The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood

[HereWeGo]

Well. It looks like I will be visiting the park every day after work next week...

One of my friends, that works for NBC, was lucky enough to visit Hogsmeade today. SOOOOO JEALOUS

My friend did hear that there will be soft openings next week, so cross your fingers for Monday.

(Notice the cup doesn't say "At Universal Studios Hollywood" but Orlando's cups do)

Did they say anything about how the land and everything looks? I would assume it's incredible but it'll be nice to start hearing actual reviews of our version of the land.

 

[William]

At this point I would expect the Orlando cups and merch to lose the Orlando tags so they can make it all interchangeable between parks. Much like how Disney now has a Disney Parks brand.

After Diagon Alley opened, they started doing this. Makes it much easier to distribute the merch amongst USH and UOR.

 

[LADougQ8]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Thank you everyone for keeping me posted on all things Wizarding World! I feel like this long journey is about to reach its finish line!!! Cant wait to FINALLY step through that arch!!!

 

[12th Man]

Welcome Doug! We are just as excited as you are! Hope you get to The Wizarding World Soon. And BTW, this is just the beginning....

 

[William]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Thank you everyone for keeping me posted on all things Wizarding World! I feel like this long journey is about to reach its finish line!!! Cant wait to FINALLY step through that arch!!!

Welcome to the forums! 

 

[Ryan]

Going to err on the side of caution and still continue to place my softs bets on 2/17. Honestly we may not know if it's 2/12 (and onward) until as late as the night of 2/11.

 

[JPLA]

Awnings getting more and more decoration.

There was smoke from several chimney's which looked great.  And I saw something very special in the Owlery tower.  I would tell you but part of me thinks it deserves to not be spoiled.  I'm sure someone else will post a pic before long.  I was too slow with my camera.

 

[JoeyZDoey]

Well. It looks like I will be visiting the park every day after work next week...

 Did they say anything about how the land and everything looks? I would assume it's incredible but it'll be nice to start hearing actual reviews of our version of the land.

I was there everyday this week where they've been filming a commercial, training new team members, and doing a stress test at the Broomsticks restaurant. Basically to see how the the restaurant would run at full capacity. If you were lucky to be invited, you got free breakfast and lunch everyday. It was packed during the lunch hours but the food came out exceptionally fast. We were asked to test cashiers' knowledge of the menu and the facilities. Lastly, no pictures and we could not take the food outside.

The land looks simply amazing. I'm not a Potter expert but they've been playing the theme in the background similar to Jurassic Park. The castle at Forbidden Journey looks even more marvelous when you're right at the foot of it looking up. As others mentioned, I expect an "official" employee preview in the next week.

 

[chris.g]

Just got news that there at switchbacks set up IN FRONT OF THE ARCH. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET READY!!! HERE IT COMES!

 

[Ryan]

Just got news that there at switchbacks set up IN FRONT OF THE ARCH. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET READY!!! HERE IT COMES!

Ok so they are officially testing queue construction. Remember those are temporary queues and they usually do this so they know what works and what doesn't.

The good news is that softs are very near, but it's also not happening tomorrow for instance. All part of the process.

 

[Smhatchuu]

First time seeing these forums and I thought I would speak a few words as an outside potter fan excited for this new land to come to one of my favorite theme parks.

Let me start by saying, that I enjoy a great surprise... And I was slightly disheartened when I came to these forums to see a bunch of people spoiling all of the fun.

Don't you think that if Universal wanted the public to know about any rehearsal dates or whatever that they would make them public themselves?

What's even worse is that these dates must be coming from inside of the company, and that's pretty sad that team members would be releasing information like that.

To any employees openly releasing information, I ask you... As an eager fan of the Wizarding World. Please stop ruining the surprise and magic. I understand that everyone is eager to see more and experience the wonderment that the new area will bring.

I sincerely hope that all employees that ruin the surprise get some stern discipline from their management team. Why does no one seem to enjoy a good old fashioned surprise anymore?

Also I remember reading a post from earlier about someone attempting to take a photo and the employees looking upset, I would be on the side of the employee, I've worked at Disneyland before and I know the amount of stress being a part of some new attraction can be. The last thing you want is someone trying to obtain any new piece of information and trying to eavesdrop on every conversation. I think everyone should give these guys a little space and stop being worried so much about what color a screen is or what it looks like.

Just my honest opinion.

-Scott

 

[Ryan]

It's nearly a carbon copy of a land that has been opened in two other theme parks, one which has existed for six years.

And "rehearsal" dates are never announced to the public because the point is to have plausible deniability. Trust me, they want people to get excited. They want people to spend. They want people to have an idea, get the word out, etc. These are things they want.

 

[Red Carpet]

Smhatchuu, there are two different issues involved in what you are saying.

1. Is the issue of spoiling the content of what is in the land. This I can understand your point. The more you know about the land before hand the less surprise there is.
2. Is the issue of knowing when soft openings will happen. In this case I find it to be important information, because it helps us decide when we need to get down to the park to check out the land for ourselves.

 

[Tyler Crouch]

Quite honestly Scott, If they don't want someone taking pictures of them; they shouldn't be in the middle of the park, mid-afternoon, without any type of cover whatsoever, on a day that they invite the media to a press event.

The forums are a place for theorizing and discussing possibilities. If you don't want "spoilers" then you may want to avoid this thread for awhile. I hope you can understand that people show their excitement in different ways, and just because you feel one way, doesn't mean that others are wrong. As far as giving Universal some space? You can trust me when I say that Universal wants people talking about Harry Potter.

Welcome to the forums. I hope you decide to stick around and be apart of further discussion. 

 

[Park Man]

I can understand that Universal would probably prefer it if knowledge of the soft opening date did not get out so they can test the land with a light crowd. Unfortunately we live in the 21st century and keeping secrets like that is an unreasonable expectation. I think Universal needs to just assume that when they decide on a soft opening date, within minutes it will be on dozens of sites across the internet. And thousands of people, like many of us on this forum, will be making plans to visit on that day. I think they just need to accept that as a fact of life and plan accordingly.

I don’t know what surprise and magic we could be ruining. Many of us have been to the area in Orlando, or at least seen copious amounts of photos and video of the Wizarding World there. The only surprise I could see coming is the surprise of hearing that Wizarding World soft opened the day before and I missed it. And that’s a surprise I could do without. 

 

[Opie]

I agree with all the responses to Scott here. Another reason rehearsal dates aren't published is to avoid a line at customer service if the dates change. Universal clearly benefits from the excitement, as you'd expect. They even dropped the February blackout dates to encourage that. I personally don't think the return ticket machine is a spoiler. Now, if there's something new about the Forbidden Journey attraction, or the Ollivanders wand experience, I'd rather not read it first -- but if someone writes about that I would hope that they include a warning before writing it.

 

[USHInsider]

First time seeing these forums and I thought I would speak a few words as an outside potter fan excited for this new land to come to one of my favorite theme parks.

Let me start by saying, that I enjoy a great surprise... And I was slightly disheartened when I came to these forums to see a bunch of people spoiling all of the fun.

Don't you think that if Universal wanted the public to know about any rehearsal dates or whatever that they would make them public themselves?

What's even worse is that these dates must be coming from inside of the company, and that's pretty sad that team members would be releasing information like that.

To any employees openly releasing information, I ask you... As an eager fan of the Wizarding World. Please stop ruining the surprise and magic. I understand that everyone is eager to see more and experience the wonderment that the new area will bring.

I sincerely hope that all employees that ruin the surprise get some stern discipline from their management team. Why does no one seem to enjoy a good old fashioned surprise anymore?

Also I remember reading a post from earlier about someone attempting to take a photo and the employees looking upset, I would be on the side of the employee, I've worked at Disneyland before and I know the amount of stress being a part of some new attraction can be. The last thing you want is someone trying to obtain any new piece of information and trying to eavesdrop on every conversation. I think everyone should give these guys a little space and stop being worried so much about what color a screen is or what it looks like.

Just my honest opinion.

-Scott

Unlike some of the others... I actually have to agree with Scott on this one. I am looking through my stuff that I said and posted, Albiet I heard it in passing from other Employees, I feel kinda guilty saying the things I said. I mean sure the only thing I may have said was a mock date that I heard in passing and still don't know. But, I want to keep the magic going and in respect for Universal Studios I will actually be keeping quiet on things Potter Related If I hear anything anymore. I won't hang around this part and will be my last post in this discussion because I personally do not want to get ANYONE in trouble with things that I say. 

Quite honestly Scott, If they don't want someone taking pictures of them; they shouldn't be in the middle of the park, mid-afternoon, without any type of cover whatsoever, on a day that they invite the media to a press event.

The forums are a place for theorizing and discussing possibilities. If you don't want "spoilers" then you may want to avoid this thread for awhile. I hope you can understand that people show their excitement in different ways, and just because you feel one way, doesn't mean that others are wrong. As far as giving Universal some space? You can trust me when I say that Universal wants people talking about Harry Potter.

Welcome to the forums. I hope you decide to stick around and be apart of further discussion. 

Alright, I get that you were there for a media event and I totally get that as a news source you have to take pictures. The thing with this though Tyler was that They were trying to listen to the trainers. You having a Camera with some rediculous looking lens trying to take photos kinda seems pretty invasive to entry level employees. I know this because I was there behind them in the plaza  and kinda saw you looking at them as if they would let you take a clearer shot. 

 

[Ryan]

Employees get extremely weirded out about having their pictures taken, that I can confirm. 

As for the job safety of TMs, at this late in the game I highly doubt Universal is going to start a witch hunt about Potter stuff. The land is done, the public is excited. It's the exact opposite. Universal is encouraging TMs to talk about Potter and to get people they know excited about it. Softs, again, are unannounced as they allow Universal to be uncommitted. But they want to drive LA as much as possible in these next two months so when April 7th rolls around, people are slamming through the gates. 

And as for "ruining" the "magic"... I mean, again: it's a cloned land. If you're worried about anything new then trust me you won't have to worry until softs start. But what you're seeing overall is not only able to be seen currently in Orlando and Osaka, but from the 101 and 405 in Los Angeles and even from within the park. It's a large land in a small park. If you want to put your blinders up as much as possible, that's fine but do realize that much of this is kind of old news in the overall grand scheme of things.

 

[Tyler Crouch]

Alright, I get that you were there for a media event and I totally get that as a news source you have to take pictures. The thing with this though Tyler was that They were trying to listen to the trainers. You having a Camera with some rediculous looking lens trying to take photos kinda seems pretty invasive to entry level employees. I know this because I was there behind them in the plaza  and kinda saw you looking at them as if they would let you take a clearer shot. 

To make things perfectly clear: I was not trying to take pictures of random team members, I was simply trying to see what the screens had on them. Checking out what's on a screen is not invasive to anyone. I stopped for a total of 10 seconds. With all the info you have about me, it sounds like you stuck around much longer. My "ridiculous" looking lens was on my camera because we just came from Special Effects Show where i was trying to get some close ups for the website.

To be frank, if you're working at Potter and you DON'T want your picture taken? You've taken the wrong job. This is one of the most high profile attractions Universal has ever built. Once this place opens, guests and media outlets alike are going to be taking pictures of EVERYTHING. Heck, I was a cast member at Disneyland and understood that people with cameras were part of my day. 

 

[Red Carpet]

Knowing soft opening dates does not "spoil the magic". It just lets me know when I should go to the park to experience the magic. If people want to keep details about the land itself a secret, I am fine with that. But when it comes to soft opening dates, I want you guys to be a Leaky Cauldron. This is actually useful information.