People Waiting at WDW for Harry Potter?!

[RobGraves]

Your view is extremely short sided. Let's see what the wait is like in 6 months, 12 months, 24 months. When a business gives control over a major part of its operations (say an entire land in a theme park), they are essentially selling off infrastructure for short term gains with the hope of long term success. Also, Harry Potter is only culturally signifigant to a portion of society. Not everyone is obsessed about it like its fans.

Also, having a 16 hour wait, if that was in fact the case (reports I saw were 7 hours), is not a positive. It is a sign of poor management and poor planning. These crowds should have been anticipated and IOA should have been better prepared to handle them.

You guys are all zombies.. if it was Disney you would be saying how awesome it is...

Delude yourself all you want, but this will have an impact.

Also when those people got to the end of those lines... they were spending a LOT of money at the bars restraunts and shops in Hogsmeade. Ive heard very clearly that UO made more money this weekend than they typically do this whole month...

This will be a major game changer here, and it will continue to draw crowds.. there are already expansion and addition plans to keep it fresh through the next few years.

 

[debndon]

Capacity

Universal has gone and built something that has such a low capacity no wonder that there was such a huge line. People were expecting a theme park not a land which is what the Wizarding World is. They have one new ride that's it, they re-themed the two exsisting rides that were there. For a company that spent over 200 million on a "LAND" and tote it as a "theme park" is pretty pathetic if you ask me. Disney goes and spends 100 million just on a ride (mission space). I feel bad for everyone who showed up and didn't get admittance to Harry Potter but I think that was Universal's fault touting it as a theme park when really its not. If you look closely the walkways are narrow the shops are small, even Olivanders Wand Shop can only hold just under 2 dozen at a time for a show. Don't get me wrong the attention to detail is great and the idea behind it all was fabulous but in my opinion it's a Land not a Theme Park that cannot accomodate the numbers of a theme park so that is why there was such a huge line up.

 

[RobGraves]

Universal has gone and built something that has such a low capacity no wonder that there was such a huge line. People were expecting a theme park not a land which is what the Wizarding World is. They have one new ride that's it, they re-themed the two exsisting rides that were there. For a company that spent over 200 million on a "LAND" and tote it as a "theme park" is pretty pathetic if you ask me. Disney goes and spends 100 million just on a ride (mission space). I feel bad for everyone who showed up and didn't get admittance to Harry Potter but I think that was Universal's fault touting it as a theme park when really its not. If you look closely the walkways are narrow the shops are small, even Olivanders Wand Shop can only hold just under 2 dozen at a time for a show. Don't get me wrong the attention to detail is great and the idea behind it all was fabulous but in my opinion it's a Land not a Theme Park that cannot accomodate the numbers of a theme park so that is why there was such a huge line up.

your numbers are off... 500 million.

200 million were just on Forbidden Journey

 

[Jseven]

maybe this is why....thanks cbs for being spot on....:hammer:

 

[Figment1986]

There's no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid people.

Who do stupid tricks :zipit::drevil:

Be courageous. Be outrageous. Be extra stupid.

Wouldn't be surprised. CBS News thought it was a Disney attraction:

http://progresscityusa.com/2010/06/18/media-fail/

Silly national media, Reporting on theme parks should be left to the locals / fansites :lol:

 

[unkadug]

You guys are all zombies.. if it was Disney you would be saying how awesome it is...

Delude yourself all you want, but this will have an impact.

Also when those people got to the end of those lines... they were spending a LOT of money at the bars restraunts and shops in Hogsmeade. Ive heard very clearly that UO made more money this weekend than they typically do this whole month...

This will be a major game changer here, and it will continue to draw crowds.. there are already expansion and addition plans to keep it fresh through the next few years.

It IS awesome. But you are giving it way too much praise. It is a new attraction and as such will garnish a lot of attention since it just opened. It will bring in more people to the Orlando area for a while. It's popularity will even out after the die hard fans have had there time to experience the attractions and surrounding theming.

My point is that having a line like that does NOBODY any good and to praise the "line" is just idiotic. There should have been some forethought to handling the crowds. Universal KNOWS that lines like this will not last or else they would have done something to entertain the throngs instead of having them captivated in a line.

There are a limited number of HP fans just as there are a limited number of Star Wars fans. And both are just as nutty as the other.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

You guys are all zombies.. if it was Disney you would be saying how awesome it is...

Delude yourself all you want, but this will have an impact.

Also when those people got to the end of those lines... they were spending a LOT of money at the bars restraunts and shops in Hogsmeade. Ive heard very clearly that UO made more money this weekend than they typically do this whole month...

This will be a major game changer here, and it will continue to draw crowds.. there are already expansion and addition plans to keep it fresh through the next few years.

I agree. The amount of people on here who downplay this is mind-boggling. Some people need to take off the rose-colored glasses for a minute and take a look at reality.

I love Disney just as much as the next person, but they blew this one big time.

 

[unkadug]

I agree. The amount of people on here who downplay this is mind-boggling. Some people need to take off the rose-colored glasses for a minute and take a look at reality.

I love Disney just as much as the next person, but they blew this one big time.

Some people need to listen to reason instead of stereotyping everybody into group "D" or group "U". Sometimes the differentiating line isn't as clear as you seem to think it is.

 

[RobGraves]

trust me, if anyone here has valid reason to hate universal its me... im more critical of them than i am disney anyday just out of sheer bitterness, and even i am saying these things.

 

[Gregoryp73]

I agree. The amount of people on here who downplay this is mind-boggling. Some people need to take off the rose-colored glasses for a minute and take a look at reality.

I love Disney just as much as the next person, but they blew this one big time.

I just hope that the crowds die down like the movies...I'm sure there are enough fanatics that had to be there for opening day.

Maybe this is just what disney needs...a threat to the # of people visited trophy each year. It will get them back to thinking like Walt so they will stop handing us attractions like SGE.

 

[shoppingnut]

Disney goes and spends 100 million just on a ride (mission space). QUOTE]

While they may have spent that on the MS ride, overall the MS ride is somewhat of a failure. The reason I say this is because the vast majority of people don't or can't ride it, they've had readjust the ride so others could ride and if you look at the ride now, there is rarely any sort of heavy wait time like Testtrack or Soarin. It's not the ride Disney anticipated it being at all, so while they spent all that money, the question comes to mind was that money well spent?

 

[IHeartArt]

Look at all the bitter people in dis thread.

Who the heck is saying that Universal said that this would be a park? That was the media. In the thirty minute promo they had on NBC they kept mentioning it's at Islands of Adventure. All the promo stuff they had mentioned Islands of Adventure and US. Why wouldn't they mention the fact that it's at Universal Studios? Calling it a Harry Potter "theme park" would just bring frustration to people who came.

Why are you people so worried? Is Daniel Radcliffe personally going to come over to Disney HQ and beat Bob Iger to death with a broomstick if Wizarding World brings in huge crowds to Universal? Disney is a massive conglomerate corporation that won't go under if the parks lose a little bit of profit. They still have the Jonas Brothers and everything. They have the teen girl market, they have the little girl market. They have Marvel, and they're going to make bank on Thor and Captain America. The book series and movies have this honest to god magic to it that Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Roger Rabbit, Blade Runner, and a whole bunch of other movies have. Shouldn't we be happy this is happening?

trust me, if anyone here has valid reason to hate universal its me... im more critical of them than i am disney anyday just out of sheer bitterness, and even i am saying these things.

Rob Graves from HHNVault? Is that you? o:

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I just hope that the crowds die down like the movies...I'm sure there are enough fanatics that had to be there for opening day.

Maybe this is just what disney needs...a threat to the # of people visited trophy each year. It will get them back to thinking like Walt so they will stop handing us attractions like SGE.

Except that the crowds for the films haven't died down. The last film (the 6th installment) was the 2nd highest grossing film in the franchise. I'm not sure where you got the idea that the films were dying down from.

On your second point, however, I completely agree.

 

[unkadug]

Except that the crowds for the films haven't died down. The last film (the 6th installment) was the 2nd highest grossing film in the franchise. I'm not sure where you got the idea that the films were dying down from.

On your second point, however, I completely agree.

I think he is talking about the difference in the crowds from opening day of a film to a couple of weeks later after the film opened. A much anticipated film will pack the crowds in when it first opens, the crowds will dwindle dramatically as the weeks progress. If they didn't those same films would still be showing at the theaters right now.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

I dont doubt that people think it is at WDW. I once had a woman demand a manager because I insisted to her that the King Kong ride was not at DHS.

 

[ThreeCircles]

You guys are all zombies.. if it was Disney you would be saying how awesome it is...

Delude yourself all you want, but this will have an impact.

Also when those people got to the end of those lines... they were spending a LOT of money at the bars restraunts and shops in Hogsmeade. Ive heard very clearly that UO made more money this weekend than they typically do this whole month...

This will be a major game changer here, and it will continue to draw crowds.. there are already expansion and addition plans to keep it fresh through the next few years.

I agree. The amount of people on here who downplay this is mind-boggling. Some people need to take off the rose-colored glasses for a minute and take a look at reality.

I love Disney just as much as the next person, but they blew this one big time.

No doubt Universal will benefit from the new attraction. It, however, isn't a "game changer." Seems you two need to take a look at park attendance figures and market share. Walt Disney World controls 73%, versus 17% from Universal.

Disney and the Universal parks aren't even near the same league.

 

[Wannabe Walt]

I dont doubt that people think it is at WDW. I once had a woman demand a manager because I insisted to her that the King Kong ride was not at DHS.

I never had to get a manager, but I've had to explain to many guests at Disney that Universal is 12 miles away and a totally separate resort. And visa-versa, working for Loews Hotels reservations, I've had to explain that you cannot get a Magic Kingdom view room at the Portofino Bay Hotel to a few people. Ugh, people.

I have been to the Wizarding World (before it opened) and I was purely amazed. I'm not one of the super-fans (I've only read the first 4 books). But Universal has definitely outdone Disney in many ways here. The theming is flawless, and Forbidden Journey: wow. I'm glad that Disney did not get the rights because I don't think Disney would have done such an amazing attraction. Disney would have tried to keep it too "family friendly" which is great and all, but this ride NEEDS that edge to it. Universal did great with it. While there are certain groups of people unable to ride (too obese, young children, motion sickened, etc), I think that for the majority of us that are able to experience the ride, it was amazing.

Rumors have already been flying around my building (Universal Creative takes up half of it), that expansions are already in the works. And just wait until Christmas time! Because Christmas is such a big deal in the fiction, the land will make it a big deal as well.

 

[WDWNeighbor]

I'm not saying that Disney shouldn't have gone all out to get rights to Harry Potter.... but who is to say that my 7 month old will have any clue who Harry Potter is by the time he is 8 years old or so and old enough to ride it??? I absolutely love Harry Potter and I hope my son has interest in it one day. But I have a hard time believing that between now and then, another blockbuster childrens book series won't come along that will be the new phenomenon. You know now that Harry Potter has become such a cash cow for Rowling that there are now hundreds of authors out there trying to write something with a similar effect. Someone will probably get it right eventually.

And since the entire point of the Harry Potter land is the brilliant lifelike theming, who is to say that kids like my son will care or have any clue what Hogwarts Castle, etc., is??

Maybe that is why Disney didn't fight so hard for it... They might have been thinking, well 20 years from now, Harry Schmarry? Just food for thought.

 

[Monty]

If the lines are like that in late August, I'll be simultaenously impressed and disappointed... Impressed that it has staying power and disappointed because there is no way I'll be waiting that long...

 

[mrbghd]

You guys are all zombies.. if it was Disney you would be saying how awesome it is...

Delude yourself all you want, but this will have an impact.

Also when those people got to the end of those lines... they were spending a LOT of money at the bars restraunts and shops in Hogsmeade. Ive heard very clearly that UO made more money this weekend than they typically do this whole month...

This will be a major game changer here, and it will continue to draw crowds.. there are already expansion and addition plans to keep it fresh through the next few years.

Not a zombie my friend, but an intelligent business minded person. I am by no means a "disney can do no wrong" type of guy. Competition is good and a strong Universal means a strong Disney.

My point is this. 16 hour wait = very poor planning and preperation no matter what park. Also, what happens if Harry Plopper isn't a generation transcending fad? Universal has married itself to JK Rowling and will be stuck no matter what having to sink money into something that may not be worth it in the LONG RUN. Remember, it is not how long the lines are on the opening weekend, but what matters is how long the line is 1 year, 2 year, 3 years down the road.

I would like to know how you are so positive that this will be a "game changer" and it will "continue to draw crowds." I would also like to know what proof you have that this will happen. All you have spouted is your ILOVEHARRYPOTTER views with no actual intelligible argument as to why this will be the case.