The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade (Orlando): Part 2

[rinacee]

Risking sounding redundant, I'm going to post my questions again to see if anyone can answer them
1) I've never been to a grand opening for a theme park, since I am not originally from FL, and the opportunities were scarce. I live about an hour away from Universal and have an AP, and I was wondering what time would be wise to arrive. I've been thinking eight in the morning, but as I've read more and more, maybe I need to rethink this...Any suggestions?

2) I remember seeing news stories on Mugglenet about cast members making appearances at the GO. Is there any truth to this? I know the Phelps twins (who I adore) said they were going on their Twitter accounts, but do we have any official confirmation? I had originally heard that Oliver & James Phelps, Bonnie Wright, and Tom Felton were going to be present...I'd just like to know if we have solid proof of their attendance...

Thanks guys, and sorry for re-posting my questions.

 

[insidethemagic]

I have posted a lengthy podcast discussion all about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter featuring myself and my wife:
http://www.insidethemagic.net/podcasts/26800034

Until I ride Forbidden Journey, that about does it for my Wizarding World coverage. I'm glad you all enjoyed it! Now I'm looking forward to Halloween Horror Nights...

 

[Teebin]

Is this about FJ? It seems so... could we not post anything about the FJ ride on here, please? I'm not caught up on here yet, but I just saw this and I really don't want to see FJ ride spoilers... so if there's some spoilers on this thread now let me know so I can stay away until I ride FJ. It's the one thing I don't wanna know anything about until I ride it myself.

I apologize Felipe... it is so hard to understand what is a spoiler and what is not. That said, nothing posted in audio or video could destroy this ride it would seem. Be confident friend and remember that no video ever destroyed the effect of Spiderman. You have to be there riding to encounter all the senses the ride provides.

Risking sounding redundant, I'm going to post my questions again to see if anyone can answer them .

Regular guests will not get near the opening event. The event will go on for hours... and perhaps into the night. Therefore, no regular guests will be able to ride the ride on the so called Opening Day. Others may argue this... but this is how this stuff goes. I predict that the WW will be closed on the 17th and 18th. All day and night.

 

[Sun lover]

Hmmm... I am, for the time being, disappointed. I am sure that it is cool being whipped around in the dark but the physical effects all look like broken Yeti strobe scenes to me. Every one of them were broken Yeti scenes on video. Prior to the strobe, it appears that you can barely see anything physical. That sucks. The idea was good, but the results are just strobe junk hiding what didn't work, wasn't finished or something the subcontractor failed on. It screams of Eisner's Dinosaur... "dim the lights more, More, MORE, Turn them OFF, yeah... that's great... what a great ride"! The visuals are so appealing now.

This is nothing like the Yeti, where you only see something for a second or two in a strobe light. It is clearly visible and very well done. The effects are spectacular. To me, it's kind of a like a combination of Spiderman and Mummy but even better because of the movement of the vehicle. You really feel like you are in the scene. The video doesn't do it justice at all, and you should not base any opinion on that. The ride is very well done, and I can't imagine anyone being disappointed.

 

[Felipe]

We are under the impression that you went on the ride today Felipe. Did you not?

I was only there yesterday and I did not ride :-( I just saw the queue. Twice. But just the queue :-(

Felipe went yesterday to WW and the ride broke down right before he got on. So unfortunately he hasn't ridden it yet. Not to answer for you Felipe or anything.

It's cool :thumbs: Thanks

I apologize Felipe... it is so hard to understand what is a spoiler and what is not. That said, nothing posted in audio or video could destroy this ride it would seem. Be confident friend and remember that no video ever destroyed the effect of Spiderman. You have to be there riding to encounter all the senses the ride provides.

But knowing when things come up spoils the surprise element


So... I'm uploading 127 pictures and it's at 70% uploaded righ now... tick tock...

 

[Sam]

Hi, I've been lurking here for quite a long time, and decided to join now since I'll be going to Orlando right around the grand opening and had a question. (And for the record, we planned out trip before the grand opening was announced, we were just lucky/unlucky enough to end up planning on going to Universal on the 18th o_o) Anyways, I was wondering, it's been said there are storage compartments on the FJ ride itself, correct? How big are they, and would they be able to hold a small camera? I wanted to take pictures of the queue when I go, but obviously I want to know ahead of time if there will be anywhere to put my camera once I get to the end of the line. Thanks.

 

[Bryan]

thought this was a good pic, good natural lighting shows off some nice detail

 

[TheDecemberists]

This is nothing like the Yeti, where you only see something for a second or two in a strobe light. It is clearly visible and very well done. The effects are spectacular. To me, it's kind of a like a combination of Spiderman and Mummy but even better because of the movement of the vehicle. You really feel like you are in the scene. The video doesn't do it justice at all, and you should not base any opinion on that. The ride is very well done, and I can't imagine anyone being disappointed.

Oh good! I am oh so happy that everyone is enjoying it and it lives up to the hype.

 

[Chris]

Are we talking about the same bridge???? I am talking about the wooden pole driven bridge that was built three years ago. The comptroller docs for that construction termed it "Temporary Bridge Construction", and that was on multiple comptroller documents. Not sure how removing it would mess up "story integrity" at all as it it wasn't original to JP in the first place.

Yes, same bridge.

Not sure what you mean by this...

Only people in Wizading World attire can be in Wizarding World. No one else can use the pathway as a transitional point from one island to another. The bridge solves that.

 

[VacationTalkRocks!]

I'm not sure how it'll be working when you get here, but for the last two days, any Universal hotel guest was let in the park around 7:30 to 7:45, held in Port of Entry until 8 a.m., then led to WWOHP. The rides all stayed open until 11. Most guests were out by noon.

Matt

The package people and onsite hotel guests are being let into WWOHP at 8 a.m.... If you want the best chance to ride FJ, you need to get there very early and be among the first people in line or you take the chance that it will be down for the rest of the time. If I were you, I would arrive at IOA by 7 a.m. (or maybe even earlier by the time you go) so that you are near the front of the line when the group is led to WWOHP. Then when you enter, go straight to the castle where the ride is and get in line as quick as you can. ... If we had not gone right to the ride as soon as we entered, we would not have been able to ride FJ. You are exactly right that if you take your time savoring the sights on the way to the caste, you may spend your entire preview time waiting in line for FJ and even then it may break down and you won't get to ride at all...

Yep, VacationTalkRocks!, you pretty much have it crystal clear as of what's happening right now, lol. If it stays this way, you will be in a mob of people rushing for the ride, with a fair chance of it breaking down. Oh and don't forget about the breakfast that you paid for at the Three Broomsticks, that will take up a bunch of the time in there too.

True, I think that the people who paid for those 4 night packages with the breakfast really should have gotten an hour to themselves in there. And then maybe let the hotel guests in additionally for another couple hours, and then the AP people after that would have been fair.

Oh, joy. I'm sooo glad I jumped at the chance and booked me that package before they were all gone. It's such a steal. I'm loving Universal already. :bang:

Thanks for answering everybody. (<--that part wasn't sarcastic, by the way.)

 

[Teebin]

Yes, same bridge.

Only people in Wizading World attire can be in Wizarding World. No one else can use the pathway as a transitional point from one island to another. The bridge solves that.

They never could use the transitional bridge before as it did not exist. What is the end point of your statement. It was temporary... so when did UO change heart? Comptroller states that.

 

[Tbad556]

Hi, I've been lurking here for quite a long time, and decided to join now since I'll be going to Orlando right around the grand opening and had a question. (And for the record, we planned out trip before the grand opening was announced, we were just lucky/unlucky enough to end up planning on going to Universal on the 18th o_o) Anyways, I was wondering, it's been said there are storage compartments on the FJ ride itself, correct? How big are they, and would they be able to hold a small camera? I wanted to take pictures of the queue when I go, but obviously I want to know ahead of time if there will be anywhere to put my camera once I get to the end of the line. Thanks.

Welcome to the site! :wave: From what I've read, it is big enough to fit a small camera but that's about it.

 

[Chris]

They never could use the transitional bridge before as it did not exist. What is the end point of your statement. It was temporary... so when did UO change heart? Comptroller states that.

Because there was never a rule before that prevented other wardrobe from entering the land. It's not their choice.

 

[StarTrekGeek]

thought this was a good pic, good natural lighting shows off some nice detail

Okay, every time I see these pics I drop my jaw. It just looks so... real! :jaw: Can't wait for July! :happy:

 

[universal chris]

Awsome pics and on ride POV of FJ.

 

[tribbleorlfl]

Only people in Wizading World attire can be in Wizarding World. No one else can use the pathway as a transitional point from one island to another. The bridge solves that.

Um, so does the access road that almost cicrumvents the park, as well as the ee shuttles that run from IOA Mgt offices (just behind Sinbad) to behind Comic Strip. While JP ee's still have to walk a bit from the suttle drop off, it's a shorter distance than walking from the wardrob shuttle drop off (Where the Toon Shuttle then picks up and drops off) through the park to JP. When I was the First Cook at Comic Strip, I didn't know of any TL or JP ee's that would walk through LC.

I agree with Teebin and the comptroller, I think the temp bridge becoming permanent has everything to do with crowd control and giving guests who do not want to go through the madness of WWoHP an alternative route.

Also, regarding warddrobe, anyone else find it odd Universal goes to such great lengths to theme this area and make it extremely immersive, yet the ee's are wearing standard Universal Orlando name badges? Seems to me they could have (and shoulld have) developed more HP-looking badges that didn't contrast so sharply with the costuming. Perhaps we haven't seen them yet...

 

[dreamcat]

Universal is already way ahead of you tribble (the nametags)

 

[Chris]

I agree with Teebin and the comptroller, I think the temp bridge becoming permanent has everything to do with crowd control and giving guests who do not want to go through the madness of WWoHP an alternative route.

Love when people use personal speculation to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. :wave:

 

[DisFreakBrent]

I want to post this here since it really isn't a FJ spoiler just something to keep your eyes out for while on the ride that explains why something seems to be missing. We were all wondering the "time line" of the area & even though it could be considered the "best of" it seems it is indeed after CoS.

The Basilisk is indeed there but not as we may have wanted it. There is a skeleton in the chamber scene that is very long & snake like in appearance so BAM you guessed it THAT is the Basilisk. This is confirmed to me by those who have been on it that said skeleton is there & has that appearance so IDing it was really just putting two & two together. Now let the rumors fly as to why we didn't get a full scale one but I really think it just has to do with story & time period its set in.

 

[honeybee8200]

That pic is amazing. Just a little cropping to take out the heads of the people and you would swear you were standing in front of the real Hogwarts.