Wizarding World - Diagon Alley Discussion (Opens 2014)

[Frogki]

When you say that an expansion will eae the crowds, you do realize that the main street of Hogsmeade will always be as skinny as ever, right? Nothing will change that.



That's completely opinionated. I rather like PF and I think (and I'm sure many tourists might agree) that it offers a nice change of pace and diversity from the rest of the park.

Even if Hogsmeade's streets will be crowded, HP has more CAPACITY, which will in turn lessen the crowds in Hogsmeade, no, doesn't effect the skinniness of the street. It's not relevant compared to capacity issues. They've had to close off the land, even after the opening. Tells you something in HP is powerful... Regardless, an expansion would lessen the feel of the crowds regardless of size... Capacity vs. Size is kind of irrelevant when talking about crowd eaters...

Alright, granted, that's my opinion. But most people on here agree, PF and Sinbad = Two very poor shows... If it were the original PF, and Sinbad was something else, I might be inclined to agree with you.
But even so, it's still definitely not the best land at IoA (once again, opinion, I apologize), and HP would be a likely replacement in the not-so-distant future...

 

[Brian G.]

Expansion or not, PF is terrible. They need to do something with it whether it be a Potter transition, or a new Greek themed attraction. At least get the name right.

 

[damond.themeparks]

Can you sort of outline the laws of your common theme park sense? Because mine is telling me: Rule #1 Making more money > everything else.



[/I]



I know this was not directed at me but Mitchez has valid points. Also, theme parks make the bulk of their money with Resturants and Merch. People will becoming for Potter for a very long time. It has more fans worldwide than it does in the US and not everyone can afford to visit in the first six months or first year.

Butterbeer, Hogshead, The Three Broomsticks and the Three gift shop structures fit everything sellable Potter Universal and WB could fit into them.

Another part of business is if revenue stays at a level the company is comfortable with they won't do anything in that area about it.

The fact that the common fans in large numbers also attends every day and purchases more things and buys more butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice just proves this.

I don't think Mitchez is saying that an expansion is impossible to happen, but being realistic it is(most likely) more likely not to.

mitch was basically saying that potter wont expand. bottom line. the fact of the matter is, is that it probably will. in a matter of i would say 4-5 years before we hear a confirmaion of it. there are already some pretty big rumors going around. just about everything to uni is telling them to expand. pretty much the only down side, is where to expand, and would the people be ok with it.

about the whole mythos thing, i have never been inside so i wouldnt know. ive heard great things about it, but last time i went on christmas, there werent that many people. it was a 20-25 minute wait but thats jot to bad in my book, i mean ive been to waffle houses with longer waits. i would assume that mythos is kind of like rainforest cafe or something similiar since the food is great and it sounds like the experience is unlike any normal resteraunt. getting rid of the resteraunt is clearly a big problem from both sides of this disscussion. but if they were to expand harry into lc, then that doesnt exactly mean they will get rid of it. all they would do is change the theme. same cooks, same type of entertainment, same location, just diffrent look. so i doubt mythos would be a huge factor to whether the expand or not.

 

[mantaguy]

Here we go again, comparing the WWoHP to any other themed land in history. If you can name one that is even remotely comparable in worldwide popularity or the massive amounts of money, attendance gains to its resort, etc as the WW I would start to consider this argument. But from what I can see the WWoHP is unprecedented, which means you can't compare it to past precedents, because it has none.

Who says all the lands have to be the same size? Look at Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom. Besides, I and many others would argue that LC is already a pathetic excuse for a land, with no rides, no staple attraction, two mediocre shows, and a shopping/games area. As I have said before, the medieval section was clearly the most important section of LC, with DD its main attraction. Anyone could have seen that, with the medieval area's removal, LC would be crippled. And yet Universal still saw fit to rip out LC's heart and feed it to Potter. It's not hard to see which property is more important to them.

Every time this question has been asked, the answer has been shouted in my ears. Magic Kingdom. MK is huge, bigger than Potter, in the theme park world. And how much of it has changed over the years? That's right, almost nothing. And the reason? Because it's quite fine the way it is thank you very much. As is the WW. It encompasses a lot of the Potter world already. This is the reason, if not done properly, it could be overkill.

Potter is no more "important" to UC than any other island. Universal saw the chane to take it away from Disney and they went for it. They took a gamble and knew they had to make it perfect. So they sacrificed Merlin Woods because they had to. I'm sure many many designers at UC were quite sad to see the part of LC go. In fact, if Speilberg saw what they did to the DD queue, he would hate it. But in order to get the land out in time for the grand finale of Pottermania (DH movies) they had to move quickly. It was not because Potter is more important.

--- Update ---

Expansion or not, PF is terrible. They need to do something with it whether it be a Potter transition, or a new Greek themed attraction. At least get the name right.

What???

And again, you're expressing opinion. I know many people, parks fans and not, that fully enjoyed PF. Most of the comments I hear coming out of the show are along the lines of "That was really cool."

 

[Frogki]

Every time this question has been asked, the answer has been shouted in my ears. Magic Kingdom. MK is huge, bigger than Potter, in the theme park world. And how much of it has changed over the years? That's right, almost nothing. And the reason? Because it's quite fine the way it is thank you very much. As is the WW. It encompasses a lot of the Potter world already. This is the reason, if not done properly, it could be overkill.

Potter is no more "important" to UC than any other island. Universal saw the chane to take it away from Disney and they went for it. They took a gamble and knew they had to make it perfect. So they sacrificed Merlin Woods because they had to. I'm sure many many designers at UC were quite sad to see the part of LC go. In fact, if Speilberg saw what they did to the DD queue, he would hate it. But in order to get the land out in time for the grand finale of Pottermania (DH movies) they had to move quickly. It was not because Potter is more important.

Yes, and it's also an ENTIRE theme park. You can't compare a theme park to an AREA of a theme park, really, that's a tad bit absurd, don't you think? And excuse me, attractions have been updated, certain areas expanded, etc...

 

[Brian G.]

It's not so much adding more, but improving their weakest island.

 

[mantaguy]

about the whole mythos thing, i have never been inside so i wouldnt know. ive heard great things about it, but last time i went on christmas, there werent that many people. it was a 20-25 minute wait but thats jot to bad in my book, i mean ive been to waffle houses with longer waits. i would assume that mythos is kind of like rainforest cafe or something similiar since the food is great and it sounds like the experience is unlike any normal resteraunt. getting rid of the resteraunt is clearly a big problem from both sides of this disscussion. but if they were to expand harry into lc, then that doesnt exactly mean they will get rid of it. all they would do is change the theme. same cooks, same type of entertainment, same location, just diffrent look. so i doubt mythos would be a huge factor to whether the expand or not.

Mythos has no entertainment. The entertainment is the look. Take away its amazing decor and you take away Mythos completely.

--- Update ---

Yes, and it's also an ENTIRE theme park. You can't compare a theme park to an AREA of a theme park, really, that's a tad bit absurd, don't you think? And excuse me, attractions have been updated, certain areas expanded, etc...

I'm sorry, by bigger I meant figuratively, as in the worldwide draw is larger. Attendance proves that. And when you do compare the size, of course they're going to make changes to an entire park. But there have been much fewer than in many other parks and over a 30 year time span. Potter's been open 6 months and is tiny in comparison (sizewise). Just think about it, if you were to compare both of these insanely popular properties, Potter wouldn't get an expansion in forever. (figuratively)

--- Update ---

It's not so much adding more, but improving their weakest island.

Adding more what? Are you talking about expanding Potter or improving LC?

 

[damond.themeparks]

It's not so much adding more, but improving their weakest island.

thats what i have in my mind to. lc is pretty pathetic if you ask me. i just want to see it re done or changed nto a diffrent theme and more stuff to do. whether its harry or not, it would still probably be an improvment. it wouldnt really be over kill either. adding more to harry would either bring in more people, or keep the same amount of people so its almost a win win situation.

 

[Splatter]

Why is that quoted as me...I have never posted that, and I am a huge fan of mythos and eat there quite often....weird.

 

[Brian G.]

Adding more what? Are you talking baout expanding Potter or improving LC?

LC needs improving, as far as activities go.

 

[Mitchiez]

They aren't going to change the look of Mytho's for Potter. Have you seen their menu? Defiantly no where near England cuisine. Like mantaguy said, Potter is no more "important" to UC than any other island. And Lost Continent isn't entirely poor, it needs to be updated like Brian said. Another large scale attraction, or a new something... but nothing as big as expanding over Potter. Just think, people have already planned their vacations for 2011, 2012, 2013 and so on for Islands of Adventure. It's real smart to just close it all down to do more construction "to make more money".

The Lost Continent has it's factors and details that make Islands of Adventure what it is. WWoHP is part of IOA, and so is LC. You may all say it's weak.. yet their attractions, shops, and eating places are far from being empty. Just because yeah, it's the season so people are going to come, doesn't mean that in theory LC is actually really empty and weak. It could use a new thrill ride, or a PF update. But really, no where near is Potter going to swallow it. There are rumors about everything, why would you start believing in them now.

I would also like to point out that this video proves that from the people who created WWoHP think that what it is now, is how it's going to stay for a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxxFV-u7Jr0 Go to 2:33 and listen to the question and answer. Then, listen to the rest of the interview.... :thumbs:

 

[mantaguy]

Why is that quoted as me...I have never posted that, and I am a huge fan of mythos and eat there quite often....weird.

That was strange. I don't know why it quoted you instead of damond.themeparks. I didn't even realize, I was just respnding. I fixed it though.

 

[Roxy91]

Recently they actually cleaned off all of the mold on the outside, and oh BOY was Mythos crowded during the last busy season. Even if Potter takes over every other island, they HAVE to keep Mythos.

Personally I love Mythos and would like to see it stay...However, I would argue the restaurant is so popular for two main reasons: 1.) Amazing food at a very cheap price, 2.) the themeing is incredible. If they were to hand over Mythos to Potter it could be just as or more popular because #1 would remain the same (if they kept the same chef) and #2 could potentially remain the same but as a different theme. So it is not essential for it to remain in its current state. Universal wouldn't lose money, attendance, or interest by changing it to Potter. (I am not arguing that they should, only that there is nothing stopping them.)

Sometimes we must choose between what is right and what is easy.

The way you say "we" proves in my mind that you are thinking of what we theme park fans would do, or what you yourself would do if you were somehow in charge of Universal. But I am saying Universal management is just not thinking like us. Maybe the creative team might want LC to stay the way it is now (while others would probably be more enthusiastic for Potter to expand) but the management only thinks about one thing - just this one thing - Money, Money, Money! Everything else comes back to money, for the management, and they are in charge.
Once again this has nothing whatsoever to do with what I or anyone else would like to see done with the park. The issue is centered around two facts - Universal wants more money, and Potter makes by far the most money.

I agree expanding Potter would make tons of money, but the LC has originality, creativity, and an epic theme, which is what makes IoA IoA, IMO.

You've accepted that Potter would make much more money. So then do you also accept that Universal wants more money? Because the whole argument is about what Universal wants to do, not what should be done. If Uni wants more money and Potter makes more money....seems pretty clear to me. That is real common sense, IMO.

 

[TSSD]

You may all say it's weak.. yet their attractions, shops, and eating places are far from being empty.

Yes, but the entire park is full, so that doesn't mean anything. And why is the park full? WWoHP. Expansion will happen. Within the next year or two? Probably not. But once people stop going just to visit the WWoHP for the first time, Uni would be stupid not to expand.

--- Update ---

However, I would argue the restaurant is so popular for two main reasons: 1.) Amazing food at a very cheap price, If they were to hand over Mythos to Potter it could be just as or more popular because #1 would remain the same (if they kept the same chef)

But the food would have to change. Just look at the menu and tell me, do you really think that's traditional British cuisine?

 

[mantaguy]

The way you say "we" proves in my mind that you are thinking of what we theme park fans would do, or what you yourself would do if you were somehow in charge of Universal. But I am saying Universal management is just not thinking like us. Maybe the creative team might want LC to stay the way it is now (while others would probably be more enthusiastic for Potter to expand) but the management only thinks about one thing - just this one thing - Money, Money, Money! Everything else comes back to money, for the management, and they are in charge.
Once again this has nothing whatsoever to do with what I or anyone else would like to see done with the park. The issue is centered around two facts - Universal wants more money, and Potter makes by far the most money.

You've accepted that Potter would make much more money. So then do you also accept that Universal wants more money? Because the whole argument is about what Universal wants to do, not what should be done. If Uni wants more money and Potter makes more money....seems pretty clear to me. That is real common sense, IMO.

I was quoting Dumbledore. That's something he said in the books and in fact in the FJ queue line. It was more a Potter reference joke than anything else.

Check the above video link for proof that UC (Universal Creative) has no plans as of yet for expansion, and they, like myself, believe that the current layout, attractions, and diversity is perfect. Like BriMan said, just fix up LC, don't get rid of it.

BTW it happened again with the misquoting...

 

[Mitchiez]

It's kind of dull to assume that a theme park is first and fore most money hungry. If that was the case, then pretty much all of the Orlando Theme Parks would be awful.

 

[Roxy91]

Universal saw the chane to take it away from Disney and they went for it. They took a gamble and knew they had to make it perfect. So they sacrificed Merlin Woods because they had to. I'm sure many many designers at UC were quite sad to see the part of LC go. In fact, if Speilberg saw what they did to the DD queue, he would hate it. But in order to get the land out in time for the grand finale of Pottermania (DH movies) they had to move quickly. It was not because Potter is more important.

Oh? So if a new Jurassic Park movie was coming out, and UO needed room for a new JP ride, but they had limited time and space, they would take over part of Potter? :rofl:

 

[Brian G.]

What???

And again, you're expressing opinion. I know many people, parks fans and not, that fully enjoyed PF. Most of the comments I hear coming out of the show are along the lines of "That was really cool."

I just prefer the original show. It was much better than what is there now. As far as the name, there is nothing that is "Furious" about Poseidon in the new version, hence the little jab.

 

[TSSD]

Oh? So if a new Jurassic Park movie was coming out, and UO needed room for a new JP ride, but they had limited time and space, they would take over part of Potter? :rofl:

That's different. Potter is a million times more popular and profitable than JP will ever be.

 

[TheDecemberists]

Can we please start making bets already? Otherwise all of this arguing is pointless.

Or maybe a poll?