Uni's New Plan For Potter Could Make Significant Dent To WDW

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I've only seen one Potter film and not read a single book, BUT we will be taking two days out of our next Florida trip to go to both Uni parks. That should say a lot about the power and draw of the story and its execution in a theme park.

 

[Mickey_777]

Yep. "Hey kid here's an ice cream sundae. But if you want a spoon you'll have to pay $____ to get it."

That's not even close to the same thing. If you pay for an ice cream sundae you get an ice cream sundae and everything you need to enjoy it. If you pay for a one day ticket than you get all that park has to offer. Universal is expanding its Studio park. If anyone wants to experience the new attraction they need to purchase admission to the park.

Are you assuming there are Potter fans and families that will be okay with only seeing half of Uni's Harry Potter offerings? Of coarse you can buy your ticket to get into IOA and enjoy WWOHP for all that half of the Potter experience is worth but the spoon needed to enjoy the entire Potter sundae will be next door at USO. Bottom line, as with anything, is that many will be irked by this.

I don't agree with those saying it's the same as WDW charging $55 for the park hopper upgrade. Each park in WDW can be enjoyed on it's own whether you feel there's enough to do there or not. There's nothing at MK that makes you long to experience another attraction at either DHS, Epcot, or AK. You don't feel like you only enjoyed half of any particular experience if you don't also visit the other park. Off the top of my head the only two attractions that are related in two different parks are Buzz in MK and TSMM at DHS. Has anyone ever felt forced to purchase tickets to both parks just to get the entire Toy Story experience at WDW?

 

[cheezbat]

As a passholder I could really care less about the placement of this expansion. As a fan, I get why people will be annoyed having to go to two parks to get the full experience. That just shows Universal's smarts. It'll get people to take two days at least on their vacation time.

Personally, I am interested in this new nighttime show they are planning...add the Potter stuff to Uni, as well as Despicable Me and maybe even something else...shows they're really trying to boost attendance now at the Studios park. Of course somebody else mentioned the Wondersea Island waterpark idea they've been throwing around too...if that thing is as good as one of the Disney waterparks, people will definitely be making Universal a 3 day trip. They're boosting their resort by spending big bucks...supposedly adding another hotel too. This is all really going to pay off for them in the end, and take a chunk out of Disney's bottom line.

 

[fosse76]

It really doesn't matter what the intention was. It's how it is going to be perceived by the guest.

Is the value of the Harry Potter experience going to be worth the minimum $35 charge per person to experience both? While the additional elements of both the Studios and IOA are a positive, let's not pretend that a majority of the new guest in the past year have been going to Uni for anything but Potter.

Your examples are absurd. If I am at Epcot and ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends and then decide to see Finding Nemo the musical, I have to purchase a park hopper for $55. That is more in line with what is happening here.

 

[menamechris]

WoC cost $100 million so it is probably not a good comparisson.

The way things are going - Universal doesn't seem to mind spending money right now. And they could probably get a similar type show off the ground for half the price of Disney. Either way, the Sentinel apparently believes this has legs - so they must have some additional sources who are confirming (or at least fueling) the rumor. I believe this story was front page this morning.

 

[NX2I85]

except someone posted pics of the crates over at ou that say aqautique which is this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AZKDMy76grs

and i'd say
1. it look similar to world of color
2. it looks amazing

I'll go ahead and say it... If UO brings something like Aquatique, aggressively expands WWoHP, and mixes in a Transformers presence then they will have made the case for being the leading Orlando attraction for this generation.

TDO has failed to excite folks. LM ride is nice, but hardly spectacular (we are getting a clone of Anaheim's, right?). Mine Coaster is still 3 years out. Spiffed up FLE will be fine and much needed, but I don't see how it advances Disney's brand/base much at all. Avatarland is 8-10 years out; even assuming it is an unabashed hit, is WDW really going to spend that long treading water?

By that time UO may have built a value resort or two.

 

[Bolna]

The thing is you are making it sound like customers will be paying to experience two very similar products. The fact is that they will be very different and will each stand on their own. Universal is spending hundreds of millions of dollars and whether it was physically located in IOA or USF they would still need to increase their revenue. It would come either from a one-day price hike or the way they are planning now.

And I wonder whether Universal's intent is not to get more people to buy one-day-park-hoppers, but rather two days tickets and hence make themselves even more of a destination.

Already now the two-day ticket without park hopping is cheaper than a one-day-two-park ticket. If this is the more economic ticket, they might get more people to do one day at IoA and then one day at US. With this they do not only get more ticket revenue, but also increase the money they make from those guests buying food - and possibly more souvenirs.

This might actually be the true economic genius of this plan - not only get the people away from WDW for one day, but for two!

 

[devoy1701]

And I wonder whether Universal's intent is not to get more people to buy one-day-park-hoppers, but rather two days tickets and hence make themselves even more of a destination.

Already now the two-day ticket without park hopping is cheaper than a one-day-two-park ticket. If this is the more economic ticket, they might get more people to do one day at IoA and then one day at US. With this they do not only get more ticket revenue, but also increase the money they make from those guests buying food - and possibly more souvenirs.

This might actually be the true economic genius of this plan - not only get the people away from WDW for one day, but for two!

I've been saying this for months now! People (including TDO) need to wake up to what Universal Orlando is doing here. It's not just about cashing in on Potter. It's finally having the franchise and the means to make their theme parks a destination on their own...not just another stop on a Disney World or an Orlando trip.

For the first time in a long time (perhaps ever) I'm excited about Uni.

 

[mikalaans]

Universal is rumored to be pursuing LOTR as its next acquisition.

where did you hear that? do you have a link?

 

[whylightbulb]

Are you assuming there are Potter fans and families that will be okay with only seeing half of Uni's Harry Potter offerings? Of coarse you can buy your ticket to get into IOA and enjoy WWOHP for all that half of the Potter experience is worth but the spoon needed to enjoy the entire Potter sundae will be next door at USO. Bottom line, as with anything, is that many will be irked by this.

Of course some will get upset. Currently people get upset if they purchase a one day ticket and are denied access to the other park. The thing I disagree with is that this is an unfair or unwise move by Universal.

Although not everything Universal is planning has been announced yet, there are several more attractions and upgrades planned for USF and IOA. It can be argued that the Potter expansion alone will include at least three new attractions if the current plan is given the final green light. How should Universal recoup and profit from their investment? Should they raise one or both of their one day ticket prices by $20 and price themselves out of the market? They will most likely raise ticket prices but certainly not close to that amount. As an alternative they are encouraging customers to purchase a 2-park ticket but offering a fantastic value in return. By that time both parks will include unique state-of-the-art entertainment that arguably nobody else in Olando is offering.

I don't agree with those saying it's the same as WDW charging $55 for the park hopper upgrade. Each park in WDW can be enjoyed on it's own whether you feel there's enough to do there or not. There's nothing at MK that makes you long to experience another attraction at either DHS, Epcot, or AK. You don't feel like you only enjoyed half of any particular experience if you don't also visit the other park. Off the top of my head the only two attractions that are related in two different parks are Buzz in MK and TSMM at DHS. Has anyone ever felt forced to purchase tickets to both parks just to get the entire Toy Story experience at WDW?

I don't think using Toy Story or Nemo as an example of not getting the full experience is a good way to put it. If I go to the Magic Kingdom and I can't ride TOT or Everest I'm not getting the full Disney World Experience. The same can be said for USF and IOA. Each park can still be enjoyed on their own merit but if you want the full Universal experience you have to purchase a combo ticket. I mean are we now saying that if I purchase a movie ticket to see one Harry Potter film I must be given access to all the films?

 

[RSoxNo1]

If there is a train ride between the two parks I would anticipate that there would be some way to ride round trip without "leaving" either park, they can accomplish this by scanning guest tickets as they leave the train as opposed to when the board the train.

 

[TasiaJ]

That train ride really sounds like a good idea. Why is everybody getting so mad about what someone suggested on here? Who says Uni will even do that. My family has gone on a trip to Orlando for 14 years every October(except 2011 we are going in April) we went to WDW until 2003. We went to SW the year after that and gladly US and IoA for 5 years. We went to Mk last year because of the young ones crying because they couldn't ride anything at Uni.It was boring all the older ones sad so too. If Uni demolishes that movie that hell I can't even remember and makes a Nickelodeon or Dreamworks land mix with DM and the HE train Ak and HS are done. I'm a Uni fan because they spend money on things they need. Out of all MK fantasyland did not need it at all. Avatar land is unnecessary. Nickelodeon, Dreamworks and Pixar are the only licences that appeal to both genders. Disney has a Pixar Studios with 1 attraction really? There rumored to be waiting on a sponsor for the MI coaster you have billions of dollars Disney but you are relying on sponsors really?When Pixar Place gets the Fle money than my family will most likely spend our next day at HS but until then US and IoA it is.

 

[Imagineer6]

If there is a train ride between the two parks I would anticipate that there would be some way to ride round trip without "leaving" either park, they can accomplish this by scanning guest tickets as they leave the train as opposed to when the board the train.

Good idea - may I suggest as well having a monorail-type vehicle that will also travel on dual tracks, that starts at whichever park or CitiWalk. The distance is shorter between where the three stations would be, so they would have to work something out if they want more than two trains, but it's an advantage to people who can get on and into the parks who already bought their ticket and don't have to go through the normal park entrance.

 

[Captain Neo]

Unless Disney gets their head out of there behind and starts investing wisely in the parks (newer better attractions with proper budgets and wow factor) they are going to be pretty much done.

Instead of sinking money in "next gen", building even more timeshares, and poor marketing campaigns they should be coming up with quality new attractions for the parks. Oh well I guess every big company is destined to fail at some point (just look at GM, Pan Am, American Airlines, etc.)

 

[Bairstow]

Unless Disney gets their head out of there behind and starts investing wisely in the parks (newer better attractions with proper budgets and wow factor) they are going to be pretty much done.

Instead of sinking money in "next gen", building even more timeshares, and poor marketing campaigns they should be coming up with quality new attractions for the parks. Oh well I guess every big company is destined to fail at some point (just look at GM, Pan Am, American Airlines, etc.)

That said thing is that you're probably wrong.
Disney can sit back on their laurels with what they have now and as long as they don't let too many things break at the same time still have a reasonable level of guest satisfaction.

And being that this is the prudent thing to do with their investors' money, they probably will.

 

[menamechris]

Unless Disney gets their head out of there behind and starts investing wisely in the parks (newer better attractions with proper budgets and wow factor) they are going to be pretty much done.

Instead of sinking money in "next gen", building even more timeshares, and poor marketing campaigns they should be coming up with quality new attractions for the parks. Oh well I guess every big company is destined to fail at some point (just look at GM, Pan Am, American Airlines, etc.)

Unfortunately, I don't think Disney is nervous or concerned about the parks' performances right now. Looking at their spreadsheets - numbers seem to be going up for them, not down. The people making these decisions are not entertainers, showmen, etc. They are analysts, accountants, business people. I really do think they could care less about innovation or show - as long as the numbers keep steady.

 

[cheezbat]

So they actually have something new planned relatively soon for IOA if Potter phase 2 goes to the Studios? Any hints as to what this is? I'm interested in Phase 2, but more interested in what else is coming...and what's happening AFTER Potter.

 

[Bairstow]

So they actually have something new planned relatively soon for IOA if Potter phase 2 goes to the Studios? Any hints as to what this is?

According to Lightbulb a lot of plans are contingent on some budget approvals that will be made in January, which implies nothing is set in stone yet.

 

[TarzanRocked99-]

The difference is at Uni the budgets have been trending upwards lately and not the other way around

 

[Uncle Lupe]

This will just give people another reason to give Universal a try. Our next foreseeable week long trip to Orlando will be at Disney while our daughter is still young and after Fantasy land is complete. After that Uni would be a nice change for the teen years.