The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood

[Aaron]

Not to go off on a tangent but I wished our Hogwarts castle design resembled how it was in Deathly Hallows - Part 2. Not complaining but I loved all the changes they made in that film. (especially to the Viaduct Courtyard/bridge)  

 

[William]

The only problem is that the Viaduct Courtyard would need a bridge leading to a large mountain, which then leads down to the Forbidden Forest. The castle went under many changes throughout the films, but I think the way it's represented in the theme parks was a good choice.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Yeah, they had to make many different little stylistic changes from the movies to make it work for a theme park setting. For example, the view that we get walking down Hogsmeade is the view we're supposed to get from the boats as first years. Can't 100% be identical to the films, but they made a remarkable job in the interpretation.

I do love that courtyard though!

 

[Aaron]

The only problem is that the Viaduct Courtyard would need a bridge leading to a large mountain, which then leads down to the Forbidden Forest. The castle went under many changes throughout the films, but I think the way it's represented in the theme parks was a good choice.

Oh I know. It's just something that's always been a "what if" idea of mine. Hogwarts is still beautiful and grand in every possible way no matter what incarnation they use. Sleeping Beauty has nothing on us. haha

 

[b4ben24]

Rock work is going up! I have tons of photos on my Twitter @b4ben666

I would post it here but I don't know how. The view from Shrek 4D for Hogwarts is so great!

 

[Wesker69]

Here are the pics b4ben11 took today...

And here is a bonus pic one of my friends took that I forgot to post earlier...
This sign is located over in the SS28 lot waiting to be installed

 

[Inspire2_Ride]

Oh...My...God

This is incredible. The speed on the progress for the WWOHP is out of this world! Man they're hiring for Potter right now too? I gotta get in on this. Does that mean they're just training people till the soft openings?

 

[Imdbman]

I wonder if Potter could open slightly earlier than expected in this case, with Honeydukes/ Zonko's and the Three Broomsticks scaffolding down.  I bet the Hogsmeade Train Station's scaffolding will be down next, then the Owlery/ Shade Building, and then the  back buildings before Hogwarts and Hippogriff.  Hogwarts has gone a much longer way than Hippogriff from what I can tell.

 

[Wesker69]

They have to hire people, train them, test the rides (FJ & Hippo) which also requires even more training for the employees, etc etc... I'll have to ask some of my friends that worked WWOHP in Orlando as part of the opening team for the exact timeframe of when they started training before soft-opening.

Considering how much downtown Orlando's FJ experienced, I'll be surprised if they start soft-opening the ride in March... Hopefully by this time around, they've got most of the bugs worked out so testing should run smoothly. I'm certainly not looking forward to the long lines of doom! I wanted to do single riders, but my friends forced me to wait in the actual queue line :angry:  July 24, 2010 is when I first rode it.. so only a month after it officially opened, I got to experience 2 breakdowns on my first ride. Thankfully they were at the beginning right after the load platform (40mins) & then again at the end of the ride in the "welcome back" scene (15mins). yea fun times..

Don't expect Hogsmeade to open early even with scaffolding coming down, there is still lots of work to do. While scenic may be completed on the exterior, there is still A LOT of scenic details that need to be done in each window & whatnot. Also, they won't open the new area without its 2 rides finished/operational.

 

[Imdbman]

They have to hire people, train them, test the rides (FJ & Hippo) which also requires even more training for the employees, etc etc... I'll have to ask some of my friends that worked WWOHP in Orlando as part of the opening team for the exact timeframe of when they started training before soft-opening.

Considering how much downtown Orlando's FJ experienced, I'll be surprised if they start soft-opening the ride in March... Hopefully by this time around, they've got most of the bugs worked out so testing should run smoothly. I'm certainly not looking forward to the long lines of doom! I wanted to do single riders, but my friends forced me to wait in the actual queue line :angry:  July 24, 2010 is when I first rode it.. so only a month after it officially opened, I got to experience 2 breakdowns on my first ride. Thankfully they were at the beginning right after the load platform (40mins) & then again at the end of the ride in the "welcome back" scene (15mins). yea fun times..

Don't expect Hogsmeade to open early even with scaffolding coming down, there is still lots of work to do. While scenic may be completed on the exterior, there is still A LOT of scenic details that need to be done in each window & whatnot. Also, they won't open the new area without its 2 rides finished/operational.

Oh right, since they need to train even more to actually "immerse" people into the land.  And yeah, that's true too, although from a post above, it sounds like they'll be running FJ for tests starting in July, but that's smart that they're testing it early to check for bugs in the first place.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Wizarding World won't open in stages, and again, as fast as the construction looks to be moving, it will still only open next year. There's a ridiculous amount of details, facades, rock work, set dressings, props, electronics, wiring, programming, training, and construction left.

 

[William]

Let's keep over-the-wall photos off the forums, please. If you'd like to take the risk of posting them on your own social media, then that's your choice. It's considered inapt to take and share photos of backstage areas that would not regularly be seen from a guest's vantage point.

 

[JPLA]

Looks so nice with the scaffolding coming down.  If they would finish the landscaping around the arch these walls could come down, except for something in the archway to secure the construction site.  What do you think, will these walls and Shrek walls all come down when Springfield walls do?  That's my expectation.

 

[William]

Yep, those were my thoughts as well. It just seems too coincidental that all of the scaffolding toward the front of Hogsmeade is coming down, and Shrek's queue is pretty much complete.

Seeing Zonko's and Honeydukes already is really not going to settle well with me over the next year.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Yeah, I don't think it's a coincidence that the front of Hogsmeade and Shrek's new queue are basically finished. I think walls will come down either for Sprinfield's grand opening, or at latest by this Summer to help with crowds. I think they'll create a nice wooden blockade in front of the Potter arch.

 

[Brandonshah97]

Going back on Wesker69's post, FJ is actually the only attraction on this planet that I love waiting a long time for... There is so much to look at so much to do... If you're a fanatic for details from the books and films like I am, you could spend hours and hours in that qeue and not be bothered a bit.. I went in 2011 and waited about 2 and a half hours and loved every second of it.. In fact I waited twice just so I can experience it all over again

 

[Wesker69]

I'm really trying to remember if I have or not, but I can honestly say, I don't think I ever went through the regular queue after that first time, only single riders. I do remember the queue & its details, though and yea, if you're a fan of Potter, you'll love it. Apparently Japan has the option to tour the castle only or ride the ride, which Orlando had the rumor that you'd be able to do it, but it never happened. So I'm curious to see what happens here.

Also with people being hired for WWOHP right now, they'll be pulling current UNI employees for commissioning in the very near future.

As for WWOHP itself, with the way the land is set up here, I keep thinking back to HHN 2012/2013's tagline:

 

[Ryan]

There's definitely a method to the madness here. My guess is that by summer 2015, the entrance will have its signage, and a nice large gate will be constructed with the poster advertising WWoHP debuting the next year. It's such a ridiculously obvious thing to do, since guests won't resist taking photos in front of it, and social media helps with all the rest of the advertising.

 

[Alexshow.]

I agree that theres going to be a method but this time, instead of having the logo and 2016, I'm having hope its more like what the Ministry rules from Orlando.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Wesker69, both Orlando and Japan have the stand alone castle tour, but it's a bit more advertised in Japan.

That's one of the biggest reasons I'm in love with the Wizarding World. As a massive Harry Potter fanatic my entire life, the amount of details and immersion is an attraction in and of itself. I'll never mind waiting for anything at the Wizarding World. The detail is overwhelming.

Brover, definitely makes sense that that's what they'd do. It opens up the area, makes it look nice and "finished", and blocks of just the entrance with self-contained advertisement!

Kind of like that "wooden gate" that was blocking Sleeping Beauty Castle's bridge while the castle was being refurbished.