The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood

[Imdbman]

Do you guys know if they are live streaming the Red Carpet Gala tomorrow night?  If so, what time does it start?  So stoked to see a similar opening ceremony they had in Orlando also come to Hollywood.

 

[Alexshow.]

Take it for what you will; but there seems to of been a streaming test on USH's YT Channel. If I had to guess, we'll atleast get something of a live stream around this week. Whether its tomorrow night or Thursday morning, we won't find out until Twitter or Facebook tells us.

 

[Davidisallright]

It still kind of bothers me that they never added rust to all of the panels on the greenhouse. It just looks lazy.


And do we think that they're going to add brickwork above that area later on or just keep it white? 

I think they will but they didn't have the time. I'll admit that the white is actually less distracting than the previous color..for whatever reason. Maybe because it's such a neutral color?

 

[Freak]

It still kind of bothers me that they never added rust to all of the panels on the greenhouse. It just looks lazy.


And do we think that they're going to add brickwork above that area later on or just keep it white? 

If they don't maintain it, the rust will come naturally. Maybe that's what they're going for?  

 

[eivega]

Okay, so the whole grand opening stuff is very confusing.  I spoke to Guest Relations at the park last Wednesday and they told me one story, @PotterWatchCA tweeted completely different information and I just called them and got totally new info.  The annoying thing is that the representative on the phone wasn't confident with her knowledge.  She said many things had not be disclosed yet.  I guess everything is still developing.  Universal should already have a game plan for this by now and if they do they should do a better job disseminating information to their representatives.  


What I understand now is that Early Entry has been bumped up to 6:30am.  They seem uncertain when the Opening Ceremony will take place.  She wouldn't say with authority if it was at 6:15am or 8am, though it seems like it'll be early.  The parking garage will be open 24 hours but you cannot sleep in your car.  If you leave the parking you'll have to pay again.  The line to enter the park will begin forming at 2pm Wednesday, April 6th. (Not 2am April 7 like PotterWatchSecrets tweeted)


Also, I keep getting conflicting info on whether passes purchesed before the EZ Rez system launched will be granted Early Entry.  Sometimes they say yes, any passes purchased through the Universal website will be allowed in early other times no, EZ Rez only.  They also said that only Dated Single-Day tickets are guaranteed into the park Thursday.  The any-day tickets and passholders may not be let in if the park is at capacity.


If someone else wants to call and see if they're given the same info or something different that would be nice to know.  I think I'm going to call again tomorrow to see if things have updated.  Let me know if you guys have heard anything else or have experience from previous openings!  Thanks!

 

[eivega]

GAH!  So when I called I also asked about tonight and asked if it would stream live and they knew nothing.  They said they hadn't been disclosed any information about tonight.  And yet now, Universal's FB is promoting the live stream.  Can they just keep all their employees up to date?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/i1RS8im7mMI?feature=oembed

 

[Imdbman]

Yes, they just announced they're streaming live at 8:45 PT tonight on YouTube!!!!


Link to Video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1RS8im7mMI

 

[Jon Fu]

Also, I keep getting conflicting info on whether passes purchesed before the EZ Rez system launched will be granted Early Entry.  Sometimes they say yes, any passes purchased through the Universal website will be allowed in early other times no, EZ Rez only.  They also said that only Dated Single-Day tickets are guaranteed into the park Thursday.  The any-day tickets and passholders may not be let in if the park is at capacity.

In all seriousness, they have absolutely no clue what they're doing. I've been given enough conflicting information that I've given up on how to parse their data. Unless this is an intentional misdirection by their customer service representatives, I suggest hoping for the best with trial and error.


It's a bad answer I know, but I see no other alternative.

 

[scrappyd10]

Considering this is a huge moment for USH and the amount of planning they are doing on their end, how do you think everyone else will plan. 


Can we assume thousands of people will already be in line for the early entry come April 7th. Or will we be looking at something more tamed and manageable. 


I for one will be there for the grand opening but will not be there at 2 in the morning when their parking structure is open so I'm trying to assess how everyone else will attack the situation. 

 

[eivega]

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out how I want to handle this too.  I've been to plenty of the tech rehearsals, so there's less urgency for me.  I just want to be part of the celebration of it all.  I would love to see the Opening Ceremony, even if it's a small thing compared to tonight.  I just hope I can get inside the park to watch the gates open, even if I don't run inside Hogsmeade immediately.    I definitely won't do the Wednesday 2pm line nor the Thursday 2am.  I'm trying to decide between 4 or 5am.  My main goal is to experience something we couldn't have during the soft open, like Firewhisky or warm Butterbeer.  Good luck to us all!

 

[Jon Fu]

So, here's what I've been told in the last hour by three representatives:


Scenario one: line begins at 2:00 PM in front of the globe on Wednesday, April 6.


Scenario two: people cannot line up no later than 2:30 AM on Thursday, April 7


Scenario three: line begins at 12:00 PM in front of the globe and the first 250 guests will be let into the park at 2:30 AM.


So...

 

[eivega]

So it seems like they don't really know what they're doing until we do.  I guess they have plans A & B depending on when the crowds show up?  I guess it's hard to track the demand for an attraction as popular as this yet in its third incarnation....


PS: 2:30am vs 6:30am is a big difference!  Are they going to have TM's on call ready to start their shift early??  I wonder if a TM would know better than Guest Services?

 

[Jon Fu]

I guess they have plans A & B depending on when the crowds show up?

No, I get the impression that no one has the right information on this. To have three representatives give out conflicting information is borderline comical.

 

[icarusunbound]

I honestly might end up going at 2 am and waiting it out. I'm lucky to live just 25-30 min away, so it's not that big a deal, I'm okay with waiting it out. But the lack of consistency is quite frustrating. I originally didn't plan to be there until 4-5 am but seeing these different reports is making me want to go early, even though it's hard to tell when the majority of crowds will be piling in to line up.

 

[scrappyd10]

I have to agree with the lack of consistency with their responses. However its fair to understand that this is a massive undertaking and I'm sure no one has one set plan for dealing with such a large undertaking. When Disneyland did their 24 hour party, details were shifted around a bit before one set plan was set in place. 


That being said, we should something similar from Universal for their grand unveiling. In my opinion they wont have a "pre-setup" for entry on the 7th considering the day is centered around one land as opposed to a park wide anniversary such as the anniversary for Disneyland. 


In my opinion Universal will open their parking structure around 04:00-05:00 in the morning and have an unofficial  waiting area with ropes and tapes to hold guests before the official line is moved into their esplanade and finally into the park  at 07:00 for their promised early entry.  

 

[ItsAtrap]

I can say with some certainty that the opening ceremony will be at 6AM. People will show up when people show up. Universal may WANT to control when people show up but there isn't much they can do. Nor is there any real way of knowing how many people will show up. I'm going to be there. good luck to all!

 

[Lori]

Why are they having a huge opening gala thing when no public is there to see it.... seems silly to me!

 

[ItsAtrap]

Tonight is the Press Event. Invited guests only. It's not a huge opening gala thing - it's for the press. Might be silly, but the area is so small that they cannot accommodate the amount of fans who would want to be there and still have space for the Universal and Warner Bros. folks and all the press. On Opening Day there is an opening ceremony open to the public. due to the rather small area in front of the World the ceremony will be small - the president of USH will speak, there will be some fireworks and a little "magic" just before everyone will be allowed in.

 

[eivega]

Yeah, I'm also thinking the ceremony will be around 6 or 6:15am before they start "early entry."  The park hours webpage still says Grand Opening at 8am.  Do you think they'll let people in at 6:30 just to line up outside of Hogsmeade for a few hours to open it at 8am?  How did Orlando work?  I know it's just a simple ceremony on Thursday, but it's what makes April 7th unique so I hope I can catch it!  I think the reps just keep getting the 2pm-vs-am line-up confused.  Hopefully it'll get sorted out soon, but really they need to be prepared for whatever happens.

 

[Lori]

I have heard so many different things it's rediculous. I'm going after work tomorrow and hanging around until they open. Have you all heard the version about the wristbands? Apparently many people have been told that 250 wristbands will be given out sometime tomorrow or maybe 2 AM Thursday. Those people will be let in at three or 3:30 AM for the opening ceremony. What?!