Wizarding World - Diagon Alley Discussion (Opens 2014)

[DragonSlayer]

'Scuse me, the Eye is not a 'temporary ferris wheel' :boxing: (Also, it's not necessarily about what is classic - The Eye and The Gherkin etc, ie the more modern additions to the London skyline, do feature prominently in the HP films) Big Ben might be a decent shout though. But it is strange they do these tests sooo late on.

The Shard, perhaps? :thumbs:

 

[Sabi]

How are they going to do? They already have a shop called Ollivanders in Hogsmeade area. When originally it should be located in Diagon Alley. :shrug:

They will have to make changes in Hogsmeade also to keep the degree of immersion, I Think!

Ollivanders in Hogsmeade

Ollivanders in Diagon Alley

 

[King_K.]

^ It was already mentioned that the Ollivanders at Hogsmeade was sort of a "franchise" location, when the land first opened.

 

[CraigM]

^ It was already mentioned that the Ollivanders at Hogsmeade was sort of a "franchise" location, when the land first opened.

Exactly. This one is supposed to be twice the size, so they can call it the real deal.

 

[BJCool]

JK Rowling gave the way Uni configured Hogsmeade her blessing, so any annoying fans complaining how it breaks "canon" can stop. :thumbs:

 

[ReelJustice]

JK Rowling gave the way Uni configured Hogsmeade her blessing, so any annoying fans complaining how it breaks "canon" can stop. :thumbs:

Indeed, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if that space was repurposed for more Potter goodness! They may not need to though with the removal of the train and station.

 

[Teebin]

Indeed, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if that space was repurposed for more Potter goodness! They may not need to though with the removal of the train and station.

Do you have any concrete paperwork stating that the current train or station or Olivanders is being removed? I don't believe that Hogsmeade will be touched, short of a wall next to the train being opened up. In theme parks, it is much like Mickey Mouse being in Fantasyland and Adventureland at the same time. Once you arrive on the train to London, how would you know whether or not the train is still in Hogsmeade... you wouldn't. Theme parks intend that everyone believe in Santa Claus during your visit.

On another note, I haven't seen anyone discuss how they might do the transition from 9 3/4 to the muggle's King's Cross. Theoretically that should have a wee bit of theme park magic, don't you think?

 

[DragonSlayer]

In theme parks, it is much like Mickey Mouse being in Fantasyland and Adventureland at the same time. Once you arrive on the train to London, how would you know whether or not the train is still in Hogsmeade... you wouldn't. Theme parks intend that everyone believe in Santa Claus during your visit.

I agree with your general sentiment Teebin, but I think the argument is more that there will be another 'station' over where you actually board the train the IOA end, while the train sits there in current Hogsmeade. I'd be interested to know what they plan to do.

 

[ReelJustice]

I agree with your general sentiment Teebin, but I think the argument is more that there will be another 'station' over where you actually board the train the IOA end, while the train sits there in current Hogsmeade. I'd be interested to know what they plan to do.

You got it.

 

[ReelJustice]

From @OrlandoInformer

Looks to me like the panels to the left have been cleaned, painted, or some other finish type, but that may just be the way the sun is hitting it.

I wonder if the lamps are on site yet or if they are still at the place in Alabama. Either way, PCL will need them soon.

 

[Teebin]

I agree with your general sentiment Teebin, but I think the argument is more that there will be another 'station' over where you actually board the train the IOA end, while the train sits there in current Hogsmeade. I'd be interested to know what they plan to do.

In theory, there might be two additional train engines built, to make a total of three. However, I am not convinced that will be necessary as you might be boarding the train 30 cars back (magically speaking)... meaning you can't see the engine from there.

Looks to me like the panels to the left have been cleaned, painted, or some other finish type, but that may just be the way the sun is hitting it.

I wonder if the lamps are on site yet or if they are still at the place in Alabama.

The finish will be gray granite. Alabama was merely a possibility of many and not inside information.

 

[ReelJustice]

In theory, there might be two additional train engines built, to make a total of three. However, I am not convinced that will be necessary as you might be boarding the train 30 cars back (magically speaking)... meaning you can't see the engine from there.


The finish will be gray granite. Alabama was merely a possibility of many and not inside information.

If the new station is between Dragons and Sinbad, it will be a considerable distance from Hogsmeade with a coaster and I guess forest in between.

Well, wherever the lamps are coming from, they are conceivably coming soon.

 

[Teebin]

Someone say something... tell us stuff we don't know... show us pictures of things we haven't seen. I know that I should be more excited and digging for info, but for some reason I am not feeling compelled to bother my friends for it. They are busy with Halloween/Xmas stuff all over the country and it makes me feel a nuisance. Somebody kick in and say stuff, yap even.

 

[ReelJustice]

Someone say something... tell us stuff we don't know... show us pictures of things we haven't seen. I know that I should be more excited and digging for info, but for some reason I am not feeling compelled to bother my friends for it. They are busy with Halloween/Xmas stuff all over the country and it makes me feel a nuisance. Somebody kick in and say stuff, yap even.

I'm working on something.

 

[DragonSlayer]

Fulfilling the yap request with unashamed idle blue-skying, might-have-been chit-chat:

If Universal had known for concrete sure how successful WWHP was going to be before construction, do you think they would have been willing to make it into a (small) third gate? A new park featuring Potter, LOTR and one other suitably epic franchise all to the standard of WWHP would have been amazing. I know people will say no because the current two aren't up to scratch, but given the spruce-ups Potter money has paid for across the resort, if Uni had known in advance (the whole premise of my wild ramblings here) they could have addressed this issue anyway once the $$$ started rolling in. It would surely have been one of the most successful theme park ventures ever? And think of three things: the quality a park like that would have been, the huge numbers of visitors that essentially the HP fanbase multiplied by three franchises would have brought, and the resultant profit... Would have been cool. Anyone reckon they'd have done it?

<prepares to be bulldozed> :look:

 

[Teebin]

^ Those are good credible points. I am sure they were bantered at one time or another. The popularity might seem obvious now, but it isn't when you are writing real checks based on a sales pitch and pretty paintings. Plus, building outside of either park would have left each high-and-dry. US has been virtually dry since potter opened in IOA. GE and Blackstone unzipped their fly on banking the initial project. Just like a $250 million movie, they could have screwed it up and ended with a failure. It happens very often.

 

[Spideyfreak]

I'm with Teebin on this one. If it was built as a 3rd gate we wouldn't be seeing resort wide improvements like we are now. Thanks to Potter being built in IOA, the park has improved from small refurbs to major enhancements like Spider-man. Thanks to it being built in IOA, USF has to keep up and now it is seeing improvements like Despicable Me, Soundstage 44 and Jaws replacements.

 

[TheMackMachine]

I think putting Harry Potter in IOA is better than in a third gate, because when it was announced in 2007, Universal wasn't in a good economic position, considering that fact that GE and Blackistone never finacially helped Uni the way Comcast has. They needed a product in their current parks that could one day help them create a third gate, if that is their goal. The point is you must improve your product before expanding it. Disney did that in America before moving internationally, and so did Universal. The only problem for Uni, if this was their problem, is that you already used HP, and now they need to figure out how to fill the void to create a successful theme park. So instead of pushing the limits to bankruptcy to build a new theme park, they added Potter in IOA, and everything has worked to perfection.

Now I'm not as knowledgeable as most of you on this fourm so I could be drastically wrong, but I think the point is true. Enhance before expand. A third gate wouldn't hurt UOR, but they need the right place, right time to build it.

 

[quickfire609]

Now I'm not as knowledgeable as most of you on this fourm so I could be drastically wrong, but I think the point is true. Enhance before expand. A third gate wouldn't hurt UOR, but they need the right place, right time to build it.

A park based entirely around one franchise is more or less destined to fail, especially one that is essentially "over" like HP. If a franchise is starting to become less popular, it can be removed entirely and replaced with something new, which you just can't do if the entire park is based around a single franchise.

I don't think a third park would hurt UOR at all, but it depends on what it is and how it adds to the existing parks.

 

[Brian G.]

Just an FYI...there is a thread concerning a 3rd park somewhere around these boards. Just lazy to look right now.