Meanwhile at USH this weekend...

[Disneyhead'71]

Will they? We have no idea what magic number meets or exceeds their projections, but I'm inclined to believe that the slow start already has them significantly behind in meeting their attendance goals.

As for guest spending, there's sure to be an increase just from the massive rise in ticket prices alone before factoring in the sales of HP merchandise and food. However, it appears that the best case expectations for those metrics might need to be dialed back a bit. Again, it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

I'm pretty sure that when the Summer travel season starts, USH will have a heavy load. Large enough, in fact, to be problematic. Universal knows the capacity issues USH has, and I believe that they did everything they could to blunt the blow of the grand opening of Potter. They may have overplayed their hand a bit, but it is far to early to hit the panic button.

I believe the issue is the pricing, not Potter.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

They may have overplayed their hand a bit, but it is far to early to hit the panic button.

Panic, no. Be concerned that the fiscal goals you set might not be met, perhaps.

Let's put it this way, a Southern California theme park not owned by Disney just spent $250 million on an expansion that hasn't made much of an impact on driving attendance. Under these circumstances it would be difficult to believe that they aren't at least a little bit concerned.

I believe the issue is the pricing, not Potter.

Agreed, however pricing is only one part of the equation. To me the current situation is a result of pricing+perception+HP fatigue. I believe that Universal was betting that the HP brand was going to trump the first two while they overlooked the third, much the way Disney did with DCA; it was a bright shiny new Disney park sitting next to Disneyland, of course the place would be packed as soon as they opened it. Not.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Panic, no. Be concerned that the fiscal goals you set might not be met, perhaps.

Let's put it this way, a Southern California theme park not owned by Disney just spent $250 million on an expansion that hasn't made much of an impact on driving attendance. Under these circumstances it would be difficult to believe that they aren't at least a little bit concerned.



Agreed, however pricing is only one part of the equation. To me the current situation is a result of pricing+perception+HP fatigue. I believe that Universal betting that the HP brand was going to trump the first two and overlooked the third.

I believe that jumping AP prices from $95/year to $587/year over the course of 4 months to be a bigger deal than the Potter hate.

I bet there the a titch of pricing structure backtracking on the horizon.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I believe that jumping AP prices from $95/year to $587/year over the course of 4 months is a bigger deal than Potter hate.

I don't think there's any hate for HP, but I do think the franchise is "resting", so to speak, meaning that consumers have had their fill until the next line of books and/or films come along. USH kind of missed the Harry Potter wave.

It's impossible to separate the recent price increases from the arrival of Harry Potter to USH. We know that the only reason prices were so dramatically increased is because the Harry Potter opening was on the horizon and Universal wanted to capitalize on its anticipated success. Therefore, I think it's reasonable to assume that they were banking on people being more excited about Harry Potter and less concerned about what it cost to get into the park to experience it.

 

[BrianLo]

Remember, this is the same land that made Disney reevaluate how they create theme park lands and its influence, which already can be seen in Cars Land

BTW - unlike popular belief (because it opened much after the fact), Carsland was developed at the same time as Potter and announced within months of each other. Obviously they may have had some course correction along the way with minor things like merch and food, but Potter didn't really influence Carsland.

It definitely was an influence on Pandora and both Potter lands on Star Wars.

 

[BrianLo]

I agree with @Disneyhead'71 - it's the pricing that did Universal Hollywood in rather than Potter. They simply got a tad too greedy. Fortunately with tiered pricing it is very easy to quietly back down somewhat.

I don't think there are any problems with Potters attraction power, but only the supreme fan would need to visit the nearly identical land that's been in Florida for 6 years. I think if they had actually bothered to do anything unique (great hall dining or a new attraction) there would have been a bit more excitement. From the non-locals at least.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

BTW - unlike popular belief (because it opened much after the fact), Carsland was developed at the same time as Potter and announced within months of each other. Obviously they may have had some course correction along the way with minor things like merch and food, but Potter didn't really influence Carsland.

It definitely was an influence on Pandora and both Potter lands on Star Wars.

Those exact things are what I'm referring to.

 

[TP2000]

Those exact things are what I'm referring to.

All of the stores and restaurants in Cars Land were locked in place three years before it opened, and a year before Potter opened in Orlando. Are you talking about menu items and stuff on the shelves for sale, or are you under the impression they changed the physical layout of Cars Land due to Harry Potter in Orlando?

 

[ForeverAnna]

I wonder if the low crowds at Universal is because of lack of advertising. I live in Utah much much much closer to California than Florida but all I ever see are adds for the Orlando Universal parks.

 

[Rich T]

I really don't like USH. Nothing on Earth could get me back there again*, not even Hogsmeade. I'd rather just wait until I get out to Florida and see it there.

*If they built the village of Berk from How to Train Your Dragon--That might change my mind.

 

[Curious Constance]

I wonder if the low crowds at Universal is because of lack of advertising. I live in Utah much much much closer to California than Florida but all I ever see are adds for the Orlando Universal parks.

I always see WDW adds too, and I live in Oregon. A two hour flight away. Weird.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I see both here. In fact I regularly see three types of ads; DLR, WDW, and Disney Parks.

 

[dweezil78]

Most of those WDW/Universal FL ads are broadcast on a national level, so everyone in the country is seeing them at the same time as you. Also keep in mind that Disney owns ABC and NBC/Universal are part of the same company, so you're likely to see both those of those networks (and all their other channels) plugging their respective parks fairly regularly.

USH and probably DL tend to do more on the local side of advertising as they aren't quite the national vacation destinations that their Florida siblings are (especially USH). If you haven't noticed, there are different types of commercial pods when you are watching a TV show -- national and local. If not, now you know!

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Come to think of it I also see Aulani and Disney Cruise Line commercials too.

 

[Curious Constance]

Come to think of it I also see Aulani and Disney Cruise Line commercials too.

I see those too. Maybe the commercials I see are Disney parks, but I just recognize the park they are showing as WDW, so I assume it's a WDW commercial. I don't have cable, and only watch an hour of local programming a week, so I don't see very many commercials, but when I do, it's on the ABC network.

 

[Rich T]

...And meanwhile at the box office, Disney's Jungle Book (in its second weekend) brought in triple the box office of Universal's Huntsman debut. And Zootopia crossed the $900 million mark worldwide. And Civil War opens soon. To quote my nephew, Disney is on FIRE right now.

 

[TP2000]

To quote my nephew, Disney is on FIRE right now.

Your nephew is a smart kid.

Disneyland Resort just had a very busy off-peak weekend, as today's Dateline Disneyland shows. And this was on a weekend when the Angels had nightly home games against the Mariners, where from my deck I could see the stadium very full, the Ducks had very important and very busy playoff games at the Honda Center, and right now on Sigalert.com the traffic coming back from the closing weekend of Coachella has gridlocked the I-10 freeway for miles from the desert to the foothills this early afternoon. http://micechat.com/124714-disneyland-galaxy-behind-frontierland/

SoCal is awash in endless cultural and entertainment options this beautiful springtime. And yet Disneyland still packs 'em in like it's the only game in town. Anyone who thought Potterland might produce smaller crowds at Disneyland turned out to be mistaken.

 

[dweezil78]

Disneyland Resort just had a very busy off-peak weekend, as today's Dateline Disneyland shows.

I feel like, no matter what time of year it is, there's no such thing as an off-season weekend at Disneyland. Your only chance for anything remotely resembling an off-season day is during the week. Every weekend may as well be mid-summer at Disneyland.

 

[RandomPrincess]

I don't watch Live tv. We are cord cutters. I see lots of commercials for WDW AND USO because Hulu bases some commercials off your searches.

 

[Rich T]

I don't watch Live tv. We are cord cutters. I see lots of commercials for WDW AND USO because Hulu bases some commercials off your searches.

Yay for cord-cutting! Netflix, Amazon Prime and an MLB subscription are way more than enough for me. 'Course, now I'm tied to my wi-fi, but at least I'm saving money.