The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood

[Imdbman]

Since I was at Universal yesterday and they said the opening in uncertain, but speculated to be February or March, it makes me wonder when they will soft open as that tends to be two months before grand opening.  Insanely excited to find out!!!

 

[HereWeGo]

How insanely awesome would it be if they did soft openings in December? I might cry a little...

 

[Imdbman]

How insanely awesome would it be if they did soft openings in December? I might cry a little...

I would too, and I could still use my annual pass for that  It almost looks like it could open in December haha, but who knows.  That would certainly be brilliant marketing on Universal's part and it could therefore grand open around March, in time for Spring Break.

 

[Wesker69]

Well from what I was told, Universal is pushing for a soft opening next month... we'll see if that actually happens or not. Being able to have a "warm butterbeer" during Grinchmas would be, as Jill St Stevens would say "FAAABULOUS"...

However, I am still taking that December soft-opening with a huge grain of salt... but stranger things have happened (like 2 extra "after party" nights of HHN).. The only reason why I DON'T see it happening next month is due to the current construction with Hollywood Grill & Not-HoH (although I'm sure Not-HoH will get completed sometime this month since they've already started work on the in-park Studio Store next to it).

In other news, I wandered into the Feature Presentation store on my way out of the park on Saturday after HHN... noticed merchandise had been rearranged since the last time I was in there a few months ago, so not sure how recently they moved things around. This is probably old news to most of you, same with there seeming to be some new merchandise that was not originally in there.

 

[Imdbman]

Well from what I was told, Universal is pushing for a soft opening next month... we'll see if that actually happens or not. Being able to have a "warm butterbeer" during Grinchmas would be, as Jill St Stevens would say "FAAABULOUS"...

However, I am still taking that December soft-opening with a huge grain of salt... but stranger things have happened (like 2 extra "after party" nights of HHN).. The only reason why I DON'T see it happening next month is due to the current construction with Hollywood Grill & Not-HoH (although I'm sure Not-HoH will get completed sometime this month since they've already started work on the in-park Studio Store next to it).

In other news, I wandered into the Feature Presentation store on my way out of the park on Saturday after HHN... noticed merchandise had been rearranged since the last time I was in there a few months ago, so not sure how recently they moved things around. This is probably old news to most of you, same with there seeming to be some new merchandise that was not originally in there.

Really!?  That's crazily exciting!  So if we're lucky, I could still use the last of my annual pass for that!!  How did you hear about that?

 

[HereWeGo]

Do we think they're going to add some sort of arch or something to the exit/entrance of the land over next to Stu's Disco? Or will it just be a normal path with no defining entrance to it?

 

[Imdbman]

Do we think they're going to add some sort of arch or something to the exit/entrance of the land over next to Stu's Disco? Or will it just be a normal path with no defining entrance to it?

Oh, good point!  I almost feel like that may be visual intrusion when next to Springfield.

 

[Wesker69]

Same source as the rest of the stuff I've heard, pretty much proved credibility after saying FJ would be in 3D about 2-3 months before it was officially announced. But, credibility or not... things can happen. So as great as it would be to have WWOHP soft open in December, I'm not holding my breath.

I believe it will just be a path with no defining entrance other than the "trees" & a short wall.. I'll ask & see, but I'm pretty sure that if there was going to be some type of archway, it would already be there & we would be able to see it.

 

[Imdbman]

Same source as the rest of the stuff I've heard, pretty much proved credibility after saying FJ would be in 3D about 2-3 months before it was officially announced. But, credibility or not... things can happen. So as great as it would be to have WWOHP soft open in December, I'm not holding my breath.

I believe it will just be a path with no defining entrance other than the "trees" & a short wall.. I'll ask & see, but I'm pretty sure that if there was going to be some type of archway, it would already be there & we would be able to see it.

I think there will technically already be an archway from inside the land next to Forbidden Journey as well, which arguably makes more sense

 

[Imdbman]

Damn, this is getting more and more exciting by the day!  I remember early on this year when the rumor first started of a potential December soft open and most people thought it was crazy. Now though, the land looks like its ready to open tomorrow. Obviously there's still a ton of tiny scenic details that they're adding in as well as finishing interiors, and it's hard to track the progress of interior work, but man is this place coming together.  Wesker's source has definitely proven credibility, and if Wizarding World could potentially soft open in December minus Forbidden Journey... I think we'd all be ecstatic. 

They started testing and construction with Forbidden Journey a year before they started Hippogriff construction.  I think we'd see Forbidden Journey soft-open too, unless its the "Gringotts case" where the ride has too many kinks to soft-open.

 

[Wesker69]

Yes, there is already an archway next to Wiseacres for the exit pathway. The pathway passes between FJ's forest queue & Ollivander's queue/3 Broomsticks patio.... So another archway isn't necessary by Studio Tour.

In regards to Hippo.. here is a pic comparison of the original Hippo head train & Hollywood's... it is only a slight difference & the only reason it was noticeable was due to a friend of mine having worked Orlando's Hippo for 3 years..

USH's Hippo head subtle design changes:

- crest is almost flat & doesn't curl up in back

- neck isn't as thick

- beak is smaller

As for the ride train seats..

- They're more "people-friendly" than Orlando. Its like a combo of individual seats & half Orlando's 2 person-bench seats

As for the queue & themeing for Hippo.... Be prepared for apparently a slightly different queue than Orlando. From what I was told, it will be themed about the same, maybe a little less to an extant. There will be a pumpkin patch & scarecrows, but they'll just be pushed against the ride track fence. Hagrid's Hut will be much much closer to the queue. The queue itself will NOT be located under the track, but go around it for the most part. So it won't "look" as cool.

The "red" line is the queue & the "orange" line is the exit

UPDATE: Just got confirmation on that soft-opening December 2016 rumor... yes, as of now, they are still hoping to soft-open by Christmas. So basically, they want it open ASAP... As I have said before, take it with a grain of salt & don't get too excited just yet. But it does seem like they are pushing for it.

Also, funny story about Honeydukes. They had written on the wall "EVERY FLAVOR JELLYBEANS". So they had to paint over it and change it to "EVERY FLAVOUR JELLYBEANS". This isn't the first time that something has had to be fixed in their apparent "rush" to get things done/ready lol

 

[HereWeGo]

Surely they would have all of the kinks worked out of FJ by this point. This is the third time they have built it. 

 

[Wesker69]

Yea.. I'm sure everything with FJ is fine, however, keep in mind, while this is the 3rd time building it, it is the first time opening it in 3D. Japan was supposed to open in 3D, but that didn't happen. I'm sure things are running smoothly for the most part.

Its mostly just scenic related details within Hogsmeade that are having kinks lol.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Taking it all with a grain of salt at this point.

It will be sheer madness the second it hypothetically soft opens, as everyone and their mother whose Season Pass expires in February will want to visit before their pass expires. On one hand it'll be good practice for crowd control to see holiday + Potter soft opening crowds mix together. And I'm not sure just how much the crowds will be spread. But I might also be a good time to test the time return system into the land (just for Hogsmeade) before grand opening. But on the other hand, I see a lot of reasons why it would be an issue and not realistic to soft open next month.

Part of me wants it to soft open so I can at least enjoy all the stores and butterbeer this winter, but on the other hand some of this doesn't sound too realistic, and my sources aren't aware of this. But then again, most of my sources are within the vaults of Hogwarts, so maybe that's why they're not aware that Hogsmeade might soft open without FJ.

I guess it'd be a cool way to say "come for the full experience next Spring once Hogwarts opens it's doors!"

We'll see...

 

[Brandonshah97]

Oh my goodness so much exciting things to talk about... I was looking through the past couple of photos and noticed somethings.... Are you guys sure greenhouse is finished?? It seems like they need to finish half of the white window tops bc the rest are a yellowish color and the others are bright white... Hmm I was noticing it before and thought they would finish it later but I guess not? Also Im not sure if I've touched upon this before but since we are getting closer to opening date I wanted to bring it up again... Has anybody gone on the 3D version of FJ? I'm so worried about it bc I feel as if there are so many unappreciated physical effects that people find hard to see on their own and I feel like it's going to be way harder w glasses on since 3D glasses tend to make things look more dark and dull... Has this been an issue at all in Japan?

 

[Ryan]

I was about to type up a reply decrying the idea of Potter soft-opening in December and how that is never, ever, ever going to happen.

But... well... I mean, if you think about it:

1) This catches Potter diehards off-guard. They have been repeatedly told 2016, 2016, 2016. Unlike Diagon Alley, this will prevent the bottlenecking of people waiting outside a land that just isn't going to open that day. If you think they are some people so rich and dedicated to be able to stand at USF for nearly a month straight, over a dozen hours every day... well extend that idea to California. Especially LA. That would be triple the amount, easy. So as long as nobody tips off any Mugglenet users, they should be fine.

2) The fear of capacity slamming the parks due to Potter openingand not being prepared is null and void. It's Grinchmas, so it's already a formality. If anything, it would spread those tight crowds around to make things more manageable.

3) It would also rev up the crowds in Janurary and February, which is notoriously slow for USH. I still remember working those months... oh no wait, I kinda don't. Because in Jan/Feb 2013 I worked very, very little. Two weeks of January that year, even with calling in to nab a shift, I struck out and just never worked. Even my (awful) roommate asked me if I got fired because I was in the apartment every single day. After that, for another three weeks I only worked once or twice a week at best, for six short, short hours. (this is also the time in which I even put in some time for JPRA and Mummy) I was not very low on seniority, and the days in which I actually got to come in, Transformers was a walk-on literally the entire day. I mean, never a full RV. Ever. It was unbelivably dead. Needless to say, they may as well take advantage of a slow time, while keeping profits high and attendance higher than usual. It's a win-win for Universal.

So, still, grain of salt totally but surprisingly it's not too boneheaded or far-fetched of an idea. I do think the earliest that the land will have its grand opening is March, 

 

[Wesker69]

And like I said before.... the upside to a possible soft-opening next month would be......

WARM BUTTERBEER DURING GRINCHMAS!!!!

.....now if ONLY we could get alcoholic Butterbeer -sigh-

 

[Allen The Actor]

I was about to type up a reply decrying the idea of Potter soft-opening in December and how that is never, ever, ever going to happen.

But... well... I mean, if you think about it:

1) This catches Potter diehards off-guard. They have been repeatedly told 2016, 2016, 2016. Unlike Diagon Alley, this will prevent the bottlenecking of people waiting outside a land that just isn't going to open that day. If you think they are some people so rich and dedicated to be able to stand at USF for nearly a month straight, over a dozen hours every day... well extend that idea to California. Especially LA. That would be triple the amount, easy. So as long as nobody tips off any Mugglenet users, they should be fine.

2) The fear of capacity slamming the parks due to Potter openingand not being prepared is null and void. It's Grinchmas, so it's already a formality. If anything, it would spread those tight crowds around to make things more manageable.

3) It would also rev up the crowds in Janurary and February, which is notoriously slow for USH. I still remember working those months... oh no wait, I kinda don't. Because in Jan/Feb 2013 I worked very, very little. Two weeks of January that year, even with calling in to nab a shift, I struck out and just never worked. Even my (awful) roommate asked me if I got fired because I was in the apartment every single day. After that, for another three weeks I only worked once or twice a week at best, for six short, short hours. (this is also the time in which I even put in some time for JPRA and Mummy) I was not very low on seniority, and the days in which I actually got to come in, Transformers was a walk-on literally the entire day. I mean, never a full RV. Ever. It was unbelivably dead. Needless to say, they may as well take advantage of a slow time, while keeping profits high and attendance higher than usual. It's a win-win for Universal.

So, still, grain of salt totally but surprisingly it's not too boneheaded or far-fetched of an idea. I do think the earliest that the land will have its grand opening is March,

The only issue with your reasoning is simple: social media. The second Wizarding World opens, I can betcha anything it'll be bonkers within a few hours, and if not right away, then the next day 100%

 

[Wesker69]

You see an issue, Universal sees $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Besides... the sooner USH gets slammed with people, the sooner the higher ups will go "OH $H*t!" and realize that they need to get more rides/attractions/entertainment options into motion ASAP... They need this kind of wake-up call.

That is the thing that makes me laugh the most about the new parking garage. Its like, "okay, great.. now a crap ton more people can park.... but um, where exactly are you going to put said people inside the park?" WWOHP is not exactly a major expansion in regards to having a place to put bodies (even with a full queue for FJ, Olli, & Hippo). They tore down SS28 a year ago.... yet nothing was built there (except for a temporary HHN maze) & was used temporarily for Potter storage. We're still waiting on the new HoH venue to see if it will indeed have some type of attraction. The park renovations should've happened when Universal Plaza was built or shortly after, not several months before the park's biggest new "land" addition opens. There has been zero progress with that new hotel (which will be needed once Hilton/Sheraton are booked up due to Potter). WWOHP was announced in December 2011 & its like they haven't been concerned with being ready/prepared for what is about to hit them. I'm fully aware that California has certain codes/laws it has to go through which slows progress, but still. /end unintentional rant

 

[Ryan]

The only issue with your reasoning is simple: social media. The second Wizarding World opens, I can betcha anything it'll be bonkers within a few hours, and if not right away, then the next day 100%

But the parks are going to be packed no matter what, Potter diehards or not. If you open in the middle of the insane crowds at an unexpected time, then at least there's nobody just blocking paths for an unopened land, and capacity will be swelled already. It'll run Potter thru the ringer with the normal theme park audience. Of course some diehards will worm thru, but around the holidays most are either on vacation already or concerned with their families. Social media or not, it's a strange time of the year where that sort of thing gets tossed out the window. It's such a perfect idea to catch them off-guard, in a time where you literally have to be INSANE to go to the park. (especially since you aren't guaranteed entry)

And, yes, some will try, fail or not USH will get that money. Happily, I may add. But it prevents the overswelling that might happen in the early winter months as a result of keeping the land closed.