The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood

[Allen The Actor]

Really exciting to see so much of the wireframe going up for the rock foundation beneath Hogwarts. While still just wireframe it does seem like it will differ from IoA's rock work. I'm always curious to know what prompts small design changes like that. On a slightly unrelated note, I visited the park on Saturday and witnessed this girl absolutely break down when she saw Hogsmead... she was literally wiping tears from her face. I didn't want to be rude or make her feel uncomfortable so I didn't record anything but that's something I'll never forget. Always cool to see people's reaction when they pass by the Hogsmead entrance.

I try to keep myself from crying each time. No joke, I feel like I'm in a dream every time I see it. You have my permission to film me on opening day

 

[Brandonshah97]

I've only cried three times at theme parks. One being opening day of Cars Land, the second being the last showing of "Remember Dreams Come True" fireworks spectacular and the third was walking in Hogsmeade for the first time in Orlando.. The last time I went to Hollywood, there was only metal framing and I was already overwhelmed.... God knows what will happen when I see the brickwork, snow and crooked chimneys

 

[stardopee]

Guys one question what is the Hollywood Version of WWOHP gonna have different from the other two ????

 

[Brandonshah97]

^^ well what we know for now is that the format and arrangement of stores and restrooms are going to differ from the Orlando version.. And we might be possibly getting the photo booth and butter beer ice cream

 

[William]

We don't know for sure about restrooms yet. We do know that our layout will likely resemble Japan's more than Orlando's (in terms of shop rearrangements), and we obviously won't be getting Dragon Challenge.

 

[TriFlux]

I know we all hate Shrek 4-D but you guys should really go, You get some nice views of the construction of the Castle while in the queue behind the building.

 

[Imdbman]

It's beginning to not look like a showbuilding anymore

 

[William]

Looking fantastic! Shrek's queue might be one of the best spots for photos of Hogwarts Castle when the land opens next year.

Also, you can very clearly see on the right of the photo that the stone wall mural will not reach the top of the show building (nor will it reach the part jutting out next to it facing guests, it seems like). Not surprising to me, but not appealing either.

 

[E.T Fan 18]

Hopefully we can see the castle complete by fall possibly! crossing my fingers.. 

 

[Aaron]

Didn't even know why I didn't think of this earlier but from the arial shots Micechat posted a few months back it doesn't seem like there will be additional restrooms... at least not where they are currently located in Japan. 

 

[Imdbman]

I'm personally excited about the Owl Post building and the owlery buildings.  I haven't actually been to Florida's but I've seen photos and that buildings looks the coolest.  But of course Hogwarts is the most exciting part!

 

[techmaniac16]

That castle facade is absolutely perfect! Covers the showbuilding at the right perspective.

 

[RyanTTD]

That castle facade is absolutely perfect! Covers the showbuilding at the right perspective.

Its exactly this kind of thinking that IMO, holds Universal back from being on the same level as Disney.   "Only go 90% of the way, never 100%" seems to be Universals motto when it comes to building things.

If your suppose to be in the Wizarding World and looking at Hogwarts, you should at no point see a Castle with a CostCo building attached to it.

How much money or effort would it have cost to cover that exposed part of the show building in stonework or at the very least paint it to look like stonework? My guess is not much.  

 Just like in Orlando, it looks bad and lazy.    

 

[vk003200222]

I've been watching these forums for updates for about a year now and have never been compelled to contribute to the conversation until now. I apologize my first post ever has to be like this but I can't remain silent anymore.

This is directed towards all that ridicule Universals full immersion efforts. This multibillion dollar project not only changes the entire feel of the park but effects infrastructure, flow of traffic, the environment, and the skyline impact. They are creating a CASTLE. One more time. A CASTLE. Not to mention an entire themed land that takes you into a world you could only previously imagine. Disney does have a great reputation for immersion, sure. And, you may be able to see parts of the building. But, are you looking at the right parts of the building. The numbers don't lie. People don't care that you can see some of the show building. Everyone seems to agree, in Orlando, and Japan, that the land and castle are pretty frickin cool. I plead everyone who complains about the show building to understand that you have the opportunity to start your very own billion dollar theme park and immerse your customers to your hearts content. However, for the rest of that appreciate the shear magnitude of Universal's contribution and efforts all of its parks is nothing short of amazing. Seriously one more time. They are building a CASTLE. From a book. About witches and wizards. 

If anything all the complaining should be geared towards JP ride. Its in dire need of a massive update.

Sorry if I offend or break any rules just need to put my foot down on all the complaining.

 

[raven24]

I've been watching these forums for updates for about a year now and have never been compelled to contribute to the conversation until now. I apologize my first post ever has to be like this but I can't remain silent anymore.

This is directed towards all that ridicule Universals full immersion efforts. This multibillion dollar project not only changes the entire feel of the park but effects infrastructure, flow of traffic, the environment, and the skyline impact. They are creating a CASTLE. One more time. A CASTLE. Not to mention an entire themed land that takes you into a world you could only previously imagine. Disney does have a great reputation for immersion, sure. And, you may be able to see parts of the building. But, are you looking at the right parts of the building. The numbers don't lie. People don't care that you can see some of the show building. Everyone seems to agree, in Orlando, and Japan, that the land and castle are pretty frickin cool. I plead everyone who complains about the show building to understand that you have the opportunity to start your very own billion dollar theme park and immerse your customers to your hearts content. However, for the rest of that appreciate the shear magnitude of Universal's contribution and efforts all of its parks is nothing short of amazing. Seriously one more time. They are building a CASTLE. From a book. About witches and wizards.

If anything all the complaining should be geared towards JP ride. Its in dire need of a massive update.

Sorry if I offend or break any rules just need to put my foot down on all the complaining.

No one is saying Potter ISN'T amazing. I'm sure we can all agree on that. In saying that Universal's bare show buildings have been an issue for years. It's not hard to camouflage a show building. Universal is a theme park, and we know they can get things right when they go all the way. Covering a show building isn't asking for much.Disney built a temple...from a movie...about a really cool and adventurous archaeologist. Still can't see the show building.

 

[Allen The Actor]

^ Exactly. No one is complaining or saying that Potter isn't amazing.....everyone on the site is extremely excited for this project. Again, our issue is Universal as a whole is that Universal never seems to go 100%. All of the Wizarding World is impressive, and obviously a bit of show building peaking out won't stop people from coming. Our point is that it's a shame that Universal can't go all the way with the little effort it would take. It's not that they can't....The show building can't be hidden from all angles, which is understandable. But from WITHIN the land, it'd be nice to not see a warehouse sticking out the back of Hogwarts, which breaks the scale, forced perspective, and immersion. Throwing your hands up and saying "eh, it's good enough, stop complaining" isn't a fun or constructive viewpoint. What we're "complaining" about is very constructive and we'd like Universal to keep improving and give their all.


A good fan can see the positive and negative aspects of their interest. In this case, we'd simply like Universal to go all the way like Disney always does. Not much to ask for....they were able to do it with Diagon Alley.

 

[Miss Betty Juice]

I've been watching these forums for updates for about a year now and have never been compelled to contribute to the conversation until now. I apologize my first post ever has to be like this but I can't remain silent anymore.

This is directed towards all that ridicule Universals full immersion efforts. This multibillion dollar project not only changes the entire feel of the park but effects infrastructure, flow of traffic, the environment, and the skyline impact. They are creating a CASTLE. One more time. A CASTLE. Not to mention an entire themed land that takes you into a world you could only previously imagine. Disney does have a great reputation for immersion, sure. And, you may be able to see parts of the building. But, are you looking at the right parts of the building. The numbers don't lie. People don't care that you can see some of the show building. Everyone seems to agree, in Orlando, and Japan, that the land and castle are pretty frickin cool. I plead everyone who complains about the show building to understand that you have the opportunity to start your very own billion dollar theme park and immerse your customers to your hearts content. However, for the rest of that appreciate the shear magnitude of Universal's contribution and efforts all of its parks is nothing short of amazing. Seriously one more time. They are building a CASTLE. From a book. About witches and wizards.

If anything all the complaining should be geared towards JP ride. Its in dire need of a massive update.

Sorry if I offend or break any rules just need to put my foot down on all the complaining.

Your opinion is very clear, and respected. However, you're borderline inflammatory with your tone, so I just ask that you try to remain civil no matter what ok? You can express your opinion fully, but you have no right to put a foot down as it were on complaints from other people. They have a right to express their opinions as well.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with both sides. Universal has a history of skimping on projects. It would be fairly easy to hide the show building by painting it to match. But it's not a deal breaker for me. I could give a poop less about how it looks if the immersion inside is good.

 

[Allen The Actor]

It's not a deal breaker for me at all. The land is absolutely incredible, and makes me wanna cry now even before it opens. But it just makes me upset that Universal has put so much effort into all these amazing and intricate details within the land, but you can still see a bit of the show building sticking out WITHIN the land. Thing is, they already applied/painted that brick/stone pattern on half of the visible show building. Why not just go all the way to the top? Or paint it to look like swirly rock work. It's just kinda....odd.

 

[techmaniac16]

We shouldn't jump to conclusions that fast. Maybe as a final touch, they will paint the Rest of the showbuilding. We have to wait and see.

 

[William]

I've been watching these forums for updates for about a year now and have never been compelled to contribute to the conversation until now. I apologize my first post ever has to be like this but I can't remain silent anymore.

This is directed towards all that ridicule Universals full immersion efforts. This multibillion dollar project not only changes the entire feel of the park but effects infrastructure, flow of traffic, the environment, and the skyline impact. They are creating a CASTLE. One more time. A CASTLE. Not to mention an entire themed land that takes you into a world you could only previously imagine. Disney does have a great reputation for immersion, sure. And, you may be able to see parts of the building. But, are you looking at the right parts of the building. The numbers don't lie. People don't care that you can see some of the show building. Everyone seems to agree, in Orlando, and Japan, that the land and castle are pretty frickin cool. I plead everyone who complains about the show building to understand that you have the opportunity to start your very own billion dollar theme park and immerse your customers to your hearts content. However, for the rest of that appreciate the shear magnitude of Universal's contribution and efforts all of its parks is nothing short of amazing. Seriously one more time. They are building a CASTLE. From a book. About witches and wizards. 

If anything all the complaining should be geared towards JP ride. Its in dire need of a massive update.

Sorry if I offend or break any rules just need to put my foot down on all the complaining.

Nobody is denying that this project isn't going to change the park forever, and nobody has stated that this flaw is something that ruins the land as a whole. Universal is notorious for cutting corners, and that's the issue the members are passionate about.

We shouldn't jump to conclusions that fast. Maybe as a final touch, they will paint the Rest of the showbuilding. We have to wait and see.

The reason most are convinced that this won't happen is because the stone mural only reaches around halfway up the show building, which is also what happened in Florida and Japan.