The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - soft opening status

PrincessTink

PrincessTink

New Member
I cannot wait! I will be visiting in December, but I don't know if I can contain my excitement until then. I might just have to book a short weekend getaway soon or I might go crazy!
 
Slipknot

Slipknot

Well-Known Member
71jason said:
What I found interesting is the number of people who already had Potter gear on--in other words, this wasn't all people who only had this one chance to get in, this was people who have been in at least once but were still willing to stand for 2 hours in the blazing sun just to see if they could get in again.

Kind of blows the "what's the big deal? it's only one new ride" argument out of the water. People want to spend time in Harry's world.
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And people dressed up for the Star Wars movies for the midnight showings. Doesn't mean they already saw the movies, though. ;)

Yeah, people are going to want to get as much as possible out of this new area and come back while they are already there. But once they do and get home, the question is are they going to want to come back to Universal for Wizarding World? A lot of the Harry Potter fan sites are referring to it as a brand new park. I have a feeling a lot of people who are planning to go will be a little disappointed once they get there. Time will tell but I hope I am wrong.
 
Sketch105

Sketch105

Well-Known Member
Slipknot said:
And people dressed up for the Star Wars movies for the midnight showings. Doesn't mean they already saw the movies, though.

Yeah, people are going to want to get as much as possible out of this new area and come back while they are already there. But once they do and get home, the question is are they going to want to come back to Universal for Wizarding World?
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To answer your question, yes.

People return to Orlando constantly to re-ride many attractions. My father and I would come from Mass to do a lot of the stuff we did prior. We would go on 20,000 Leagues every trip, eat at the Mitsukoshi steakhouse, ride Back to the Future and go to Pleasure Island every night. People are creatures of habit and returning guests WILL return to HP after their first trips, IMO.

I think you guys forget its not about the HP fandom, its the viability of the ride itself as a stand-alone piece of entertainment. As long as it thrills people and tells a great story, or provides a great experience, it doesn't matter what the subject is..it will continue to bring people back.
 
71jason

71jason

Well-Known Member
Slipknot said:
And people dressed up for the Star Wars movies for the midnight showings. Doesn't mean they already saw the movies, though. ;)

Yeah, people are going to want to get as much as possible out of this new area and come back while they are already there. But once they do and get home, the question is are they going to want to come back to Universal for Wizarding World? A lot of the Harry Potter fan sites are referring to it as a brand new park. I have a feeling a lot of people who are planning to go will be a little disappointed once they get there. Time will tell but I hope I am wrong.
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You misunderstand--not cosplay with homemade HP get-ups (thank God I've seen very little of that in WWoHP so far), I mean people wearing T-shirts you can only buy in the land. The "I Served Time in Azkerban" is a huge seller, apparently, and anything Griffyndor or Slytheran seems popular as well.

So yes, these people in line already saw it once. One has to assume rode the ride, had the butterbeer. And they were willing to do 2 hours in the hot sun--already sweltering Sunday morning--for a slight chance to do it again. I don't think Uni will have any trouble attracting repeat guests, at least until the crowds kick in.
 
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primusjim

Member
well, I'll post this in this thread, since this was where I checked everyday for info prior to heading out to IOA.
The wife and I visited Potterland today. On a day where I rode fearfall, dueling dragons, hulk, mummy, rockit, etc in the regular seats, I was told for the first time in my life that I was too big for a theme park ride. I can't be mad at someone else for designing a ride that I'm too fat to ride, but I can't help but think this a serious design flaw. We had to wait for about 7 other people before I could even get in the test seat. A couple of people were furious when they learned they couldn't ride. One woman from England just started crying and said she was riding no matter what they said. I'm 5'11", 265 pounds, and the restraint wasn't even touching my gut, it was pressing on my thighs. A skinny guy, probably 3 inches taller than me couldn't fit either.
So, I did the queue, which was extremely well done. I was impressed how the living paintings had raised brushmarks in front of the screens to make them very effective. (Too bad the Sirius Black poster outside the three broomsticks looks so terrible.) I can't understand idiots taking nine million flash photos of things behind glass and tv screens. I guess they can't figure out why the pictures aren't turning out, so they keep trying until the batteries die. My wife is not much of a Potter fan, and the audio was off for half of her ride, but she said it was a cross between simpsons and Spider-man, but she didn't like it as much as either of those rides.
To finish off this giant opus of a message board post, Hogsmeade is beautiful, the shops are all extremely too small, the forbidden journey show building looks terrible, and they ruined a great queueline for dueling dragons.
 
Skip

Skip

Well-Known Member
Head's up everyone - I guess a massive crowd gathered around the entrance of the area, which went all the way back to the entrance of the Sinbad area, and despite being told the area would not open for the general public and that they needed to disperse, the area has been opened about an hour ago. Last reported wait time for Forbidden Journey was 90 minutes. This is, to my knowledge, the first time the area has been opened after 10 AM...
 
hpyhnt 1000

hpyhnt 1000

Well-Known Member
Responses in red italics:

primusjim said:
well, I'll post this in this thread, since this was where I checked everyday for info prior to heading out to IOA.
The wife and I visited Potterland today. On a day where I rode fearfall, dueling dragons, hulk, mummy, rockit, etc in the regular seats, I was told for the first time in my life that I was too big for a theme park ride. I can't be mad at someone else for designing a ride that I'm too fat to ride, but I can't help but think this a serious design flaw. We had to wait for about 7 other people before I could even get in the test seat. A couple of people were furious when they learned they couldn't ride. One woman from England just started crying and said she was riding no matter what they said. I'm 5'11", 265 pounds, and the restraint wasn't even touching my gut, it was pressing on my thighs. A skinny guy, probably 3 inches taller than me couldn't fit either.

I think that seat issue is going to be, at the least, a nuisance for Universal. I'm skinny and 6' 1" and had no problem fitting into the ride seat, so I dont know why that other skinny guy was refused because I didn't feel cramped or anything because of my height. And the fact that you rode everything else that day in a regular seat yet couldnt fit into FJ leads me to think that either a little more care should have been given into the seat design or that they're going to have to make sure that the TMs screening riders do so carefully.

So, I did the queue, which was extremely well done. I was impressed how the living paintings had raised brushmarks in front of the screens to make them very effective.

I agree with you (and everyone else who posted), the queue for FJ is simply amazing. The emersive detail is great, certainly on par with, if not surpassing, Expedition Everest or Tower of Terror (can't compare to Indy at DL as I have never been through it). The moving portraits are great, though I thought the Fat Lady wasn't as convincing as the others. In addition, I think Univ Creative did themselves a disservice by placing regular, non-moving portraits next to moving ones. To really complete the emersion and illusion, the other portraits should, at the very least, blink and move their eyes occasionally. Also, the projections of Dumbledore and Harry, Ron, and Hermione, while very nice, are not as realisitic as I thought they'd be.

(Too bad the Sirius Black poster outside the three broomsticks looks so terrible.)

I agree, the Black poster is so obviously a video screen. That's one effect that I wouldn't be sad to see go because it really isn't that impressive.

My wife is not much of a Potter fan, and the audio was off for half of her ride, but she said it was a cross between simpsons and Spider-man, but she didn't like it as much as either of those rides.

I'd describe FJ as an updated and flying version of Spider Man (as you move through actual sets and props) with the screen sections very reminiscent of Soarin'. Overall, its a great attraction, though I don't know if I'd call it better than, say, Spider Man or Tower of Terror. There isn't really a cohesive story (apart from the fact that Hermione has bewitched a bench so you can fly with Harry and Ron) and the integration between screens and sets could probably be a bit better. And, while definitley fun, there isn't really a sense of sheer thrill to it.

To finish off this giant opus of a message board post, Hogsmeade is beautiful, the shops are all extremely too small, the forbidden journey show building looks terrible, and they ruined a great queueline for dueling dragons.

Agreed on all points.
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primusjim

Member
Ok, well... we went back to Potterland today and I rode forbidden journey twice. So I guess I have info that could be extremely useful to anyone who's afraid they may not fit into Harry Potter's enchanted flying coffins. Apparently, the test seats outside of Hogwarts lie. I was told I could not ride on Wednesday based on this test seat, and I guess I was too embarrassed to try the other test seats after the common room, before the sorting hat. Later, I found out that these seats are more accurate, as they actually lock. We went back today to give it another try before the end of our staycation. You need to get three clicks on the restraint and I did with the help of a team member. It was pretty good, but doesn't beat Spider-Man for best Universal ride for me.
 
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shaggyboiler

New Member
I did go to Orlando last week, I didn not attempt to go to Potter land. With my son being autistic, waiting is very hard for him, and if there was even a slight chance that we wouldn't get it, that would have cuased a major melt down for him and I didn't want to put him through that.

Good luck everyone.
 
SOLISIMO

SOLISIMO

Member
Damn Im 6'4" and 280:ROFLOL: I dont think Ill be fitting in it then:veryconfu I know when I rode popeyes log ride I couldnt fit in the front. It was sooo funny, I went to get in and my knees got stuck halfway in bc there was no more room for my legs to stretch:lol: I had to sit behind my wife which made her furious bc she now was gonna get the brunt of the water:sohappy:
 
cdunbar

cdunbar

Active Member
SOLISIMO said:
Damn Im 6'4" and 280:ROFLOL: I dont think Ill be fitting in it then:veryconfu I know when I rode popeyes log ride I couldnt fit in the front. It was sooo funny, I went to get in and my knees got stuck halfway in bc there was no more room for my legs to stretch:lol: I had to sit behind my wife which made her furious bc she now was gonna get the brunt of the water:sohappy:
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I heard from someone that supposedly they were going to get some bigger seats as time went on. I don't see myself being able to ride it either as I too was blessed with long legs and a big butt so if the seat doesn't have much depth I'll be in trouble...:lol:
 
s8film40

s8film40

Well-Known Member
SOLISIMO said:
Damn Im 6'4" and 280:ROFLOL: I dont think Ill be fitting in it then:veryconfu I know when I rode popeyes log ride I couldnt fit in the front. It was sooo funny, I went to get in and my knees got stuck halfway in bc there was no more room for my legs to stretch:lol: I had to sit behind my wife which made her furious bc she now was gonna get the brunt of the water:sohappy:
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I don't think height is as big a problem since there is no row in front of you. As long as you can get the restraint down I would think it would be ok.
 
Mother

Mother

New Member
Any idea if there'll be any openings tomorrow? Finally got a day off with a cute girlie, and I figure it's best spent pretending to be wizards.
 
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Philmvt

Member
Ride is Great if you CAN ride it

I went on the ride Saturday and was stuck for about five minutes. I was removed from the line to make certain my son and I could fit the ride vehicle.

I find it surprising that they'd create a ride that everyone can't ride:brick:
 

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