The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - soft opening status

[Moritz Stiefel]

They weren't test groups. There was a group from POW-WOW when Uni held their party, and there were TM previews.

Only one TM preview had Forbidden Journey open, and then only for about an hour.

They'll have soft opens, they'd be stupid if they didn't.

Yes, they are using them as test groups. My friend works at Universal and they are only letting so many groups in at a time.
They have to fill out a survey at the end as well.
Im trying to squeeze out more information out of him, haha, but dont wanna go on about it.

 

[hack2112]

Yes, they are using them as test groups. My friend works at Universal and they are only letting so many groups in at a time.
They have to fill out a survey at the end as well.
Im trying to squeeze out more information out of him, haha, but dont wanna go on about it.

They haven't used them for HPatFJ yet because it's only been open to TMs for about an hour.

 

[dandaman]

Inside the Magic has a great first look inside Hogsmeade Village!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-434p3l-2EA

 

[JT3000]

He also has videos of Ollivanders, the TriWizard show and a pov of FotH.

 

[disneysroyal411]

Wouldn't it suck to have to try to top what is considered the greatest ride ever?! Owned by you and also in the same park.

 

[JT3000]

Wouldn't it suck to have to try to top what is considered the greatest ride ever?! Owned by you and also in the same park.

I would imagine trying to top your competition is more worrisome than trying to top yourself, especially if you're already ahead of the curve. Unfortunately, the person largely responsible for both attractions now works for the competition... where he probably won't be given the opportunity to do either.

 

[wdwmagic]

Wouldn't it suck to have to try to top what is considered the greatest ride ever?! Owned by you and also in the same park.

Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones isn't at IOA

 

[JLW11Hi]

That Queue looks really awesome! I will say its a shame that the whole of Hogwarts is a queue. Will there be any parts that people can just mill around in? Or is it simply all specifically for the ride? I love detailed queues, but I always find it hard to simply look around and enjoy the areas in queues because people are anxious and want you to keep moving. Plus, it'd be nice to see some parts of the school that aren't covered in railings.

 

[manowar]

we've been milling around the orlando area for a week or so waiting on any news, and headed into IOA yesterday to see what the deal was now the vacation deal guests were in.
from 09:00 on, WWHP was blocked off at the top by Sinbad and again at the entrance to Duelling Dragons by a hefty human chain of Universal crew, turning anyone away without one of the special passes.

Come 11am and people were fair streaming out of HP into the rest of IOA though, and the few shouted conversations and gestures I had with people over the water into the back of the restaurants was that it was pretty good in there. No word on FJ ride though.

Come afternoon, it looked as though HP was totally closed again, even to guests, it was shut off with boards and crew at the entrance to hogsmeade and the queue for DD was open, but had all the big boards up as you went through hogsmeade (although they are low enough that with a good reach you can get some decent camera shots over the top!)

So looks like Universal, for this weekend at least, are only opening HP for a few hours in the morning, just for those guests that bought the deal, and then its all shut down again. Not sure if there is anyone here who *has* one of those deals who can confirm. Also, unsure if this is good news for a full public soft opening or if they will carry on with the current format (if anyone does know before we head home on thursday please shout!)

 

[JT3000]

The area is open for two hours every morning for all resort guests, not just those with HP packages.

 

[manowar]

Is that two hours from 9am? They were turning people back Saturday...

 

[Mouse Detective]

I'm told that some of the "larger" guests are causing ride problems. They get on but can't get seated and fastened-in by the time the moving conveyor section comes to an end and the ride is to be launched. So the operator has to stop the ride completely and they then have problems getting the whole thing going again!

 

[dxwwf3]

I'm told that some of the "larger" guests are causing ride problems. They get on but can't get seated and fastened-in by the time the moving conveyor section comes to an end and the ride is to be launched. So the operator has to stop the ride completely and they then have problems getting the whole thing going again!

Has anyone tried out the seats yet? Are they similar in size to those on Hulk and Dragon Challenge? Surely they didn't make smaller seats than what is on those coasters.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

I'm told that some of the "larger" guests are causing ride problems. They get on but can't get seated and fastened-in by the time the moving conveyor section comes to an end and the ride is to be launched. So the operator has to stop the ride completely and they then have problems getting the whole thing going again!

If this is true, then :brickn the part of those "larger" guests.

 

[cdunbar]

If this is true, then :brickn the part of those "larger" guests.

This is not the first time I've heard that. Attractions or one of those places retweeted a guy who was giving universal hell because he couldn't fit in the seats, I had also heard about it when a drawing of the ride vehicle apppeared several months back. :shrug:

 

[SleepingMonk]

That's called a clue folks.

Can't fit in an airplane, can't fit on a coaster, can't fit in your pants, can't fit thru the door, etc....


Step away from the buffet!

:hammer:

 

[disneysroyal411]

You know, "larger guests", just because you want to sit around and eat and watch Harry Potter doesn't mean you should. He was an active person you know, fighting crime and what not. Follow his example and stop causing us distress!:lookaroun

 

[starlight222]

The area is open for two hours every morning for all resort guests, not just those with HP packages.

I'm going down next week and thinking of booking an on-site hotel for one day to get into the park. Does anyone now how getting in with the hotel keys work? And do they count how many people go in? There are 9 with our party. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ZambeziZelda]

I'm going down next week and thinking of booking an on-site hotel for one day to get into the park. Does anyone now how getting in with the hotel keys work? And do they count how many people go in? There are 9 with our party. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

You have to have a valid onsite hotel keycard for each member of your party, and a valid park ticket each of course. With 9 of you, you would need to book at least 2 rooms if everyone wanted to see The Wizarding World.

 

[wdwmagic]

You have to have a valid onsite hotel keycard for each member of your party, and a valid park ticket each of course. With 9 of you, you would need to book at least 2 rooms if everyone wanted to see The Wizarding World.

Any word on general guest previews yet?