Wizarding World - Diagon Alley Discussion (Opens 2014)

[zbob1992]

Guys I think I have figured it out what if the end of Diagon Alley where Gringotts would go was where Sindbad was now? That way the entrance to both areas would be next to eachother but on a V so that when you are in one you would not see the other?

The yellow is the current entrance to Hogmeade the black dot would be the entrance to DA and the black lines would be the border of DA.

 

[BamaToTheBone]

Ms. Rowling also wanted much narrower streets, and that didn't happen either. Bear in mind, just next door we travel from New York to Hollywood by just going down an alley next to Shrek. I'd imagine two different parts of the same island wouldn't be too tough to pull off.

 

[rhino4evr]

wow this thread moves fast!!

Ok if we forget about all this geography crap, and actually think about this from a business standpoint, making Diagon Alley makes the most sense.

1. It's an open air street, which is pretty much a requirement for the park. I don't think Universal is going to make you walk through a bunch of dark woods in the middle of a theme park. Think of how illogical that is.

2. More Stores! Less Lines! MORE MERCH!! - Do you think everyone wants to stand in line just to get into a store to buy something? There has been a lot of complaints about the overall size of the stores, and the capcity problems. Once those lines decrease, more people will be able to buy items. The additional shopping district will help cut lines, and give non-hardcore fans more incentive to purchase stuff.

3. Gringots Bank would be an easy concept to design a ride from. I picture a mild to medium thrill dark coaster similar to Space Mountain. How cool would that be?

As far as the stunt show goes...I wonder what they could really do that didn't involve flying..which would be costly and dangerous to develop. Possibly just a magic show of sorts?

 

[Vyrus]

:bang::bang::bang:

I wish there was an emoticon of putting your head THROUGH that brick wall.

People, I'm sorry, but you REALLY need to stop thinking like the mayor in London...you remember, the one that said having WW in Orlando instead of London made it less authentic? And everyone argued against him of course.....why is this argument any different? Because we are talking about a FICTIONAL land in the THEME PARK?

C'mon people, stop arguing that it won't happen because it doesn't make sense, and realize that NOTHING in theme park makes sense...THEN you can understand that its a BUSINESS first, and ENTERTAINMENT second...They want to make MONEY, PERIOD...they seasonalize attractions to SAVE MONEY...they layoff employees to SAVE MONEY...they expand the most popular area in a theme park today to MAKE MONEY....its all about the all mighty dollar.

 

[Splatter]

wow this thread moves fast!!

Ok if we forget about all this geography crap, and actually think about this from a business standpoint, making Diagon Alley makes the most sense.

.

2. More Stores! Less Lines! MORE MERCH!! - Do you think everyone wants to stand in line just to get into a store to buy something? There has been a lot of complaints about the overall size of the stores, and the capcity problems. Once those lines decrease, more people will be able to buy items. The additional shopping district will help cut lines, and give non-hardcore fans more incentive to purchase stuff.

I agree with all the reasons you stated why Diagon Alley makes the most sense, but from the business standpoint...it is not nessacary right now for them to make all the money they are making.

It would be a waste to rush it if they ever do it at all. By the time they would expand this the demand for the obscure Potter merch will be down. Potter will be popular for our lifetimes, but the need to buy things named Acid Pops and Chocolate Frogs will not be in a high demand nor the need for people to go through every giftshop like they do now. By the time they would complete Diagon Alley's shops it would be overkill. We don't need six stores for one intellectual property and eventually stores would have to be closed throughout the year or permanantly. There is a reason they sell themed merch based off of things you would find in Diagon Alley in Hogsmeade.

People have four stores to choose from 3/4 stores and the Trading Company store at the front of the park if they want to buy Potter themed merch. That is plenty of supply for the demand. It is crowded right now, but that is not going to last forever.

 

[Vyrus]

I agree with all the reasons you stated why Diagon Alley makes the most sense, but from the business standpoint...it is not nessacary right now for them to make all the money they are making.

It would be a waste to rush it if they ever do it at all. By the time they would expand this the demand for the obscure Potter merch will be down. Potter will be popular for our lifetimes, but the need to buy things named Acid Pops and Chocolate Frogs will not be in a high demand nor the need for people to go through every giftshop like they do now. By the time they would complete Diagon Alley's shops it would be overkill. We don't need six stores for one intellectual property and eventually stores would have to be closed throughout the year or permanantly. There is a reason they sell themed merch based off of things you would find in Diagon Alley in Hogsmeade.

People have four stores to choose from 3/4 stores and the Trading Company store at the front of the park if they want to buy Potter themed merch. That is plenty of supply for the demand. It is crowded right now, but that is not going to last forever.

But how do we know that demand for chocolate frogs in 10 years will be down? This is one of the all time highest selling book series of all time, highest grossing movie franchise of all time, and a big merch demand too.

Star Trek has been around for YEARS and that still draws fans, same thing with Star Wars...some things just don't have a time limit on them, they are timeless, and HP is definitely one of those types of stories.

 

[rhino4evr]

I think they should maybe just 1 larger general store, and maybe a few more botuque stores in the area. The rest can just be "show" windows. A stand up food stand would be a good idea as well. Is it possible they could sell Coke products in DA?

What they do with Mythos is another question. If they re-themed it, they would have to change their menu which would piss off quite a few people I think.

 

[Splatter]

But how do we know that demand for chocolate frogs in 10 years will be down? This is one of the all time highest selling book series of all time, highest grossing movie franchise of all time, and a big merch demand too.

Star Trek has been around for YEARS and that still draws fans, same thing with Star Wars...some things just don't have a time limit on them, they are timeless, and HP is definitely one of those types of stories.

Popular enough to likely keep around to sell for a very long time, but more than a few stores to sell them in? All eggs in one basket.

 

[ReelJustice]

Is it possible they could sell Coke products in DA?

No, it goes against the licensing agreement.

 

[Vyrus]

Popular enough to likely keep around to sell for a very long time, but more than a few stores to sell them in? All eggs in one basket.

But they don't have all their eggs in one basket, lets look at this from a logical standpoint.

If HP does take over the rest of LC, then basically they would have swapped out their largest land, for...well their largest land.

The previous LC theme have two resturants, the existing Arabian section of shops, and a few snack carts scattered and counter service food.

If they convert they will have:

2 restaurants (3b's and currently Mythos), the Hogsmeade of shops as well as the Diagon Alley of shops, a few snack carts of fruits, butterbeer etc.. and maybe some quick food stands possibly.

Sounds like an even swap to me...NOW....if with the new section open, you can make 75% more profit than the previous section, would you do it? What if that number goes down to 20% 10 years from now, would you still do it? The answer is yes, because regardless you're making more money than you were previously, and that always feeds to the rest of the park as well as people buy merch from the other stores as well.

 

[rhino4evr]

But they don't have all their eggs in one basket, lets look at this from a logical standpoint.

If HP does take over the rest of LC, then basically they would have swapped out their largest land, for...well their largest land.

The previous LC theme have two resturants, the existing Arabian section of shops, and a few snack carts scattered and counter service food.

If they convert they will have:

2 restaurants (3b's and currently Mythos), the Hogsmeade of shops as well as the Diagon Alley of shops, a few snack carts of fruits, butterbeer etc.. and maybe some quick food stands possibly.

Sounds like an even swap to me...NOW....if with the new section open, you can make 75% more profit than the previous section, would you do it? What if that number goes down to 20% 10 years from now, would you still do it? The answer is yes, because regardless you're making more money than you were previously, and that always feeds to the rest of the park as well as people buy merch from the other stores as well.

EXACTLY...replacing the least popular area of the park, with more of the MOST popular part of the park is a no brainer.

I know the purists are upset that Potter has officially taken over IoA from Marvel, but that's the truth. The biggest draw to the park is no longer Spiderman. At this point I think Universal would rather spend the money building a Potter expansion then repainting that Hulk Coaster ha ha.

 

[TSSD]

If HP does take over the rest of LC, then basically they would have swapped out their largest land, for...well their largest land.

:bang: I HATE this argument. LC WORKED BETTER since although it was one land, since it was split up into three distinct sections, it didn't feel like one GIANT LAND.

2 restaurants (3b's and currently Mythos),

Uni would NEVER change Mythos. It is the BEST theme park restaurant in THE WORLD. Changing it would be the STUPIDEST thing they've ever done.

the Hogsmeade of shops as well as the Diagon Alley of shops, a few snack carts of fruits, butterbeer etc.. and maybe some quick food stands possibly.

DA will never happen. Just give up. Jo would NEVER approve and neither would the original WW designers.

 

[rhino4evr]

:bang: I HATE this argument. LC WORKED BETTER since although it was one land, since it was split up into three distinct sections, it didn't feel like one GIANT LAND.

Uni would NEVER change Mythos. It is the BEST theme park restaurant in THE WORLD. Changing it would be the STUPIDEST thing they've ever done.
DA will never happen. Just give up. Jo would NEVER approve and neither would the original WW designers.

Lol, don't get so angry. It's just SPECULATION. Your opinions or ideas are no more valid then ours. You have no idea what Universal and JKR would approve.

That being said Universal sent a poll around to park guests about expansion not too long ago, which is why we are speculating in the first place.

I feel like the Lost Continent is a waste of Theme Park space, and that Mythos is HUGELY over rated. How does that make you feel?

PS - I could care less if they re-paint the HULK..but would love if they got rid of that awful cartoon they play over and over again while you are waiting in line.

 

[Helena123]

DA will never happen. Just give up. Jo would NEVER approve and neither would the original WW designers.

Never say never :thumbs: I don't think anyone can say anything for definite at the moment, it's all speculation.

... and that Mythos is HUGELY over rated. How does that make you feel?.

I think Mythos is a bit overrated too, I mean the building is wonderful but the food was OK and I was left feeling a little disappointed. Maybe becuase of all the hype around it :shrug: I'm not saying that means they'll change it, but this is just my opinion. I thought it lost it's best restaurant crown anyway?

 

[Tbad556]

Just an FYI, Mythos is not the #1 Theme Park Restaurant in the world. It lost that title last year when it came in 3rd place. My question is, who's to say it doesn't continue to fall in the polls?

 

[JungleSkip]

Mythos is great. I love it. The food is very good, especially for the price.

But, that being said, it's far from the best food I've ever had in a theme park. Le Cellier and Chefs de France far out strip it for quality.

 

[rhino4evr]

Mythos is great for a Theme Park restaurant, but that isn't saying much. There are better restaurants in CityWalk..that's usually where I go to eat instead.

 

[TSSD]

Lol, don't get so angry. It's just SPECULATION. Your opinions or ideas are no more valid then ours. You have no idea what Universal and JKR would approve.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to sound angry, I was just capitalizing it instead of bolding it since the bold button rarely works when I'm on my IPod, which I am.

I feel like the Lost Continent is a waste of Theme Park space, and that Mythos is HUGELY over rated. How does that make you feel?

I wasn't stating an opinion, it was voted #1 theme park restaurant for several years, and I didn't realize it lost the title.

 

[JungleSkip]

I wasn't stating an opinion, it was voted #1 theme park restaurant for several years, and I didn't realize it lost the title.

*sigh*

I also hated them proclaiming that to the gods. It was rated that by Amusement Insider, not some prestigious institution.

 

[Vyrus]

Mythos is more about the enviroment and the pricing since its so reasonable, but the food there is EXCELLENT, and I've eaten in my fair share of theme park restaurants.

I agree, I would hate to lose Mythos, but I'm also a realist and realize if we lose LC we lose it as well, so I'm just bracing myself for the inevitable.

Now the restaurant that came in #1 Bistro de Paris, is a VERY high end restaurant in Epcot, so it should definitely deserve the #1, BUT, I think they do have to take into account value, and Mythos is an unquestionable value for the buck.