The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood

[Freak]

...but hey, I'm not complaining at all. I'm totally fine with low crowds for now. A month ago, I dreaded the official opening fearing I would never see a light day again. Glad to see there is still some breathing room during the non-peak season.

 

[Armadillo4]

Well, it's been a week since the Grand Opening and I wanted to offer some thoughts on the crowds/attendance issue.

1. USH is going to be just fine. A year from now, when attendance figures for 2016 are released in the annual TEA/AECOM report, it will show a significant increase in attendance and USH may have the largest growth (percentage-wise), among all the US theme parks. In addition, there is a lot of merchandise, food and beverage being sold daily. Revenue from these sales will help drive operating income of Comcast's Parks division to potentially record highs.
   
2. At the same time, I can't help but think that the early returns are slightly disappointing to Universal. I don't think they expected moderate weekday crowds--while busy in the mornings--that had Forbidden Journey being a walk-on by mid-afternoon. This is just a few days after the Grand Opening.
   

Yes, Universal deliberately scheduled the Grand Opening AFTER the busy Spring Break period in order to keep crowds manageable. And yes, last weekend's rainy weather probably kept many locals away from the park and crowds lower than expected. With warm, sunny weather on tap for this weekend, I think it's going to be a very different story. It wouldn't surprise me to see the timed entry kiosks in use again. It's going to be very busy and crowded this coming Saturday and Sunday.


And as several others have posted, this summer will undoubtedly see a theme park that is crowded every day. The summer crowds will test Park operations and the ability to keep guests satisfied with their visits despite long waits for attractions. Universal executives (and guests alike!) will be glad to see the investment in infrastructure--especially the parking garages and entry plaza--really pay off.


However, I don't think the culmination of the highly touted, 5 year Epic Transformation is to see larger crowds just on weekends and throughout the summer. WWoHP is the final piece of a deliberate plan to make USH a year round, full-day, destination theme park. I'm sure park executives are expecting shorter off-season periods in between the busy Spring Break, Summer and Grinchmas periods. And low mid-week crowds that only require the park to be open for only 7 hours/day (10am-5pm) are going to be a thing of the past. But will those expectations be met?


I have to remind myself that [HASHTAG]#WizardingWorldHollywood[/HASHTAG] has only been officially open for ONE WEEK, so there's plenty of time to see this narrative ebb and flow. One week will not determine the degree of success of Universal's Epic Transformation. To make a baseball analogy, will it be a grand slam home run, a solo home run, or will it be a good solid double? As a Universal fan and a theme park aficionado, I'm really interested to see how this plays out.

 

[Red Carpet]

I think pass blackouts played a major role in the lower than expected attendance.

 

[MattvonOz]

I think pass blackouts played a major role in the lower than expected attendance.

I agree.  It will be interesting to watch next week as the blackouts are lifted from the lower-end passes.  I have a Costco Annual Pass; but I doubt I will go very often even when it is not blacked out.  The parking is expensive and it's quite a drive in thick traffic from OC anyway.  Then, when I'm in the parks food and merchandise is quite expensive and my annual pass offers me no incentives to actually buy anything.  I've already mentioned that I spend a LOT on food and merchandise at Disneyland, mostly due to the discount; and because parking is included in my pass I quite often just pop-in for an hour or two for lunch or dinner.

 

[Ryan]

The lessening of hours is not a great sign I'll admit. Wondering if we'll see blackouts lifted or parking passes offered.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The lessening of hours is not a great sign I'll admit. Wondering if we'll see blackouts lifted or parking passes offered.

But they're also extending hours, too. 

 

[Park Man]

Ok, first off, I have to say that a lot of this conversation is eerily reminiscent of the internet chatter that followed the disappointing opening of Disney’s California Adventure 15 years ago. “It was rainy last weekend. This weekend is going to be sunny. It’ll be crowded.” “Passes are blocked.” “Wait until summer.” All these same things were said.


Of course this is a very different situation. Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an outstanding piece of theme park design. The original California Adventure was not.


However I think what we’re seeing is an indication of how successfully Universal has alienated their local customers. Their new annual pass program seems designed to discourage locals from coming too much; apparently to make room for the higher spending tourist crowd. After all, this is April. It’s post Spring Break and pre-summer, usually a slow time. Usually a time when theme parks depend on locals to keep the gates open (see Disney’s So Cal Resident Ticket). It is any wonder that with the new pass program discouraging local visitors, that the park is slow?


After all Universal has been basically giving the park away for several years (Buy a day, get the year for free). And with the exception of Harry Potter, this is the same park locals have been experiencing for free for many years. They may not feel the addition of Harry Potter alone justifies the meteoric rise in admission prices.


However, I’m sure a slow spring is a price Universal is willing to pay in order to keep the park from getting overcrowded for those big spending tourists, which I have no doubt will show up in droves this summer.


But, if this kind of attendance comes back in the fall, we may see some adjustment of the pass program. And the question becomes how far will Universal have to go to get the locals back?

 

[Ryan]

But they're also extending hours, too. 

I assume this is referring to the recent 6:30 extension, yes? Because I haven't seen summer hours extended unless something just happened.


I think it's Universal wanting to do that, have things be more case-by-case. You can always extend, but they're antsy about getting into a situation where the park is dead but they've committed to 11PM, which is later than they've ever gone before.

 

[Aaron]

Most people I've talked to are either waiting for their school semester to end or currently saving up for one of the higher-tier annual pass. It seems like a lot of people are gearing towards the Summer to check this land out. I think it's a bit of USH underestimating how much locals mean to their park but I also think we need to be reminded that the demographic Universal is going for are usually going to Disneyland Resort instead. This park is uncharted territory for a lot of people and they're probably planning/saving/waiting for their trip. I had recently talked to a friend who is also a pretty huge Potter fan and asked her why she has not visited the land yet. Her reply was pretty much that she was waiting until Summer so she would be able to experience the area with her friends. I don't think the opening crowds met our expectations but I agree with others and say wait for the Summer season to start before making definitive conclusions. Los Angeles is an entirely different market than Orlando. 

 

[Jon Fu]

But they're also extending hours, too. 

If you're referring to the 6:30 PM extension, they've done that for years. It only applies to rides, and it's done as a courtesy for guests. 

I don't think the opening crowds met our expectations but I agree with others and say wait for the Summer season to start before making definitive conclusions. Los Angeles is an entirely different market than Orlando. 

No one's making any definitive conclusions, but I do think it's safe to say that Universal is not seeing their initial predictions being met if they're scaling back hours.


All this talk of summer and weather does not negate the fact that they had to scale back numbers for April and June. Whether this is caused by slow one-ticket day sales or a lack of annual pass visits is up in the air, but they're not meeting their numbers.

 

[Aaron]

If you're referring to the 6:30 PM extension, they've done that for years. It only applies to rides, and it's done as a courtesy for guests. 


No one's making any definitive conclusions, but I do think it's safe to say that Universal is not seeing their initial predictions being met if they're scaling back hours.


All this talk of summer and weather does not negate the fact that they had to scale back numbers for April and June. Whether this is caused by slow one-ticket day sales or a lack of annual pass visits is up in the air, but they're not meeting their numbers.

I wasn't specifically talking about members here but many other sites and twitter users are already claiming the land as an overall failure. Sorry if my overall point wasn't clear, I know they have not met their projected numbers, which is why I mentioned I think they underestimated how much locals contribute to USH. My point is a lot of the community have already marked Wizarding World West as a failure and taking it as a sign that the Potter phenomenon is over without looking at the entire situation that led to this point. 

 

[Jon Fu]

For what it's worth, I've been told that they're incredibly happy with one-day ticket sales. It's the annual pass blackouts which are preventing gangbusters numbers. 


In the end, maybe they're fine with that.

 

[Timescale Keeper]

Weekends were shortened and weekdays were extended. They're not hitting their weekend numbers but weekdays have been going over the projected attendance. Most 10-6 days left in the month were changed to 9-7.


To be fair, staying open until 11pm was a big move in itself. That's almost reaching Disneyland peak hours and they have more to offer than USH. California Adventure is hardly open past 10pm even during peak.

 

[Ryan]

Weekends were shortened and weekdays were extended. They're not hitting their weekend numbers but weekdays have been going over the projected attendance. Most 10-6 days left in the month were changed to 9-7.


To be fair, staying open until 11pm was a big move in itself. That's almost reaching Disneyland peak hours and they have more to offer than USH. California Adventure is hardly open past 10pm even during peak.

Agreed. 11PM was too much to ask for, especially considering that USH is further away from most hotels than DLR is. I think they need to aim for earlier openings rather than later.

 

[Rideguy70]

I wasn't specifically talking about members here but many other sites and twitter users are already claiming the land as an overall failure. Sorry if my overall point wasn't clear, I know they have not met their projected numbers, which is why I mentioned I think they underestimated how much locals contribute to USH. My point is a lot of the community have already marked Wizarding World West as a failure and taking it as a sign that the Potter phenomenon is over without looking at the entire situation that led to this point. 

I've seen some of that buzz as well... but I also think a lot of that is coming from people who haven't actually attended, and are looking at the numbers only.  It is lower than expected, sure, but as many have already mentioned, it opened in the off season, and many local passes are blocked.  What they are definitely not seeing is that when you actually go in person, you see a huge group of very happy, enthusiastic guests (the vast majority holding Butterbeer mugs and/or wands), lots of people dressed up (both team members and guests), the often huge lines at Ollivanders (which wait times don't show up on the app), and people having a great time.  Granted my evidence is all anecdotal, but I've gone well over a dozen times, spent countless hours, ridden FJ probably over 50 times... and people just are gushing about how much they're enjoying it.  I hear very little negative from people who have actually experienced it.


I can also say that I know many people that really want to go, but they (now, perhaps ironically) all said they'd "wait until the crowds died down".  Because they, like many, expected it'd be a mob scene this entire year.  I wouldn't have blamed them.  But now the nay-sayers are turning this into a "Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded" argument.

 

[Rideguy70]

Seems wait times are increasing this weekend.  FJ was anywhere from 120-30 all day Saturday, even up to park closing (based from the wait times app), averaging about 60 miutes.  Today as of 10am, FJ is 60 minutes.

 

[Armadillo4]

Seems wait times are increasing this weekend.  FJ was anywhere from 120-30 all day Saturday, even up to park closing (based from the wait times app), averaging about 60 miutes.  Today as of 10am, FJ is 60 minutes.

It seems that the morning rush to Wizarding World has ended. It's now 1pm and the wait times (per ushwaittimes.com) are surprisingly low. Seriously 15 min for Forbidden Journey?!?! I know I've said there's a lot more time before making any judgments. But I also expected much higher crowds today with the great weather in L.A. I guess I was wrong.

 

[Freak]

Tomorrow will be when time will tell. At least the silver pass will no longer be backed out. Don't know about bronze.

 

[Red Carpet]

Today all passes are blocked out except the overpriced Platinum pass.

 

[Rideguy70]

^Was that also the case for Saturday?  If so, it seems strange that Saturday should be so much more crowded than Sunday... although I suppose Sundays would be lower in general, but that's a pretty big contrast just for a day of the week if all else is equal.