The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle

J

jrhwdw

Well-Known Member
Magic Feather said:
Personal Thoughts on Holiday Offerings:
Celestina Warbeck Holiday- A Solid, fun, catchy show

Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts-
The best nighttime show Universal has put out. Not the best thing ever though. Pyro was a nice touch, but still unnecessary. Main issue is that the location was not built to support crowds. Would definitely watch it if at UOR, but wouldn't make a special trip to see it. *Controversial Opinion Alert* Would honestly rather watch Rivers of Light than this.

Universal's Holiday Parade ft. Macy's-
In a professional theme park sense, this was a step up from Macy's Holiday Parade, but in a pacing, interaction, and fun standpoint, this missed the mark for me.
1. A night parade should not use floodlighting. It just shouldn't.
2. I saw one character interact with a guest sitting alongside the parade route. Other than that they were just dancing in the center.
3. The soundtrack (which was OK but not great)'s tempo was slow, but somehow the parade managed to be slower. This thing moved really slow, as in, put darker lighting on it and it could pass for a death march slow.
4. The soundtrack didn't fit the style of floats, all of the floats were more modern and "edgy" like PtN, but it tried to be a slower version of SpectroMagic.
Overall, while a step up for professionality, it seems the Holiday Parade was just ok.
Click to expand...
Forgive me if I'm missing the point but doesn't any parade that isn't EP/Spectro/Fanti that runs at night use flood lighting??
 
Magic Feather

Magic Feather

Well-Known Member
jrhwdw said:
Forgive me if I'm missing the point but doesn't any parade that isn't EP/Spectro/Fanti that runs at night use flood lighting??
Click to expand...
Nope:

Skip to the Xmas tree ending to see the colored lights:


Both used unique colored light patterns instead of white floodlights.
 
raven

raven

Well-Known Member
Universal has never done this type of projection show at Hogwarts so they knew that adjustments would continue to be made through the run as they discover crowd flows and patterns. There is a clear path to both Forbidden Journey and Hipogrith now. It they've never been closed during the event. I can vouch for the continuous flow at a Forbidden Journey.
jrhwdw said:
Forgive me if I'm missing the point but doesn't any parade that isn't EP/Spectro/Fanti that runs at night use flood lighting??
Click to expand...
Tapestry of Nations/Dreams used flood lighting and it was just fine. Not every nighttime parade has floats that are self illuminated.
 
J

JT3000

Well-Known Member
raven said:
Tapestry of Nations/Dreams used flood lighting and it was just fine. Not every nighttime parade has floats that are self illuminated.
Click to expand...

Most of the floats have their own lighting packages. I think it's for the balloons more than anything. The flood lights aren't super distracting unless they're aimed directly at you, but there's probably a better solution.
 
RustySpork

RustySpork

Oscar Mayer Memer
EricsBiscuit said:
It just doesn't compare to what Disney does. It's why I only go to Uni once a month. Disney has better quality.
Click to expand...

It's kind of a mistake to even compare the two. Disney World is for small children and adults who refuse to grow up, and Universal is for people who actually want to have fun. You're right though, they don't compare. You can actually get on a ride without scheduling it 60 days in advance or waiting four hours at Universal.





















trollface_48.png
:joyfull:
 
Tom Morrow

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Basically if you had never seen one of Disney's projection shows, this would be a really special show (and those who I have spoken to who haven't seen Disney's shows agree), but if you have, it's kind of meh. But Hogwarts castle isn't the easiest thing to project a show onto because it's so segmented, and this is their first time doing this, so I won't knock them for it.

Also to be fair, I don't find projection-mapping shows particularly impressive in general. It was neat a few times, but now Disney has overdone them.

Oh, and watch this show from the bridge between Hogsmeade and Jurassic Park. It looks far better there than the courtyard IMO.
 
Tom Morrow

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Magic Feather said:
Personal Thoughts on Holiday Offerings:
Celestina Warbeck Holiday- A Solid, fun, catchy show

Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts-
The best nighttime show Universal has put out. Not the best thing ever though. Pyro was a nice touch, but still unnecessary. Main issue is that the location was not built to support crowds. Would definitely watch it if at UOR, but wouldn't make a special trip to see it. *Controversial Opinion Alert* Would honestly rather watch Rivers of Light than this.

Universal's Holiday Parade ft. Macy's-
In a professional theme park sense, this was a step up from Macy's Holiday Parade, but in a pacing, interaction, and fun standpoint, this missed the mark for me.
1. A night parade should not use floodlighting. It just shouldn't.
2. I saw one character interact with a guest sitting alongside the parade route. Other than that they were just dancing in the center.
3. The soundtrack (which was OK but not great)'s tempo was slow, but somehow the parade managed to be slower. This thing moved really slow, as in, put darker lighting on it and it could pass for a death march slow.
4. The soundtrack didn't fit the style of floats, all of the floats were more modern and "edgy" like PtN, but it tried to be a slower version of SpectroMagic.
Overall, while a step up for professionality, it seems the Holiday Parade was just ok.
Click to expand...

The parade has to move slow because guiding those balloons around corners is tricky. I agree that it's a big step up from before but you're right, the overarching soundtrack does not tonally match the the floats. It feels like a weird mashup of a Christmas processional parade and an upbeat, goofy parade. I think a jazzy, upbeat soundtrack would have been better. Often it was too slow for the dancers to even dance to.
 
DznyGrlSD

DznyGrlSD

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
We'll be at Uni/IOA on the 5th to see this...I can't wait. Not looking forward to paying $175 for a 2 park/1 day pass however :p
 
brifraz

brifraz

Marching along...
Premium Member
Any update on how early they start? Now that dusk is before 6pm, do they start the shows earlier?
 

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