effective/terrifying if it was used in the proper context. Especially multiple grabs and drops. Not sure if it is possible but it could be cool. The effect I am getting at is very much like the car caught in the tree in JP movie and slowly breaking branches coming down (imagine your in the car in this example) or the large science van over the cliff in JP II movie. The jerk and stop to impending doom. Use your own imaginations as to how this could be applied to a gringotts ride scenario.

Regarding the previous discussion concerning control on a descent, plenty of coasters use tire-drive systems on a level and slightly-sloped ground, but even Vekoma Roller Skaters like the Nuthouse coaster and Flight of the Hippogriff uses a tire-drive lift. I don't see any reason why the vehicle couldn't face the other direction at the same slope as a lift hill.

Furthermore, check out the X-Scream at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino. Though it's a flat ride, its tech is very similar to a coaster, and it uses LIMs (I believe) to stop it at an angle. Magnetic braking is used all the time, so I don't see any reason this idea isn't possible.

EDIT: Concerning VERY steep drops, check out the Vekoma Tiltcoaster. The only one in existence is called Gravity Max.

 

[DragonSlayer]

So, I was watching DH Pt 2 and got thinking, inevitably, about the Gringotts Coaster rumours. As I watched, it struck me how huge and cavernous they made it look. When I read the book, I'd imagined narrow rock tunnels really, not huge 'centre of the earth' type stuff. So I thought, would Uni realistically be able to do this while staying as true to the look of the films as they have with WWHP phase 1? Not only would it take up a huge amount of space, but it would require the themeing of huge areas, which you would then just speed past anyway. I (and I think others) have always imagined this as a kind of sister coaster to The Mummy, but if they stick to the film it'd take up huge amounts of space, and unlike the actual main ride area of ROTM the actual course would need themeing too.

I also wondered about the queue experience as well. This is linked to the space issues to a certain extent; to get to a vault in Gringotts you go down, but to fit the ride in would presumably require us to go up in the building. Given the entrance is at ground level, the only solution I could see would be to build the rest of Diagon Alley on an incline so that by the time you reached the bank you'd be quite high up without realising it (think utilidor style at MK). Add to that, all we've ever seen of Gringotts is the foyer and vault system, nothing in between. Would Uni / JKR be happy having to invent the entire queue good as from scratch?

So, is the Gringotts Coaster idea really viable?

 

[batsmouth]

i was thinking maybe a ministry walkthrough attraction with diagon alley as well

 

[AcidPop]

I think Florean's would be a great idea!
My other favorites:
-Gringott's Coaster...everyone seems to adore this idea! Best of all, it would fit in with the DH movies/books.
-Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes...I love Fred and George, so it goes without saying that I'd hands down want this. Move all the pygmy puffs there (because that's where they actually belong) and sell things like "love potions" (soda or something in pretty bottles).
-Flourish and Blotts...this is what I want the most. They could sell The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, school books, Hogwarts: A History, the Daily Prophet, Quidditch Through the Ages, The Quibbler...I think it would be really cool.
-Madam Puddifoots
-Borgin and Burke's...they could have a little alleyway that leads to Knockturn Alley and have a bunch of storefronts, and then B&B with prop replicas from the movie.

I'll try and come up with some other ones...I'm currently re-reading the books, so maybe something else'll come to mind.

Great ideas! I think Flourish and Blott's would be awesome, but you'd have to convince Rowling to write all those books, so I don't see it happening. :'(

 

[ReelJustice]

Here are photos of the Arabian area to get an idea of the expansion. (Per request MickelMouse aka ReelJustice)

Not sure what this is.

Not sure what this is.

Has this queue ever been full?:look:

The would-be Gringott's plot?

This is looking in from behind where the Leaky Cauldron/entrance would be and WWoHP is at the end to the left and Sinbad is at the end to the right?

So this would likely be where the Leaky Cauldron/entrance to Phase 2 would be right?

It's a shame we have to lose this beautifully themed section whilst Toon Lagoon survives, but it's for the greater good. Thanks for the pics!

 

[zbob1992]

Mickelmouse- good job with the HP reference (if you get it). You do remember the last time someone in the Wizarding World justified something by saying it was for the greater good?

 

[violarum]

I'm just going to say this once:

I do believe that a Gringott's coaster would work very well. However, we need to get to Diagon Alley first. And to get to Diagon Alley, we have to get to King's Cross and then to the Leaky Cauldron. And to get there, we have to depart from Hogsmeade Station or use Floo Powder. Regardless of how much power the Lighthouse has, it can't place Diagon Alley next to Hogsmeade.

An indoor Diagon Alley/Gringotts (curved ceilings with projections can be extremely convincing), a shielded King's Cross Station, and (PERHAPS) a small corridor where groups of people pass through "Floo Powder" would make this achievable. Which is from where I derive my train simulator idea.

 

[JungleSkip]

Regardless of how much power the Lighthouse has, it can't place Diagon Alley next to Hogsmeade.

Right. It can sandwich Arabia between Greece and Britain, but it can't put two locations from Great Britain next to each other.

That makes a lot of sense.

 

[violarum]

Sarcasm it up all you want, but Jo won't accept it any other way.

 

[rhino4evr]

this just in, Wizarding World of Harry Potter is next Jurrasic Park.

It's a theme park..this whole "it won't work with the story locations" is really silly. Pure fandom.

Although I like the idea of an indoor city, it just would take a lot of room to pull off..think of how ugly that show building will be....

 

[ReelJustice]

Sarcasm it up all you want, but Jo won't accept it any other way.

She will, and she'll be there for the grand opening with an awestruck smile upon her face upon seeing another part of her world realized.

What, pray tell, would you consider a more REALISTIC idea for expansion?

 

[JungleSkip]

Sarcasm it up all you want, but Jo won't accept it any other way.

Yes she will. She's a smart woman that realizes this is a theme park and not everything is going to 100% make sense or be 100% faithful. There are some fans here that don't realize that.

 

[TSSD]

V!ola, I get what you're saying, and I agree. But I get what everyone else is saying as well. Personally (And sorry if this sounds a little cocky) I think that no one here truly gets both POVs. Jungleskip and Rhino4ever, you're referencing completely different lands. The WWoHP is one land, with devoted fans that can be a bit crazy sometimes. And V!ola, they're right, this is a theme park. They could have a story saying that a different part of the world was put next to Hogsmeade by the lighthouse or something like that. That said, I agree, no matter how they do it DA would be odd. One of the many reasons I'm so against DA is because of that. No matter how they do it, people will complain. It's just that simple.

 

[JungleSkip]

Jungleskip and Rhino4ever, you're referencing completely different lands. The WWoHP is one land, with devoted fans that can be a bit crazy sometimes.

I wasn't. The Lost Continent was one land made up of 3 different cultures/countries.

 

[TSSD]

I wasn't. The Lost Continent was one land made up of 3 different cultures/countries.

But, and I hate to say this just because it will make me seem crazy, LC is completely different than the WWoHP. Like I said, HP has some insane fans, that get upset over the tiniest little detail, and you'll have to listen to them complain for a long, long time.

 

[ReelJustice]

No matter how they do it, people will complain. It's just that simple.

If people complain about another land with the same or better quality as Phase 1, they're crazy.

Wanna complain? Walk around MK, EC, DHS, or especially, DAK where NOTHING (minus the overblown FLE) is happening.

Diagon Alley will be nothing short of perfect IMO, and it will address the needs of IoA post-WWoHP (more shops, more food service, and more capacity.)