The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[ABQ]

Which is exactly what Universal wanted.

They wanted fewer people?

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

They wanted fewer people?

I think they wanted manageable crowds.
I think many people are learning from Hogsmeade's opening and deciding to wait until later to visit.
Smart on-site guest are going to wait until tomorrow and use early entry to DA instead of braving that madness!

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Posted wait is now 350 minutes and they have closed the single rider line, which is currently still over a 2 1/2 hour wait.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Extended queue via twitter:

 

[GLaDOS]

Speaking with the plentiful team members I know at UO, turnout is big obviously, but not nearly on the scale of Hogsmede opening.

That is...not true. USF holds people much more readily than IoA does.

 

[ABQ]

2+ hours after going through the front turnstiles they reach the DA standby queue and now will probably have to wait an additional 3 hours.

Why do people go opening day to anything, let alone July in central FL?

 

[Yankee Dale]

Posted wait is now 350 minutes and they have closed the single rider line, which is currently still over an hour wait.

350 minutes and they don't even get to meet Anna or Elsa, these people are crazy

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Someone just posted that an TM told them, from the Kwik-E-Mart to JUST ENTER DA is a 6 hour wait!
Then an additional 350 minutes to ride Gringotts!

I sure hope they were over estimating that wait!

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

 

[MDactor1980]

Love the HP books and movies. And I will gladly wait a year or so before heading back to USF again. Was at Hogsmeade a few months after opening and it was chaos. Went again in January 2014 - totally manageable. I'd rather it be manageable than new! Granted, Universal will get my money eventually... but not anytime soon.

Meanwhile, can't wait to hop on 7DMT in October. I have officially drunk the Kool-Aid.

 

[mahnamahna101]

Meanwhile everything else at USF:
30 minute wait or less

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

And I saw video of people literally running in. Seriously? You're all GOING TO THE SAME PLACE. I don't understand the running (that goes for any "must run to attraction")

Probably because no one wanted to get stuck in the back.
I see people posting that they were in the first group that was let in and still have yet to ride or were told 150-200 wait by the time they made it in line.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Thanks for the updates and pics... keep 'em coming! This is by far the highlight of my day.

 

[bhg469]

Love the HP books and movies. And I will gladly wait a year or so before heading back to USF again. Was at Hogsmeade a few months after opening and it was chaos. Went again in January 2014 - totally manageable. I'd rather it be manageable than new! Granted, Universal will get my money eventually... but not anytime soon.

Meanwhile, can't wait to hop on 7DMT in October. I have officially drunk the Kool-Aid.

I was in Hogsmeade this March and it was still busy, the construction probably caused a little congestion but it was still very busy. I'm hoping to be living in tampa in a little over a year and I hope to be able to go on a very slow day and see everything I can.

 

[croboy82]

(https://twitter.com/TouringPlans/status/486494143430930432/photo/1)

 

[wdwmagic]

Hey guys, we have a dedicated Universal board. That might be a better place to talk Diagon and Gringotts.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/forums/universal-orlando.20/

 

[JaguarGator9]

In a weird, backwards way, this would actually be the perfect day to go to Universal if you didn't want to do any of the DA stuff.

 

[MichWolv]

Increased sales are easy to demonstrate. Just watch the 10Q's PRGS and PCGS numbers for the next 4 quarters and compare them to the last 3 years, which have averaged about 7-to-8% increases since 2011. In other words, that's the baseline increase before MyMagic+.

In order for MyMagic+ to begin to justify its tremendous investment costs, Disney will need to see double-digit increases in the PRGS & PCGS numbers, higher hotel occupancy, higher attendance, or a combination of all four.

In terms of 'savings', so far, Iger & Rasulo have reported about $300M more in added operational cost associated with new initiatives, which is mostly the result of MyMagic+. ("And this year, we're looking at about a $300 million expense item, and more or less the same amount on the revenue side.")

In addition, they have reported steeper-than-normal depreciation costs associated with MyMagic+. MyMagic+'s technology ages a lot faster than a brick-and-motor attraction.

So far, MyMagic+ has saved zilch.

Most of what you've said in your last few posts on this sounds reasonable to me. However, the "no savings" point at the end is probably going too far. One of the more difficult things to measure on MM+ is the better utilization of existing assets. By spreading crowds out (if it works) and having fewer empty seats on attractions, Disney gets more people through attractions in the same amount of time. Iger has alluded to that in earnings calls when he says that MM+ has allowed them to "accommodate" more guests. If you run Philharmagic the same number of times, but get 5% more of the seats filled, that's in improvement in efficiency. Whether you call it a cost savings or just chalk it up to increased guest satisfaction is a matter how you view it.

In addition, there is a different version of cost savings that will come from the freed-up real estate that used to house the FP distribution machines. This is offset to some extent, of course, with the MM+ kiosks, but I'm guessing there is more real estate freed up than used. Repurposing that space will take time, but having it available is a savings of a very precious resource.

 

[MichWolv]

Having waited an hour in Forbidden Journey's queue, I can honestly say that if they make Gringott's queue as entertaining, I won't mind the hour.

What you have to realize is that what creates the 2+ hour waits are the cursed preferred access lines, which take ride capacity away from some people and give it to others. Completely eliminate the FastPass+ line and Standby wait times would shrink!

One of the reasons Forbidden Journey rarely gets above an hour even in peak summer is exactly because it doesn't have an Express Pass line.

Meanwhile, over at Transformers ...

This is not true. Mathematically. Unless you believe that people decide whether or not to get into a line based on a its physical length versus is chronological length.

 

[Mouse Trap]

That is...not true. USF holds people much more readily than IoA does.

Actually it is true, maybe a later rush will change that. I'm not basing this off of pictures online you and I have both seen, I'm stating what front entrance ops. managers have told me. I'll be more than happy to discuss more of this on the dedicated HP forum.