Galaxy's Edge popularity vs Potter's popularity

RandomPrincess

Keep Moving Forward
My kids are 6 and 8 and we love SW and HP. We own tons of SW toys and have had several lightsabers. My kids each have two complete sets of HP uniforms and robes, one Gryffindor and one of the house they were sorted into. They each own a fancy RFID wand and play wands. We have much more SW merch because it's easier to find SW stuff and doesn't cost a fortune for our kids. Most Potter stuff is limited or very expensive. You find more home decor than toys. My daughter would love a Hermione or Ginny doll but you can't get them. I can buy her multiple versions of every Star Wars charter her heart desires.
 

I am Timmy

Well-Known Member
My boys (25,22) and I are fans of both. However, they stopped collecting SW merch when the market became saturated. Collectibles no longer felt special. They have kept what we already have, but no longer add to it except for the odd new item gotten from DW. Harry Potter merch feels more exclusive since it has been kept to a minimum. Also possibly more personal since you can be sorted into a house. They both seem to be doing well with their fans - I think the numbers for each are quite impressive, especially considering how long each have had a market. As far as I'm concerned, the more Disney and Uni compete, the better it is for us. Win/win.
 

smile

Well-Known Member
It will...I’m just hoping this is the third great Potter Ride. I suppose my scepticism comes from the hasty announcement which seemed a little rushed to get something out there after D23. In reality it’s probably been planned for years and they maybe announced a little earlier than planned. I’m hopeful.

as much as i hate seeing any B&M dismantled...
their presence was debated even back during original designs for the land.

t'was only a matter of time, especially once the decision was made to end dueling.
 

Randyland

Member
As someone who has been a total Disney lover, and has never set foot in Universal's Islands of Adventure, and therefor, never seen Harry Potter's-land, I will add my two cents and say that I believe that the story line of Harry Potter has more potential to be developed into a fun attraction.... Star Wars is all about fighting with Laser Swords, and battles in Space with explosions of all kinds... perhaps dramatic with sudden effects of lights and pyrotechnics, but in my personal opinion, hardly what I call "Disney". For several years already, the Studios Park has had Star Wars "troopers", walking around as Mickey Mouse and his friends once did a long time ago in a far away land... However, unlike Mickey and the gang, Star Wars troopers act intimidating, and war like, complete with weapons and gestapo-like tactics demanding to see "papers" from Guests in a simulated computer voice i suspect is pre-recorded. The marketing has been focused upon the "take over" which is coming. All about Fantasy and Imagination the logical mind knows, but who wants to see a Disney Park being "taken over" by anything, unless it is Pixie Dust?? I am sure Star Wars attractions will be nice to see, and Disney fans will fill the lines to see it... It is odd for an old school Disney guy like me, to hear any comparisons where Disney is trying to keep up with the competition... Disney has always been Disney... nothing could ever compare... Have things change so much that Universal is now on that level??
 

Frizzball

Active Member
I think its more specific to the London area due to the Warner Bros Studio tour. There is hardly anything for Harry Potter near where I live in the Glasgow area apart from the odd small bits. Certainly nothing in our local Primark apart from the odd shirt.
I don't live in London and all of the shops here are full of Harry Potter merchandise. The Primark in my town has an entire Harry Potter section in the homeware department, it's own jewellery display stand, it's own pyjama display, it's own display in the bag area and shelves of clothes in both the women's and children's departments. Every Primark I've ever visited has had much of the same these last few years.
 

winstongator

Well-Known Member
Oh dear I'm assuming this response means there's been discussion of this in the past which hasn't gone well? That's not my intention so feel free mods to close this thread.

I've actually just googled 'star wars vs harry potter popularity' due to your reply Martin and discovered this which states Potter is the bigger franchise. I was really wondering about the fan base and popularity of the two as it always astounds me the numbers in the Potter lands when we visit including the amount of merchandise being sold at such high prices.

You can't say Star Wars is better than Harry Potter or vice versa at that's subjective, however I was thinking more number wise which has the potential to be more popular assuming the quality and technology being fairly equal?
They say the Potter films have grossed more, then say that the OT isn't inflation adjusted, and Ep IV is the 3rd highest grossing all-time. SW is at around $6.6B domestically, which would translate to > $10B worldwide. Potter has a wider worldwide reach - its box office gross is less US centric, maybe 25% vs. 50% for SW.

Recently we went to Universal just for Harry Potter World. That's all my wife and daughters did for 2 days. I sneaked away to hit Hulk, Rip Ride Rockit, and Doom. I'd imagine that there are many more people like us. We'll also do SWGE at some point, and might just do that, depending on how immersive it is. My younger daughter (age 7) did ZERO rides in Harry Potter World. And she still loved it. She also didn't do any rides in Pandora and enjoyed that too.

I think SWGE will surpass Pandora's lines which scares me.
 

mj2v

Well-Known Member
we have had annual passes to both universal and WDW for many years. The potter additions showed that universal could actually theme whole areas. It was a wake up call to the leaders at WDW that uni was serious.

The great news is that all of this is fantastic for fans.

That being said, Star Wars is going to be massive. The crowds will be absolutely ridiculous. Look at the apathy toward Pandora, until it opened. Even slammed ever since. The first time I rode FOP I walked off more excited for Star Wars than ever.
 

Jim Chandler

Well-Known Member
Here is the issue. BTW I am not a major fan of either. I like both but have never been waiting for new stuff of either
My son had a Star Wars when he was 8 bed spread he is now 40+.
Harry started in 1997.
They both created a whole new world of adventure and characters. They both created spin offs.
They are both great in their own universe and leaders of their genre.

I believe there is a definite difference in the followers of either genre. I believe there might be a very small group that like both.

The parks will have a slight impact on a cross over of followers. The thing is that the cross over will have nothing to do with the books or movies. It will be due to what the land gives people in regards to enjoyment.
If a follower of one goes to the other land how they leave that land will determine if they become a "fan" of the other. However it probably will not mean a SW fan will go buy a HP book or go to a HP movie and the same goes the other way.

I have been to both lands in their beginnings and neither made me go watch a movie. However I did enjoy both lands.
 

Frank the Tank

Active Member
I have 8-year old twins that are heavily into both Star Wars and Harry Potter. I'm also one of the biggest Star Wars fans that you'll ever come across (although I enjoy Harry Potter, too). My personal observations:

- There are definitely more Star Wars fans in terms of sheer numbers. Part of it is that there's simply a lower "bar to entry" where there are a lot of casual Star Wars fans that have seen the movies or maybe even haven't seen all of the movies yet are familiar with the more famous characters. Being a Harry Potter fan generally means having had the time commitment to reading a full set of full length books as opposed to just solely watching the movies, so that will always be a limiting factor by comparison.

- Further to my last point, my kids knew who many Star wars characters were (e.g. Yoda, C-3PO, R2-D2) when they were still crawling and they started playing with Star Wars toys several years before they even saw any of the movies. In essence, those Star Wars characters are as accessible and familiar to the very youngest kids in the same manner as Mickey Mouse or the Disney Princesses. That generally doesn't happen with Harry Potter since that property doesn't have the same merchandising and toy presence as Star Wars (at least in the US) and HP interest usually coincides with getting to a certain reading level. Many people have noted in this thread that people from Generation X (like me) and older are more familiar with Star Wars compared with Harry Potter, but I think that would also be true with the younger kids (e.g. age 10 and under) that WDW specifically targets, as well.

- That being said, the average Harry Potter fan seems to be more invested because, as I've noted, the sheer time commitment to get through the books (plus watching the movies on top of them) is a much higher bar to entry than watching movies alone. The interest in Harry Potter also ramps up quickly once kids are old enough to actually read the books. My kids had very little clue about Harry Potter a year ago, but once they started reading the books over the past, they've become as much of Harry Potter fans as Star Wars fans. In that sense, Harry Potter is actually a great fit with Universal's target audience of older kids. There's an immersion in the world of Harry Potter that comes from reading that's at a different level than what you get from only watching movies.

- I'm not surprised about the anecdotes from the UK that Harry Potter merchandise is pervasive there. HP is probably the single biggest cultural export from the UK since The Beatles and, as a result, is looked at as THE franchise above all others in that particular market. In the US, though, no one should fool themselves into thinking that this is even a contest on the merchandising front: Star Wars is the single most ubiquitous merchandising phenomenon in America out of ANY intellectual property out there and it has been so for the past 4 decades. If you walk into any Target, Wal-Mart or Toys R Us in the United States, there WILL be a massive section devoted solely to Star Wars toys and several other sections featuring other Star Wars paraphernalia (e.g. clothing, linens, kitchenware, greeting cards, party favors, etc.). Of course, the one caveat is a bookstore like Barnes and Noble (which someone else mentioned in this thread) since Harry Potter is the largest publishing franchise of this generation, but outside of that sphere, Star Wars is THE biggest merchandising IP out there in the US (even more than Disney's other properties).

In conclusion, there's nothing that compares to the sheer scale and numbers of Star Wars fans out there. Harry Potter is one of the few IP franchises that comes close, but it inherently has limiting factors (e.g. a higher "fan" bar of entry with books, less familiarity with both older people and the very youngest people, etc.). However, there's a different level of intensity with Harry Potter fans that Universal seems to have tapped into very well. The Harry Potter IP also does have a natural advantage in a themed land in that there are a handful of core locations from the books and movies that Universal could focus upon and do correctly. The fact that Universal has generally received rave reviews from Harry Potter fans that are poring over every little detail is a testament to Universal (and also how having J.K. Rowling intimately involved in the process was critical). It will be interesting to see how Disney pulls off having a "neutral" setting for Galaxy's Edge that isn't rooted in an actual place that we've seen in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars is without question the bigger IP compared to Harry Potter, but whether that translates into a better themed land remains to be seen.
 

Princess Leia

Well-Known Member
This is coming from someone who grew up loving the original trilogy as a small kid, and then was introduced to Harry Potter in the third grade- going to Universal’s Potter lands was absolutely awe inspiring for me. Whenever I go back to Uni, I’m going to need to spend a whole day doing HP, not just a half day. I cannot believe how well Hogsmeade and Dustin Alley captured all of the feelings I had while reading the books.

Star Wars has an equal hold on my nerd-dom. When I Finn used the lightsaber for the first time in TFA, I got incredibly giddy. I rode Star Tours 3 times on this last trip, and loved it each time. However- I kind of wanted to see the sites I knew as a kid- Hoth, Endor, Tattooine. I liked seeing Crait, but I wish Disney was able to transport people to the places we knew.

That being said- DHS is going to be a madhouse for years, with the combination between the new-ness of Star Wars and the fact that there will be under 10 rides at the park. Star Wars has more fans than HP, but idk if Disney will make the better land.
 

HauntedMansionFLA

Well-Known Member
Both will make bank $$$$$$$$. Disney will expand Star Wars into the other parks. Maybe even the water parks. The sky is the limited with both IP's. Time will tell.
 

spock8113

Well-Known Member
It's like the 2000 election too close to call right away.
The Supreme Court of Theme Parks will have to decide that.
I don't lean to either franchise more than the other but I think Star Wars is probably at 50.1% of the pop.
Either looks pretty immersive and both companies are standing on the shoulders of giants.
Nicely done D & U (alphabetically)
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
This is tough but I think globally, Potter is more popular. I think if you asked this question 10 years ago that would have been the clear answer. But the renewed interest in Star Wars might make it a toss up now.

What worries me with GE is that unlike Potter at UNI, it’s supposed to be a whole new planet. So it will definitely test whether SW fans really love the universe as a whole, or are really just emotionally attached to film-specific locations and characters.

It seems to me that Potter fans love walking around both lands and seeing/being immersed in familiar places from the books and films.
 

mikejs78

Premium Member
This is tough but I think globally, Potter is more popular. I think if you asked this question 10 years ago that would have been the clear answer. But the renewed interest in Star Wars might make it a toss up now.

What worries me with GE is that unlike Potter at UNI, it’s supposed to be a whole new planet. So it will definitely test whether SW fans really love the universe as a whole, or are really just emotionally attached to film-specific locations and characters.

It seems to me that Potter fans love walking around both lands and seeing/being immersed in familiar places from the books and films.
I don't think Star Wars is about specific locations. Most Star Wars planets are seen once and then never again. Take Hoth and Endor, two of the most iconic planets (yes, I know it's technically the moon of Endor). Tattooine is an exception, as it crosses both the original and Prequel trilogies, but it is just that, an exception. Look at TFA, Rogue One, and TLJ - the planets and locations are all new, not returns to famous locations. The planets of Star Wars are more exotic backdrops to tell the stories. Star Wars is more about the characters, the mythos, and the feel of the universe than any one location, which is why I think Galaxy's Edge will work. They can create a new location and not be tied down to anything specific, but apply the trappings of the universe of Star Wars - aliens, smugglers, commerce, storm troopers, Jedi, etc - and make a themed location that will make fans of all ages giddy with excitement.

On the main question, my son is 7 and of his friends, pretty much all are Star Wars fans. Few are Potter fans yet (although I think that will change as they get to the point where the books are at their reading level). But Star Wars has been part of most of their childhoods since early on. Star Wars is also multi-generational, and spans a fanbase built up over 40 years. I love both - but I think there's no contest. Potter has a passionate, large fanbase that is obviously growing, and will be around for years to come - but it just hasn't gotten to the level of Star Wars yet.
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
@marni1971 Out of curiosity, how much land adjacent to DHS is suitable for expansion? i.e. for building another land or two, and adding more parking, if Disney decides it needs to add a lot more park capacity to meet the demand? And if that's going to happen in DHS, what will it do to DLP?
They still have the plans for the cancelled parking structures for DHS. Part of their reason was to make up for lost parking when the park was physically extended behind Indy into the Television lot.

Remember there’s still a large expansion area on Sunset. And a small one. And the whole Animation complex. And OMD. And Mermaid. And the under utilised Superstar and Sound Theatres.
 

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