NO Harry Potter for Disney!

[ToTBellHop]

Have you read Half-Blood Prince? I don't think the Ewoke Village compares to the death of a the title character in anyway.

have you ridden the Tower of Terror? All of the main characters die due to electrocution followed by a precipitous plunge into the Twilight Zone. That's scarier to me than the Avada Kedavra. Heck, our Haunted Mansion may soon be about a murderous bride who decapitates her husbands with an axe. Death is nothing new in the parks.

 

[culturenthrills]

It has been interesting to see the reactions on the different Disney forums. I think many people are underestimating the power of the HP brand. In the new Orlando Sentinel article they mention that HP is right below Mickey Mouse in brand recognition. This addition is a huge shot over the WDW bow by Universal. This will get many people to that resort who hadn't considered it before. It will attract even more international visitors. This will get more people to IOA which is already one of the best parks in the world. I have never understood the people who only come to Orlando and go to WDW esp the repeat visitors. I love Disney but those people are missing out on Universal, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens which are some of the best theme parks in the world. I really hope this scares WDW management into getting there act together. There attendance bump from the MYW tickets, DVC and Disneys Magical Express is not going to last forever without some serious investment in the parks. Hopefully, Orlando will finally get our Indy ride and some of the stuff from DisneySea or an all new E ticket for MK. I hope so.

 

[Since1976]

I have never understood the people who only come to Orlando and go to WDW esp the repeat visitors. I love Disney but those people are missing out on Universal, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens which are some of the best theme parks in the world.

I think that the lack of unity of spirit and purpose is what makes all those other parks less appealing. The Disney parks are governed, at least outwardly, by the principles and ideas of a man who people know -- Walt Disney -- while all those other parks are corporate labels slapped onto amusement parks. That is not to say that Disney is not itself a corporate label -- but the name has a personal touch behind it which makes all the difference.

So, no matter how cool the latest Universal ride may be, no matter how well-themed, it will never inspire the same sense of personal joy that a Disney attraction does.

And to me, that 's okay, because Universal can continue to create super-mega-awesome attractions, and I will ride them. But "home" will always be Disney.

 

[Disney_Freak429]

Well as sad as I am Disney didn't score this the HP fan in me is happy to see the world of HP come to life. I saw some of the concept art for this & Universal may be able to pull it off but the Disney Freak in me wants them to blow it & tick off HP fans everywhere. *evil laugh*

 

[DisneyYorkian74]

Anyone who thinks Universal’s “Harry Potter” addition will even slightly challenge Walt Disney World’s monopoly on the Orlando theme park market is crazy.

Even when Islands of Adventure opened back in 1999, it didn’t prove itself popular enough to beat out its sister park Universal Studios, let alone any of the Walt Disney World parks.

Sure it will bump IOA’s attendance for the 2010 year, but it still won’t come anywhere close to the attendance numbers the WDW 4 parks receive.

“I have never understood the people who only come to Orlando and go to WDW esp the repeat visitors”

That’s very easy to understand…

Walt Disney World is very special because it’s a “Right-of-Passage” type of vacation for all Americans where a lot of people go just so they can tell all their friends that they’ve actually been there.

WDW is the place people think of when they think of Florida and Orlando. People can’t say they’ve been to Orlando unless they’ve been to WDW. So if a family’s hard up for cash while they’re vacationing in Orlando (Especially if they have kids); you can bet that they’ll visit Walt Disney World while all the other parks (Universal and Seaworld) might be visited if there’s enough time and/or money left.

 

[majortom1981]

hmm

I dont know about brand recognition. Like in the other thread I think Mario or nitnendo is up there also.

There certainly is other things disney can get that have bigger names then HP.

Even though it would never happen I think nintendo would be one. Pokemon and mario are still huegely popular brands that would draw big crowds if done right.

Disney has nothing to fear with Hp going to universal .Remember disney is upset because the robot arm tech went with harry potter, Not at Harry Potter itself.

 

[culturenthrills]

Anyone who thinks Universal’s “Harry Potter” addition will even slightly challenge Walt Disney World’s monopoly on the Orlando theme park market is crazy.

Even when Islands of Adventure opened back in 1999, it didn’t prove itself popular enough to beat out its sister park Universal Studios, let alone any of the Walt Disney World parks.

Sure it will bump IOA’s attendance for the 2010 year, but it still won’t come anywhere close to the attendance numbers the WDW 4 parks receive.

“I have never understood the people who only come to Orlando and go to WDW esp the repeat visitors”

That’s very easy to understand…

Walt Disney World is very special because it’s a “Right-of-Passage” type of vacation for all Americans where a lot of people go just so they can tell all their friends that they’ve actually been there.

WDW is the place people think of when they think of Florida and Orlando. People can’t say they’ve been to Orlando unless they’ve been to WDW. So if a family’s hard up for cash while they’re vacationing in Orlando (Especially if they have kids); you can bet that they’ll visit Walt Disney World while all the other parks (Universal and Seaworld) might be visited if there’s enough time and/or money left.

It has been discussed many times that part of the reason IOA did not do so well out of the box and even Universal has admitted it is the horrible ad campaign and resort renaming (anybody remember Universal Orlando Escape) that did not empasize the fact that there were 2 parks. Most people thought IOA was a new section of the studios not a separate park. Many people consider IOA one of the best parks in the world with one of the best rides in the world, Spiderman and 2 (well, technically 3) of the best coasters in the US.

Yes, WDW put Orlando on the map but I think many people are missing out by not visiting the other parks. It is amazing how long WDW management has gotten away with there "just good enough" management.

Will HP hurt WDW? probably not but will it make Disney take a harder look at WDW and consider adding some new things and upgrading the current experience. Hopefully, it will.

 

[culturenthrills]

I think that the lack of unity of spirit and purpose is what makes all those other parks less appealing. The Disney parks are governed, at least outwardly, by the principles and ideas of a man who people know -- Walt Disney -- while all those other parks are corporate labels slapped onto amusement parks.

I think that idea applies to Disneyland and a lesser extent the Magic Kingdom but can you say that about Disney-MGM? That is one of the most incoherent parks around. Outside of Disney IOA is one of the best themed parks there is and HP is a perfect fit for it. I don't expect it to beat WDW but it will improve Universal and it may just get some people to that resort who otherwise would not have come and maybe they will like what they see.

 

[sknydave]

this is true, but Disney can make more money if they have a boxed set of all four Indiana Jones films (special theme park edition?) to sell in the giftshop for an Indy ride. They also could cross advertise the ride on all of its Indy 4 DVDs that it would undoubtedly sell, and they could further advertise the new ride right before the film in theatres. Synergy makes more money--and as far as I'm concerned, tasteful synergy like this is great. More money = more investment, and I'd love to see the theme parks shown a bit before films.

Hey, I'm all for an Indy ride at WDW! I have no problem with new attractions being based on upcoming movies, but it seems that lately people are getting sidetracked and starting to think every new attraction must be in relation to a movie franchise with upcoming sequels.

 

[culturenthrills]

I dont know about brand recognition. Like in the other thread I think Mario or nitnendo is up there also.

There certainly is other things disney can get that have bigger names then HP.

Even though it would never happen I think nintendo would be one. Pokemon and mario are still huegely popular brands that would draw big crowds if done right.

Disney has nothing to fear with Hp going to universal .Remember disney is upset because the robot arm tech went with harry potter, Not at Harry Potter itself.

Well, yeah they have had Star Wars but they haven't done much with it. I know i am not the only one who thinks the Studios could make an easy turnaround with the adding of an Indy ride, updated Star Tours and an expanding Star Wars area.

 

[majortom1981]

I know

I know. Was just pointing out the fact that disney has or can get access to things bigger then Harry potter. Heck if Disney starts getting really creative again they can make their own movie ,book,and park section and make it hugely popular.

I just dont see Disney missing out on Harry Potter as a big deal. Now for universal this sounds like either it will be a huge hit or huge flop.

And with universal and orlando the problem is atleast for me is that IOA has nothing really that I cant get at the parks by me. Disney has tons of things that I cant get by me. It doesnt help that wdw is a multiday park and its hard to fit in places like universal.

 

[Champion]

. I have never understood the people who only come to Orlando and go to WDW esp the repeat visitors. I love Disney but those people are missing out on Universal, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens which are some of the best theme parks in the world.

I travel off property basically once every five years. This lets me experience the new attractions at each park (not Busch though, just not interested) and the parks aren't captivating enough to keep me going there each visit.

SeaWorld and the Universal Resort have some very good rides. But none of them are can't miss. The closest I would consider a can't miss attraction at one of those parks is Spiderman, but one ride doesn't make people go there every trip.

 

[disneyparksrock]

It has been interesting to see the reactions on the different Disney forums. I think many people are underestimating the power of the HP brand. In the new Orlando Sentinel article they mention that HP is right below Mickey Mouse in brand recognition. This addition is a huge shot over the WDW bow by Universal.

Good posting!

 

[disneyparksrock]

I think that the lack of unity of spirit and purpose is what makes all those other parks less appealing. The Disney parks are governed, at least outwardly, by the principles and ideas of a man who people know -- Walt Disney -- while all those other parks are corporate labels slapped onto amusement parks. That is not to say that Disney is not itself a corporate label -- but the name has a personal touch behind it which makes all the difference.

That philosophy can only really be applied to Disneyland, since that is the only park Walt was ever in.

 

[wesTcoastY]

I don't think that's a fair characterization of Universal's theming. You can walk around Jurassic Park

The theming on this is a joke. the boat travels at the same lame slow speed all the way through until the climatic drop. No build up whatsoever, except for a scary dinosaurs that are barely animated.

 

[wesTcoastY]

but it seems that lately people are getting sidetracked and starting to think every new attraction must be in relation to a movie franchise with upcoming sequels.

Just like more and more standardized testing in public schools. Every aspect of our lives is getting more streamlined...Easier to control the masses that way.

And the movie, new attraction tie in seems to make tons of money...way faster, than a completely thought of new concept/theme.

 

[Testtrack321]

Testtrack321's thoughts v2.0! (bug fixes!)

-What's with the name? It seems lame and a cop-out. Is Wizzarding World even correct grammer? I think Univeral wanted to make sure people knew what was there, and market off of it.

-More and more info is coming out, it seems that LC is going bye-bye, but we're also getting new material too. I wonder how they'll treat the area near Poseidon's.

-I can see the visual & astetic segue working well from Jurrassic to HP, but what about Seuss to HP? Harsh jump IMHO, maybe we'll see some of Seuss reworked to make it a little darker with snow near HP to even it out more...

-What's going to happen to the resturaunt in LC? (I forget it's name)

 

[hammysammy59]

If Disney REALLY wants to battle this, AND boost MGM at the same time, they'll take the Star Tours idea and expand it into a Star Wars "land." Granted, it probably wouldn't fit super great with theming for MGM, but I know I'd be more than happy to deal with that one issue for a whole Star Wars area... as long as they never do anything involving those God-awful POS prequels. What garbage that trilogy was. Christ.

Regardless, as a Potter nerd, I'll have to check this out. 2009 or later will mark my first trip to Universal, and I'm actually a little geeked. I definitely think it's a shame they didn't pick up the Potter license, but at least somebody did... as long as it isn't a total mess, it'll pretty much be a license to print money for Universal Studios.

 

[Hakunamatata]

That philosophy can only really be applied to Disneyland, since that is the only park Walt was ever in.

There is a significant amount of Walts influence on the MK, even though he did not live to see it open, he was a significant part of its developement.

 

[mprice]

Hi, me again, the soap boxer... I usually enjoy heading out to Universal at least one day while in Florida FOR WDW. We won't usually spend more than one day there and it usually entails heading to IOA because frankly, and all Disneyloving aside... the Studios portion is horrible.... ho-rri-ble. The Mummy deal is alright, but Twister? Jaws? dare I say the M.I.B. mess??... horrible! IOA is well themed and features great music and such, but is cramped, has very little room for expansion and shows very little potential for a bright future. Cool rides based on so-so characters that don't really have an emotional appeal (Cat in the Hat?- well maybe he does... just scary), featured in OK rides that dabble into the realm of animatronics but don't completely surround you with another world (ie. Dudley Do-Right's vs. Splash Mountain)... these all are good for some and may provide the thrill for those who only care about thrill... but when it comes to pure, untames magic and a sense of fantasy and escape (ironic huh... escape) Disney takes the entire cake. I mean just the "blessing of space" as Walt put it, adds to the escape factor. Magic down to the very receptacles for garbage, characters that we don't just know but love, memories, the best music in the world, no holds barred fireworks extravaganzas, not just roller coasters but "roller coaster-type adventures into outer space and to the top of Mt. Everest for an encounter with the Yeti! Ok Cedar Point, Universal, take all the thrill loving maniacs you want cater to what you think the public wants, what the "ride" critics will labor over in their cheap magazines, but I'll stick with Walt, "It's not the critics I'm trying to please... I'll worry about the public," and it's worked for more than 80 years. Just my two cents worth on the theme park debate. Universal- Nice, Must see at least once. WDW- unforgettable memories that I will def. share with my children.