Cat out of the bag, sort of. Harry's going to Universal

TarzanRocked99-

TarzanRocked99-

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
From LA Weekly this morning:
EXCLUSIVE: First Ever Harry Potter Theme Park Planned At Universal Studios Florida

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I’m told that Universal Studios Florida is finalizing terms to bring a type of “Harry Potter World” to its Orlando resort. The entire themed area would be at a previously unused portion of the amusement park. The negotiations have been kept uber-secret. It’s way bigger than The Simpsons ride deal I announced earlier this week. (Previously, various online blogs and websites that follow theme parks have posted only unconfirmed rumors about both.) Having Harry will be like a cash cow for Uni. After all, the six Potter books published to date have collectively sold more than 325 million copies and been translated into more than 63 languages. The seventh and last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is scheduled to be released on July 21st.
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Its publishers have announced a record-breaking 12 million copies for the first print run in the U.S. alone. The first four books have been made into wildly successful motion pictures by Warner Bros, which has earned an estimated $4 billion in total worldwide revenue from them. The fifth pic, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is scheduled for release on July 13. The books and movies have also spawned video games and assorted merchandise but never a theme park attraction. Back in 2005, a news story made the rounds that Walt Disney Co. wanted to create a Harry Potter theme park and execs were reportedly looking at a Singapore site for a huge complex with rides devoted to the Harry Potter stories. Disney watcher Jim Hill said that the company had been in protracted negotiations with J.K Rowling and Warner's to secure theme park rights for the complex. But that project never materialized. Instead, I'm told Universal went into negotiations with Warner's and that deal is now set in principle but terms are still being finalized. Bill Davis, president of Universal Orlando Resort, was asked in February by the Orlando Sentinel about the possibility of a Harry Potter attraction. Davis replied: "Boy, I think that would be great. I can't talk about what we're going to be bringing to either one of our parks in the future. That's a forward-looking thing we can't discuss. I will tell you we're working hard to bring innovative, new technologically-advanced attractions to both of our parks.”
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Universal has cashed in on other movie-related attractions by spinning Jurassic Park, The Mummy, Van Helsing, King Kong, Spider-Man, Hulk, Back To The Future, Jaws etc. into theme-park gold. Disney has woven its Pixar toons into its theme parks and went the reverse route with Pirates of the Caribbean, a Disneyland water ride that received a facelift in time for the second installment of the movie. Wall Street has been only so-so about theme parks because they have fixed costs and swing up and down with the economic cycle. When it first took over Universal, GE/NBC reportedly planned to sell the theme parks. But the company apparently discovered that they also generate great cash flow. Until now, the closest anyone has come to making Harry Potter into an attraction is Alnwick Castle, the location for Hogwarts School. And the gardens at London’s B__________gham Palace in 2006 were turned into a $10 million children’s theme park celebrating British children’s literature for the Queen's 80th birthday. J.K. Rowling read from her next Harry Potter book joined by Harry himself, actor Daniel Radcliffe.

Posted by Nikki Finke on Friday, April 13th, 2007 at 04:10PM | Permalink |
 
MJMcBride

MJMcBride

Member
Could be.I know Universal has told shareholders they are spending millions on the parks in the next couple of years. Of course, there was a rumor that Disney had these rights, but who knows.
 
JROK

JROK

Member
MJMcBride said:
Could be.I know Universal has told shareholders they are spending millions on the parks in the next couple of years. Of course, there was a rumor that Disney had these rights, but who knows.
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$120 Million in the next year alone... Harry Poter in Lost Continent at IOA?? This would be very good for not only Universal, but also Disney.
 
C

Clotho

Member
I am glad it didn't go to Disney. It just doesn't feel Disney to me. I love Harry, and I would probably enjoy a land based on it. But "Tomorroland" "Adventureland" and "Harrpy Potter Ville?" or something? Just wouldn't fit, IMO.

I suppose I could have seen some attractions at MGM, but even that would have felt like shoehorning it in...
 
Lee

Lee

Adventurer
The entire themed area would be at a previously unused portion of the amusement park.
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THAT's the interesting part.
Where? Not much land left at IoA that I know of other than a couple small plots on either side of Jurassic Park, and neither of them seems big enough for what JKR was wanting. :shrug:

Maybe they mean to put it in the Studio park. Big plot over by the old Back to the Future building.
 
TarzanRocked99-

TarzanRocked99-

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Lee, any idea when an official announcment may be made. Do you think they are looking to ride the wave of all the Harry stuff happening in July?

Also in my opinion as much as I would have loved Disney to get the rights, this may be the first real bit of competition they have seen since the opening year of IOA. And I am sure they still would be able to dust off some of those old designs they created to counteract any threat back then.
 
LoriMistress

LoriMistress

Well-Known Member
I'm more relieved that Disney didn't buy the rights to it. Plus, I think it might be some decent competetion with the two companies: Disney vs. Universal.
 
culturenthrills

culturenthrills

Well-Known Member
unkadug said:
Universal hasn't developed the attraction YET !

It might be no more than a Dumbo type attraction. :eek:
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Funny but I doubt that this is just a ride. I believe it will be a full blown land or "island". I think people have said JKR has been very adamant that it be a fully themed experience and not just some ride.
 

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