The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood

[Allen The Actor]

We've reached Page 100 of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter thread, folks.

Quite a journey it's been, and not long to go! A year from now we'll likely be on [HASHTAG]#PotterWatch[/HASHTAG].

You might even say that's it's been....an....um...Forbidden Journey haha

Honestly, this year is going to go by very fast. I feel like just yesterday we were on Minion Watch and Universal Plaza watch. Springfield is open now and we're on Supercharged watch! It's all going so fast!

 

[HereWeGo]

They just started selling Fire Whiskey at the Hogs Head in Orlando. I would assume we will have that when our opens next year as well.

 

[William]

It's also sold at the Leaky Cauldron in USF, so I think that further solidifies its eventual arrival here.

It's really cool to see that, nearly 5 years later, they're still adding to and perfecting the land.

 

[12th Man]

I really hope that they don't add speakers that are built into the outside wall of some of the hogsmead houses just like Springfield because even though they added the covers, you can still see through them and they are kind of cheap.

 

[William]

That's likely what that cut-out shown above is for. You can also see one above the main archway of the train station. It's exactly what they did in Florida and Japan, and it's not as noticeable as Springfield's. The Hogsmeade cottages are a murky brown/grey color which makes the speaker grills less obvious, while Springfield's buildings are bright and contrasting.

 

[Jon Fu]

I just hope they don't use those god-awful Bose surface mount speakers in Wizarding World. The new land deserves better.

...and I agree, Springfield's audio is really odd. It's a weird combination of in-building/exterior mounts without any rhyme or reason.

 

[William]

From what I can remember from my trips to Hogsmeade in IOA, the speakers are hidden fairly well. It's pretty evident where they're located because you can pretty much pinpoint where the sound is coming from, but you won't find any clunky black boxes sitting around. The cut-outs in the walls for the speakers are covered up and disguised as ventilation shafts, metal grates, and the like.

 

[Jon Fu]

From what I can remember from my trips to Hogsmeade in IOA, the speakers are hidden fairly well. It's pretty evident where they're located because you can pretty much pinpoint where the sound is coming from, but you won't find any clunky black boxes sitting around. The cut-outs in the walls for the speakers are covered up and disguised as ventilation shafts, metal grates, and the like.

Yeah, I know. But what lies beneath the grille is just as important.

 

[William]

Yeah, I know. But what lies beneath the grille is just as important.

Ah, you're referring to the sound quality itself. Whoops, haha. Gotcha.

 

[techmaniac16]

Considering how much money Universal is putting into this, I don't think they will cheap out. Just look at Springfield.

 

[Ryan]

Not to mention that every last detail has to go thru WB/JK on this. Universal can't cheap out if they wanted to.

 

[Jon Fu]

Cost isn't really what I'm getting at here. By all accounts, Springfield wasn't a cheap product.

My issue is with the brand that they're using and the way they've implemented the product.

 

[RyanTTD]

Not to mention that every last detail has to go thru WB/JK on this. Universal can't cheap out if they wanted to.

Not every last detail:

Universal has made very little effort to hide the show building for the Forbidden Journey within the land. 

The exposed show building is a problem in Orlando, Japan, and will be one in Hollywood. 

 

[Aaron]

The exposed show building is a nuisance in Orlando, Japan, and will be one in Hollywood. 

 

[12th Man]

I think our wizarding world will have a less visible show building. If you look at the pictures our show building is more behind the castle than next to like Orlando

VS

 

[William]

The show building is going to be visible no matter what (just as much as its predecessors), but that isn't necessarily them "cheaping out". "Cheaping out" would be slapping a mural of a castle on the side of the structure and calling it a day. The show building is so massive that it's just not possible to cover up completely, and enlarging the castle façade would throw off the scale for the forced perspective being stretched across the entire land.

Realistically, all they could do is add stone murals on the sides of the building facing guests (we can likely assume this won't happen given the height of the two murals they've completed as of now).

 

[techmaniac16]

I don't see the point of making the castle facade bigger. You are still going to see the show building from the studio tour area. 

 

[William]

I don't see the point of making the castle facade bigger. You are still going to see the show building from the studio tour area. 

You aren't in the world of Harry Potter while you're at the Studio Tour boarding area, though. The concern about immersion only applies to guests who are actually in Hogsmeade. 

 

[Aaron]

The exposed showbuilding is distracting for a few seconds (if not at all) but I was pretty much more focused on Hogwarts and the rest of the land. I can see why people might be bothered by it but it really isn't that bad when you're actually there in the area. Granted the only time i've been to WWoHP was opening day back in 2010, but the last thing I thought about was some slightly exposed showbuilding. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Imdbman]

You guys have to see Westcoaster's latest update.  It looks like the buildings in the back of Hogsmeade are almost done and the arch in back by Shrek is done too, plus the rocks on Hogwarts look like real rockwork now.