Disney's Reaction to Harry Potter Details?

[Lee]

I'll be curious to see what kind of safety restraint they'll be using. The article author made a pretty big deal about the warnings about ride intensity.

Over the shoulder, coaster-style restraints.
As seen on the test seats at the entrance to the ride.

I don't think you have an accurate feel for the demographic that FLE will attract. the princesses and Pixie Hollow will definitely bring new people to WDW because there are many people who have little princesses that will scream I WANNA GO NOW because they'll see the advertisements for the new area on TV.

I disagree. As I have said, FLE is Disney "preaching to the choir". It will add needed capacity, and spread the existing crowds in Fantasyland out to ease conjestion back there. However it won't provide a significant bump in attendance. People who were already going to MK with little kids will have something new to do, but the number of guests booking new vacations because of FLE will be proportionally small.

There is no competition with these expansions, all this will do for WDW is add to MK capacity. I garentee that WDW will barley see any rise in attendence from FLE if any at all.

Yes. Exactly. Attendance bumps only arise from major new headliner attractions. (See: Everest, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones, Space Mountain in Paris)

I trust the sources I have that say it is a D,

As well you should.

 

[Figment632]

Over the shoulder, coaster-style restraints.
As seen on the test seats at the entrance to the ride.

I disagree. As I have said, FLE is Disney "preaching to the choir". It will add needed capacity, and spread the existing crowds in Fantasyland out to ease conjestion back there. However it won't provide a significant bump in attendance. People who were already going to MK with little kids will have something new to do, but the number of guests booking new vacations because of FLE will be proportionally small.


Despite what Disney may say in their advertising and PR materials, internally TLM is indeed considered a "solid D" ticket. I've been posting that here for months.


Yes. Exactly. Attendance bumps only arise from major new headliner attractions. (See: Everest, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones, Space Mountain in Paris)


As well you should.

You are one of them so I am sure you would say that

 

[magic2me]

Some of these type will add a day to their WDW trip to visit IoA, others will replace a WDW day, as you suggest.

Many of those who are already at a WDW resort may not necessarily move to a Universal resort just for one night...

I see some impact to the WDW bottom line, but I believe it will be minimal.

We normally do a 9-10 day trip. We may add a day to the front end and stay at Universal to see the WWoHP. We will visit, we already have our tickets. The trip would be late fall.

My big concern is that this ride will be too much for me. I am not a coaster fan. If it is this maybe our only trip to IOA. I hope to ride but some of the stuff maybe too much for me.

From us Disney will miss out very little on the first trip and depending on how much of a trill ride they did Disney will benefit as we will not return.

 

[misterID]

and despite your feelings i'm sure you and your entire family will still enjoy FLE, regardless of if anyone feels its marketed towards little girls.

And yes we are Disney fans, and I don't try to discredit everything Uni does...Uni was my favorite set of theme parks when i was younger. I have been there more than enough and have had more than enough personal experiences to know personally that the grounds are not as nicely kept, the employees aren't as friendly, the parks aren't nearly as immersive, and I just overall have a better time and experience at Disney.

Some of you are spending way too much time trying to discredit our sentiment that we find Disney to be a much better experience.

I'm sure my niece will enjoy it, and hopefully I will... To an extent :lol:

I'm just not sold on The Little Mermaid and FL being the huge draw others think it will. I mean, HP is going on hype of being the new "stellar" attraction of theme park rides. And HP appeals to a wide variety of people, also the people who hear how incredible it supposedly is. Not just princesses. I just don't see the same for TLM.

 

[IWant2GoNow]

I'm extremely excited for the WWoHP! The group I'm going with in June wanted to go so we'll be doing 4-5 days of WDW and 2 days of UNI. Normally it would just strictly be WDW but UNI grabbed us on this go around. Haven't been to UNI in 4 years, should be great!

I do however hope that this is an eye opener for Disney and maybe a little spark to get them to dust off some of their BlueSky ideas and start implementing them. (BK in whatever form, JII, a fixed Yeti... )

I don't think Disney is going to respond with anything right away. I think Disney thinks they beat UNI to the punch announcing the FLE last year... but... they really didn't... :lookaroun

 

[NewfieFan]

There is no competition with these expansions, all this will do for WDW is add to MK capacity. I garentee that WDW will barley see any rise in attendence from FLE if any at all.

I'm not comparing the two expansions (or whatever you want to call them). I was disagreeing with the fact you stated... that no one will come for the FLE.

I can not disagree with what you are saying because you have actually talked to people who are planning their first trip based on FLE.

What I will say though is FLE will not bring in big numbers at all. It is just going to fold into the Magic Kingdom. It is not standing out the way that WWoHP is. The excitement that has built over the years for WWoHP is immense. FLE is not generating anywhere near that level. Nor should it in my opinion. From what we know there is nothing ground breaking, nor overly exciting coming with the expansion. Unless of course you are a 5 year old girl, or have a 5 year old girl. Which most people are not/do not. And even those families with little girls, this will only be a piece of their vacations. I am sure they would be coming to WDW anyway.

Again, I'm not comparing the two expansions! I was just stating that the FLE will bring people in... again, how many... I don't know. But there are people/families who will come for this. A poster stated no one will come for the FLE and I was disagreeing with his/her point. That is all!

I'm raising my 9-year-old niece who thinks she is a Disney princess! I also worked in the tourism business most of my life, especially in marketing, which gave me connections into both Disney and UNI.

I can tell you this, anything big, hugely popular, marketed well and lives up to the hype will succeed. And mostly, word of mouth. You have to remember this: There are huge dynamics to the typical vacationing family that stretches further than appealing to the little girls who love princesses. Disney NEVER had success targeting little girls who loved princesses for their themeparks, they were successful targeting families. This was the knock against UNI, which my father told them back in the early 90's and they didn't listen. But HP will have an impact. Demographics and tastes are changing. Word of mouth is going to help UNI once they get people in the parks. And don't underestimate what this could do for locals going to UNI now. This will be as much about getting people into the park and experiencing the other attractions as it does about getthing them to see HP.

I think a lot of what's going on here, in this thread, is more of disney fans not wanting UNI to succeed on any level, or disney being upstaged on any level. And the truth is, the more UNI succeeds the better it is for WDW in the long run.

I know HP will have an effect... if you read an earlier post by me... I even state that I think this will hurt Disney a little this summer. I have no problem with Disney "being upstaged"... go for it Uni! I was just talking about the FLE in in of itself - not comparing the two! As you mentioned the FLE will bring in families (especially those with little princesses of their own)!

 

[devoy1701]

Over the shoulder, coaster-style restraints.
As seen on the test seats at the entrance to the ride.

I disagree. As I have said, FLE is Disney "preaching to the choir". It will add needed capacity, and spread the existing crowds in Fantasyland out to ease conjestion back there. However it won't provide a significant bump in attendance. People who were already going to MK with little kids will have something new to do, but the number of guests booking new vacations because of FLE will be proportionally small.


Despite what Disney may say in their advertising and PR materials, internally TLM is indeed considered a "solid D" ticket. I've been posting that here for months.


Yes. Exactly. Attendance bumps only arise from major new headliner attractions. (See: Everest, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones, Space Mountain in Paris)


As well you should.

Yet we also consider Roger Rabbit a solid D border line E?

you people and this rating system are truly crazy...and it is also crazy to really think that MK will not see a spike in attendance when Fantasy Forest opens.

 

[Testtrack321]

The general consensus is that this will help Disney and cab drivers a lot. Why? Universal marketing has confused people into thinking they're getting a new Harry Potter park, enough attractions and experiences to last at least two days. What they're getting is something that'll last them a day max due to lines. I'm excited for this expansion like no other, and I will be there this summer, but I wouldn't be surprised if Disney buys some additional billboards near Universal...

 

[Figment632]

I'm not comparing the two expansions (or whatever you want to call them). I was disagreeing with the fact you stated... that no one will come for the FLE.



Again, I'm not comparing the two expansions! I was just stating that the FLE will bring people in... again, how many... I don't know. But there are people/families who will come for this. A poster stated no one will come for the FLE and I was disagreeing with his/her point. That is all!



I know HP will have an effect... if you read an earlier post by me... I even state that I think this will hurt Disney a little this summer. I have no problem with Disney "being upstaged"... go for it Uni! I was just talking about the FLE in in of itself - not comparing the two! As you mentioned the FLE will bring in families (especially those with little princesses of their own)!

No one will book a trip for FLE.

Yet we also consider Roger Rabbit a solid D border line E?

you people and this rating system are truly crazy...and it is also crazy to really think that MK will not see a spike in attendance when Fantasy Forest opens.

MK may see a spike but not WDW, the people that are already there in WDW will spend more time in MK that is how it will see a spike.

As Lee said attendance only spikes for major attractions like TOT and EE.

 

[JCtheparrothead]

Here is my 2 cents. I am looking forward to HP at Universal and I hope this makes Universal step up their game a bit. I have been there twice and thought the rides are fun the ambiance and the cast are far from a WDW level. I will always go to Disney if I am in Orlando and I will go to HP to check it out, mostly because my wife is a huge fan. But i can tell you this, if HP doesnt bring the fantasy/story to life for my wife (or the millions of other fans that visit) i can bet that our trips to Universal would not be an every visit thing. Disney has the customer service down (with a few exceptions from time to time) and Universal can in no way compare to that. We would all like WDW to add all of the attractions we have been asking for and it looks like we are getting some great improvements. IMO Disney is a powerhouse and really wont notice a drop in attendance because people know what they are getting there, a great experience. Universal and Harry will really have to work to even steal a little Disney thunder away.

 

[Lee]

Yet we also consider Roger Rabbit a solid D border line E?

you people and this rating system are truly crazy...and it is also crazy to really think that MK will not see a spike in attendance when Fantasy Forest opens.

Roger Rabbit is not an E. I've never heard it referred to it in that way by anyone at Disney. If folks at WDI are telling me TLM is a "D" then that's what it is.
As for that spike in attendance....we will see. I stick to my predicition of no substantial uptick in turnstile clicks as I know for a fact that was not the primary goal of the expansion, and is not really expected by the suits.

 

[misterID]

Even if Disney's answer was to buy more billboards (good luck with that solving your problems) what would they be advertising to draw people in? A ride based on a 20 year old animated film? I think the new Star Tours would have a better chance, but would it, really? If anything, Disney would have to try and confuse people that the FL expansion included more than just a single ride. For the record, I really haven't seen anything that would lead too many people to think HP was a another themepark.

 

[NewfieFan]

No one will book a trip for FLE.

Ok! :wave:

Peace out people!

 

[Hrudey3032]

No one will book a trip for FLE.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes. You do not know every family in the World will not possibly see a ad by Disney advertising the new FLE and say "We have never been and thhis looks amazing so lets take the kids this summer and see this!"

MK may see a spike but not WDW, the people that are already there in WDW will spend more time in MK that is how it will see a spike.

As Lee said attendance only spikes for major attractions like TOT and EE.

I am not saying huge ammounts will go for the FLE but there will be some that do go for it.

 

[devoy1701]

No one will book a trip for FLE.



MK may see a spike but not WDW, the people that are already there in WDW will spend more time in MK that is how it will see a spike.

As Lee said attendance only spikes for major attractions like TOT and EE.

well since Lee said it it must be gospel.

I think you need to take a step back and look at this not as whether people will choose Uni over Fantasy Forest. I guess we'll have to wait another 2 years for the 2011 attendance #s to come out, but I bet we will definitely see an increase in visitors to both MK and WDW.

you don't just get to write out Locals or repeat visitors or what have you as not being a factor. Those do count if they bring an uptick to the attendance numbers.

but I bet we're going to see people who do not come to FL on a regular basis, or might not take vacations every year, or might opt for a cruise over Orlando, who are hearing about Harry Potter opening up this year, and FLE opening up next year and will actually wait until they are both opened before making a trip down here for a couple reasons...the first being that they don't make regular trips to the theme parks, and 2, because HP land is going to be hellacrowded this year!

 

[Figment632]

I am not saying huge ammounts will go for the FLE but there will be some that do go for it.

I think a lot of locals will flock for this, but this is minor expansion. It is Meet and Greets and a D-ticket ride. If there were a massive E ticket like JTTCOTE or INdy I might agree but I don't see a family from NJ or MI or TX seeing this commercial and booking a vacation just for FLE.

 

[devoy1701]

Roger Rabbit is not an E. I've never heard it referred to it in that way by anyone at Disney. If folks at WDI are telling me TLM is a "D" then that's what it is.
As for that spike in attendance....we will see. I stick to my predicition of no substantial uptick in turnstile clicks as I know for a fact that was not the primary goal of the expansion, and is not really expected by the suits.

i was referring to the thread in the general discussion area that has Indy in the title that was going around earlier this week...

 

[Figment632]

well since Lee said it it must be gospel.

I think you need to take a step back and look at this not as whether people will choose Uni over Fantasy Forest. I guess we'll have to wait another 2 years for the 2011 attendance #s to come out, but I bet we will definitely see an increase in visitors to both MK and WDW.

you don't just get to write out Locals or repeat visitors or what have you as not being a factor. Those do count if they bring an uptick to the attendance numbers.

but I bet we're going to see people who do not come to FL on a regular basis, or might not take vacations every year, or might opt for a cruise over Orlando, who are hearing about Harry Potter opening up this year, and FLE opening up next year and will actually wait until they are both opened before making a trip down here for a couple reasons...the first being that they don't make regular trips to the theme parks, and 2, because HP land is going to be hellacrowded this year!

Go back and read my posts I have already stated imo that the spike in attendance will be from local.

Also while I think FLE is a failure in many ways it is a champ in the most important way. It will add to the capacity of MK which is the biggest reason it is happening.

 

[devoy1701]

I think a lot of locals will flock for this, but this is minor expansion. It is Meet and Greets and a D-ticket ride. If there were a massive E ticket like JTTCOTE or INdy I might agree but I don't see a family from NJ or MI or TX seeing this commercial and booking a vacation just for FLE.

must not be a family man yet.

i give up on you guys too. we'll wait till the number come out.. someone bookmark this thread so we can find it in 2 years. :wave:

 

[DisneyJoe]

I think a lot of locals will flock for this, but this is minor expansion. It is Meet and Greets and a D-ticket ride. If there were a massive E ticket like JTTCOTE or INdy I might agree but I don't see a family from NJ or MI or TX seeing this commercial and booking a vacation just for FLE.

As a family from NJ, and also a travel agent, I can tell you that there are at least 2 dozen families planning on visiting WDW when FLE is ready.