Expert Says Potter Opening May Rival Disney

[Gringrinngghost]

Expert Says Potter Opening May Rival Disney

Magic Kingdom Opened In Central Fla. In 1971

POSTED: 9:41 am EDT June 15, 2010
UPDATED: 11:52 am EDT June 15, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Universal Orlando's opening of the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" could have nearly the same effect on Central Florida as Disney's Magic Kingdom nearly 40 years ago, according to a University of Central Florida theme park expert.
The grand opening will be celebrated on Friday and gives Harry Potter fans worldwide a compelling reason to visit Florida, providing a much-needed boost to hotels, restaurants and stores in addition to theme parks, said Duncan Dickson, an assistant professor at UCF's Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
Dickson said with the tourism industry struggling economically, and now the oil spill debacle, the opening could not have come at a better time for Central Florida
"This has the potential to have as big of an impact as the Magic Kingdom in 1971," Dickson said. "It gives people a reason to travel and experience something different."

http://www.wesh.com/entertainment/23903685/detail.html

 

[wbc]

Do people really go ALL the way to Orlando, visit Universal and not WDW?

How can one attraction be compared to an entire theme park?

 

[devoy1701]

so a small section of a theme park is supposed to have the same effect that MK did??? Back when Magic Kingdom was the very first theme park of its kind and scale to enter the area????

I don't think I buy it.

 

[jakeman]

I think that is overstating things a little.

While Harry Potter will be huge in it's own right, the Magic Kingdom transformed a sleepy little town in the orange groves into a metropolis.

This will be great for theme park competition, but saying that it is going to have the same effect as Magic Kingdom is going a little far in my opinion.

 

[Mickey_777]

Are Potter nerds that hardcore?

 

[Timmay]

I guess all you must have been sleeping...or not old enough (gosh, I hope not) to remember countless people standing in countless lines for countless hours waiting to get their grubby paws on a Potter book.

Look, so what if it does rival the MK opening? Good for Universal...and it just might make Disney realize they are in a new ball game.

 

[joe80x86]

I really don't know how you can compare the two. Opening the first actual "theme" park on the east coast vs opening a new ride along with the rethemeing of two others.

I mean it's kinda like saying that the FLE opening with rival that of Epcot's or DHS or Universal. It's just not the same thing.

Also after reading a couple of reviews from the current soft opening it seems like the new ride and shops may have capacity issues. Also I have to wonder how long Universal will keep some of the extras like the train conductor at the front a some of the other performing cast or will they slowly disappear over the next 6-12 months.

 

[devoy1701]

I guess all you must have been sleeping...or not old enough (gosh, I hope not) to remember countless people standing in countless lines for countless hours waiting to get their grubby paws on a Potter book.

Look, so what if it does rival the MK opening? Good for Universal...and it just might make Disney realize they are in a new ball game.

being able to go to your local bookstore to wait for a book is one thing. I doubt even a quarter of those people will be coming down this Friday for the grand opening of the "theme park". Most will probably be locals IMO. between Recession and Oil spills and whatever else is going on, how many people are traveling to Florida anyway?

 

[floridabill]

AHAHAHA sounds like a universal paid statistic!! I Am not anti universal or anit seaworld or anti disney!!! But I do not believe a little land with theming one new ride and a re themed ride will change the world. Magic kingdom was a whole park when florida was nothing!

 

[Master Yoda]

If all we were going to do is compare opening day numbers this guy might have a case but to be fair the population of Orlando and the surrounding areas has increased by more than a factor of 5 since the late 60's early 70's. For this guy to be right WWOHP would have to add more than 65,000 jobs to the central Florida area.

 

[Mickey_777]

Potter fans have known about this for a while so they very well may have been saving up and planning their trips for all this time. I guess I wouldn't be surprised...

 

[MoonMouse1]

I feel like the way they are marketing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is very misleading...there was a 30 minute special on NBC not too long ago about the "making" of it...and not once did they say that this was just a LAND inside Islands of Adventure...they are making it seem like this is an entire separate theme park devoted to Harry Potter.

I feel like people may be slightly let down after they realize that this is just a small land inside an existing theme park...with only one new ride, two re-themed rides, and a handful of small shops.

 

[IWant2GoNow]

I was able to get into Harry Potter this past Friday on the last day of our vacation. The theming is very well done and I wasn't able to go into any of the shops because they were so crowded.

That being said, I do not feel that this will have very much staying power for drawing guests back. The new ride was great and original, but after that unless you are a hardcore Potter-nerd there really wasn't much else going on. I give it two, maybe three years and Universal will have to think of something else to keep their numbers up.

 

[RoRo]

WWOHP is amazing, the theming is on par and attention to detail is nearly on par with DisneySea. WWOHP is more than just one new ride and two rethemed rides, it is a full experience and the shops are like attractions in themselves like the World Showcase at Epcot. The ride in the castle, HPatFJ, is better than Spiderman, which says a lot. It topped the best ride in the world.

It should be an eye opener for Disney and competition is a good thing, it pushes both parties to do greater and greater.

 

[SJN1279]

I rode the new Harry Potter attraction this past Saturday, and I came away very disappointed in the new ride. The movements were jerky and I actually got motion sickness(which hasn't happened to me since Mission Space opened). The ride was also severly lacking a good story and was low on fun factor. The castle walkthrough was cool, but the scenes were repetive and had very low replay value.

I'm a big Potter and Universal fan(absolutely love The Simpsons Ride and personally think the Mummy blows Everest away), but this ride doesn't do the books justice.

I also have a beef with IOA that they have no rides for the entire family!(Even Cat in the Hat spins way too much). If they made a Potter ride into a next generation Haunted Mansion/Monsters Inc Japan like attraction for the entire family, they would have had a sure-fire winner. What they have now just doesn't cut it for me personally.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Expert Says Potter Opening May Rival Disney

Magic Kingdom Opened In Central Fla. In 1971

POSTED: 9:41 am EDT June 15, 2010
UPDATED: 11:52 am EDT June 15, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Universal Orlando's opening of the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" could have nearly the same effect on Central Florida as Disney's Magic Kingdom nearly 40 years ago, according to a University of Central Florida theme park expert.
The grand opening will be celebrated on Friday and gives Harry Potter fans worldwide a compelling reason to visit Florida, providing a much-needed boost to hotels, restaurants and stores in addition to theme parks, said Duncan Dickson, an assistant professor at UCF's Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
Dickson said with the tourism industry struggling economically, and now the oil spill debacle, the opening could not have come at a better time for Central Florida
"This has the potential to have as big of an impact as the Magic Kingdom in 1971," Dickson said. "It gives people a reason to travel and experience something different."

http://www.wesh.com/entertainment/23903685/detail.html

Really? The opening of a 20 acre subland consisting of 3 rides (2 or which were already there), a few minor live shows, a handful of shops, and a quick service eatery is going to have as big an impact as a brand spanking new 107 acre Magic Kingdom filled with numerous rides, shows, and restaurants? Please.

The Magic Kingdom in 1971 is what put the essentially unknown city of Orlando on the map. It created the tourism industry in Central Florida, bringing in millions of new visitors for the region and ushering in a new industry sector for Florida that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of jobs and untold millions (even billions) in revenue. So I beg of Mr. Dickson, how is WWoHP even remotely comparable to MK? :brick:

 

[stlbobby]

Is it possible this professor just wanted to ensure he'd be quoted? Only a cynic would think an "expert" would use hyperbole to create a controversy and have his name splashed all over the internets.

Only a cynic would think such a thing, or maybe a realist.

 

[Victoria]

Yeaaaa...I'm not buying it. :shrug: Obviously my loyalties lie with WDW but I am a big Harry Potter fan. I am going to be in WDW in August but I'm not taking the time to go to IoA for a day just to see WWoHP. :shrug: I'm going back to WDW again in December but even then I probably won't go see WWoHP. Maybe next summer. From what I have been hearing about how crowded it is, I much prefer to wait until the crowds die down so I can fully enjoy the new land.

The other issue I have with WWoHP is that it is based on a series of books and movies that are currently popular. The series appears to be coming to an end soon though. I'm not convinced that once there are no more new books or movies that HP will still be as popular as it is now. :shrug: WWoHP might outlive the end of the series for a few years but I highly doubt it will be able to remain essentially unchanged 40 years from now.

 

[Master Yoda]

Is it possible this professor just wanted to ensure he'd be quoted? Only a cynic would think an "expert" would use hyperbole to create a controversy and have his name splashed all over the internets.

Only a cynic would think such a thing, or maybe a realist.

I was thinking the same thing. It looks like the journalistic equivalent of flame bait.

 

[cheezbat]

The WWOHP is amazing. But I too do not think it can compare to the opening of the Magic Kingdom. While it very well may be the theme park-changer Universal has been looking for, more will have to be added over time to keep it fresh and relevant.
There are millions of Potter fans around the world. This will be a good year for Universal.
I too hope that it puts enough of a dent in Disney that they realize they need to get on the ball and up their game again.

The ride isn't as jerky as some say. I thought the motion was perfect for what was going on in the ride...and it is exciting! I would have liked to have seen Valdemort in the ride, but he really isn't necessary to the ride's storyline.

and have any of you ridden Cat in the Hat lately? It doesn't hardly spin anymore, thanks to that one guest getting out of the vehicle and getting injured a few weeks back.