Will WDW Learn From WWoHP?

[SMRT-1]

Having been to the WWoHP several times now I am always finding new details in that area. Not only the incredible ride that is Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey but also the merchandising...having dedicated merch for that area (no other unrelated crap which you see in every attraction gift shop in WDW). What I don't understand is why WDW does not "get it" like they did in the beginning. WWoHP is a clear hit from design to execution. It is done right. Everyone who goes there wants butterbeer. Can anyone think of anything unique that is currently being offered outside an attraction that you cannot buy anywhere else in WDW? To my knowledge there isn't anything. Every attraction shop basically has the same merch...and sometimes no merch at all related to the attraction that it is placed in (like space mountain). WDW seriously needs to step their game up!!!

rant over back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[disney4life2008]

While I agree with you, I do not think Disney cares. People buy up Disney merchandise regardless of what it is.

 

[Hrudey3032]

I will say I wish they had themed merchandise in the areas they are in.Let 's say that Donald and the Mickey's PhilHarmagic is all you can't souvenir wise at that shop and so on and on....... I would then say you have your mixture of everything at say the Emporium on Main Street USA and MouseGear in Epcot.

 

[SMRT-1]

While I agree with you, I do not think Disney cares. People buy up Disney merchandise regardless of what it is.

That's true, but i really think they would sell more merch if it were more unique. Wouldn't it be cool if the Haunted Mansion had it's own drink? Some sort of purple concoction with smoke billowing out of it?

 

[wdwmagic]

Wouldn't it be cool if the Haunted Mansion had it's own drink? Some sort of purple concoction with smoke billowing out of it?

If Disney do things like that they are accussed of trying to extract every penny out of the guest. When Universal are basically ramming Butterbeer down everyones throat (the first thing you see when you enter the land is the Butterbeer wagin with huge signage), that seems to be OK :shrug:

 

[wdwmagic]

Having been to the WWoHP several times now I am always finding new details in that area. Not only the incredible ride that is Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey but also the merchandising...having dedicated merch for that area (no other unrelated crap which you see in every attraction gift shop in WDW). What I don't understand is why WDW does not "get it" like they did in the beginning. WWoHP is a clear hit from design to execution. It is done right. Everyone who goes there wants butterbeer. Can anyone think of anything unique that is currently being offered outside an attraction that you cannot buy anywhere else in WDW? To my knowledge there isn't anything. Every attraction shop basically has the same merch...and sometimes no merch at all related to the attraction that it is placed in (like space mountain). WDW seriously needs to step their game up!!!

rant over back to your regularly scheduled programming.

I would say that it's very easy to stock merchandise for Potter, due to the massive amounts of existing movie merchandise. A fair comparison would be to that of Star Wars. The gift store at the end of Star Tours is packed to the rafters with Star Wars stuff. Obviously, if you then start to look at other attractions that don't have the massive amount of existing catalog items, it becomes more difficult.

Over the years Disney have done a lot of attraction specific merch, and also moved away from it - over and over. It largely depends on where you are in the cycle merchandise. Currently it appears we are heading upwards again.

 

[disneygirl1]

We are heading to both Disney and WWOHP next month... While I have been to Universal in Hollywood, I have never been to the theme park in Orlando. I am anxious to see the difference between Disney and Universal!

And while I another poster mentioned Universal shoving butterbeer down peoples throat, I hardly think that is the case. Harry Potter has such a huge following that I think it is more out of curiousity that everyone wants to try a butterbeer that is why there are kiosks everywhere.

 

[Silentkink]

If Disney do things like that they are accussed of trying to extract every penny out of the guest. When Universal are basically ramming Butterbeer down everyones throat (the first thing you see when you enter the land is the Butterbeer wagin with huge signage), that seems to be OK :shrug:

My thoughts exactly and if Disney was to announce something huge soon everyone would be saying "look Disney is just copying what Universal is doing and stuff."

 

[ewensell3]

To my knowledge there isn't anything. Every attraction shop basically has the same merch...and sometimes no merch at all related to the attraction that it is placed in (like space mountain). WDW seriously needs to step their game up!!!

AFAIK, my DOOM BUGY plate is only available at one location. Madame Leota's cart outside HM. And last I checked, not much Princess stuff at the POTC gift shop.

And the Dole Whip is only available at two locations in "the World".

Now when Disney dedicates the same acreage to a single movie franchise and still insists on having generic Disney Princesses gear shoved into the middle of it, then you might have a better argument.

 

[Mouse Man]

What exactly is Disney going to learn from UNI that they already know. Honestly nothing. HP at UNI is so so and they already have issues with people not being able to fit on the ride. Uni also undersized there stores so not a lot of people can get in and enjoy it all at once. Lastly why would any one pay $9.00 for a chocolate frog. Uni unfortunately will be back in about two years wondering why there attendance has dropped off again. UNI's resorts are Okay and I would say are very nice looking, but are lacking that Disney Resort Class and Magic feel. Disney does not have to rush and try and compete with a high class six flags theme park. Disney merchandise is not junk. I have a lot of fine clothing for casual bussiness wear from them and a lot of really great watches. Yes I also have T-shirts and love them. Now yes you are into HP and good for you. I am glad that you are able to find souveniers with HP on it. I just don't beleive HP would have ever fit in Disney and believe Uni could have built it better with a little more class and style. That's the differance between UNI and Disney Class and style.

 

[Horizons1]

What exactly is Disney going to learn from UNI that they already know. Honestly nothing. HP at UNI is so so and they already have issues with people not being able to fit on the ride. Uni also undersized there stores so not a lot of people can get in and enjoy it all at once. Lastly why would any one pay $9.00 for a chocolate frog. Uni unfortunately will be back in about two years wondering why there attendance has dropped off again. UNI's resorts are Okay and I would say are very nice looking, but are lacking that Disney Resort Class and Magic feel. Disney does not have to rush and try and compete with a high class six flags theme park. Disney merchandise is not junk. I have a lot of fine clothing for casual bussiness wear from them and a lot of really great watches. Yes I also have T-shirts and love them. Now yes you are into HP and good for you. I am glad that you are able to find souveniers with HP on it. I just don't beleive HP would have ever fit in Disney and believe Uni could have built it better with a little more class and style. That's the differance between UNI and Disney Class and style.

Whoa, whoa. Put your bias aside and think before you type. Harry Potter is so-so? I think not. Harry Potter is a full-blown expansion with so much money put into that it's not even funny. The ride is not having all these issues with people riding that many people here seem to want to think it is. And besides that, Universal Creative is already testing a bench for larger riders.

As for paying $9.00 for something food related at Universal, Disney charges just as much, if not more, for their specialty items too. So you could pose the same question for Disney. Who would want to spend X amount of money on Y product.

Universal Resort is much more than a "high-class Six Flags". Universal has many fun and thrilling rides, IOA has absolutely fantastic theming that rivals some of Disney's very best (largely in part due to former Imagineers building IOA), and Universal has great nighttime entertainment with Citywalk. (Something that WDW gave up on, by the way.)

Universal has a lot of class and style. If Universal lacked style, they too would be doing major expansions that are nothing more than glorified Meet and Greets. That's lacking style, not to mention insulting.

 

[fillerup]

I guess this is as good a place as any to post this Saturday morning front page article by the O'Sentinel's Jason Garcia.

My personal observation, based on 3 to 4 visits a week to Epcot, the crowds are much much smaller than they should be in July. Ate at Boardwalk last night, plenty of space in Flying Fish. The manager at Kouzina was outside hawking for diners.

BW main self parking was about half full and the valet lot was 80% empty.

Here are the first three paragraphs, followed by the link to the full story.

The print version headline was:

Hordes Love Harry.

Universal Orlando's newest addition is proving so popular this summer that the resort has begun advising guests to avoid it — at least until after 3 p.m. each day.

The resort's "Plan Your Day" brochures, which are being distributed alongside customary theme-park maps, are among the many steps Universal is taking this summer as it tries to manage the hordes of tourists flocking to its new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the hugely hyped addition to Islands of Adventure that opened last month.

The crowd-control moves, many of which have an improvised quality to them, range from issuing rafflelike paper tickets to prevent people from cutting into the long queue that appears many mornings at the entrance to Wizarding World, to halting indefinitely the sale of liquor inside the Hog's Head tavern so the bar can more quickly move mugs of butterbeer, the sugary concoction based on a popular drink in the Harry Potter books and movies.

Harry Crowds

 

[Optimus Mouse]

UNI's resorts are Okay and I would say are very nice looking, but are lacking that Disney Resort Class and Magic feel.

I have to disagree with you here. I've stayed at both the Royal Pacific and the Portifino, and I had basically zero complaints. The theming at both is excellent, the restaurants and pools were great, and customer service was second to none. Lletting Loews Hotels manage their on-property resorts was a great decision IMO.

While they may not have Disney "magic," to be honest I haven't felt a whole lot of magic at Disney hotels recently either. I can't tell you when the last time was that I had a Disney hotel CM tell me to "Have a magical day" or "Sign by the mouse". Dirty rooms, no-turn down service, peeling paint, my list of disappointments on recent stays at on-property hotels is extensive, and we're not talking value-prices resorts either.

 

[wdwmagic]

I guess this is as good a place as any to post this Saturday morning front page article by the O'Sentinel's Jason Garcia.

My personal observation, based on 3 to 4 visits a week to Epcot, the crowds are much much smaller than they should be in July. Ate at Boardwalk last night, plenty of space in Flying Fish. The manager at Kouzina was outside hawking for diners.

BW main self parking was about half full and the valet lot was 80% empty.

Here are the first three paragraphs, followed by the link to the full story.

The print version headline was:

Hordes Love Harry.

Universal Orlando's newest addition is proving so popular this summer that the resort has begun advising guests to avoid it — at least until after 3 p.m. each day.

The resort's "Plan Your Day" brochures, which are being distributed alongside customary theme-park maps, are among the many steps Universal is taking this summer as it tries to manage the hordes of tourists flocking to its new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the hugely hyped addition to Islands of Adventure that opened last month.

The crowd-control moves, many of which have an improvised quality to them, range from issuing rafflelike paper tickets to prevent people from cutting into the long queue that appears many mornings at the entrance to Wizarding World, to halting indefinitely the sale of liquor inside the Hog's Head tavern so the bar can more quickly move mugs of butterbeer, the sugary concoction based on a popular drink in the Harry Potter books and movies.

Harry Crowds

The Disney water parks have closed due to capacity most days this week. It doesn't mean that WDW is packed, but it does mean that some of the smaller parks are at capacity. The same is true for Potter. With a capacity of 3 or 4 thousand, it doesn't take much to fill.

 

[Mouse Man]

Sorry been and stayed at Royal Pacific and aboslutely hated it. Bussiness convention atmoshpere. Pools not heated, and way over priced with a whole lot of nothing. We hated our two day stay there. River walk is just so so and we still love down town Disney a whole lot better. Far as PI we could care less about it. It comes down to do you need night clubs and such. For some yes and others no. Uni's little river walk is just that litlle. Now let's talk about customer care. I supposedly made the mistake of wearing a Disney hat while at Uni and was ridiculed for it all day long, not to mention I had a Uni employee refuse to answer a question unless I removed my hat. Then add the stupid disney bashing jokes by employees through out the parks all day long. No thanks, I will pass on this High Classed Six flags theme park. Our trip in September is planned. Disney for 8 days and nights, then off to Gaylord Palms resort for two days and plan to see Kennedy Space Center and Sea World. The wife and I do not plan on going to Uni any more. Now this is the first time in a long time that they finally got crowds going to see this small exhibit. Before that they were begging to get people in the park not to mention that being in the Park in September 2007, 2008 made it feel like a ghost town. It was a no crowd kind of place that was over priced and over rated. Sorry if you do not like our opinion fine, but don't go bashing people that truly dislike the park and tell their true opinions on it. My brother and Niece live in Lake Wales and went to see HP and both thought "this is it"! They thought it was good but not worthe seeing again. So they left the park and went over to aquatica instead. So in about two years the HP craze will be over for the park and then maybe they will expand into the Condo's behind HP. So the question really is what does UNI do in the long run when HP loses steam and crowds once again diminish

 

[SMRT-1]

I would say that it's very easy to stock merchandise for Potter, due to the massive amounts of existing movie merchandise. A fair comparison would be to that of Star Wars. The gift store at the end of Star Tours is packed to the rafters with Star Wars stuff. Obviously, if you then start to look at other attractions that don't have the massive amount of existing catalog items, it becomes more difficult.

Over the years Disney have done a lot of attraction specific merch, and also moved away from it - over and over. It largely depends on where you are in the cycle merchandise. Currently it appears we are heading upwards again.

I am not sure it's so easy to stock merch for Potter...it's not like they are selling stuff in there you can buy at Wal Mart. Everything I have seen can only be bought there....maybe a few items are sold elsewhere.

The Star Tours store is packed to the rafters yes....with stuff you can buy at Wal Mart! There are very few items in there that are Star Tours specific.

 

[Frank Stallone]

Yes, they learned not to have such narrow walkways and low capacity in an area in such high demand.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

If Disney do things like that they are accussed of trying to extract every penny out of the guest. When Universal are basically ramming Butterbeer down everyones throat (the first thing you see when you enter the land is the Butterbeer wagin with huge signage), that seems to be OK :shrug:

Exactly! This is a no win for WDW. Make attraction specific merchandise and they are profiteering, don't make it and Universal is doing better. You can't please them all. I agree, Steve.:sohappy::sohappy:

 

[Tom]

Having been to the WWoHP several times now I am always finding new details in that area. Not only the incredible ride that is Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey but also the merchandising...having dedicated merch for that area (no other unrelated crap which you see in every attraction gift shop in WDW). What I don't understand is why WDW does not "get it" like they did in the beginning. WWoHP is a clear hit from design to execution. It is done right. Everyone who goes there wants butterbeer. Can anyone think of anything unique that is currently being offered outside an attraction that you cannot buy anywhere else in WDW? To my knowledge there isn't anything. Every attraction shop basically has the same merch...and sometimes no merch at all related to the attraction that it is placed in (like space mountain). WDW seriously needs to step their game up!!!

rant over back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Without hesitation I was able to think of a number of attractions that have specifically-themed and unique merchandise in their respective gift shops: Pirates, HM, ToT, Imagination, Test Track, Backlot Tour, Mermaid, and many more that I just don't feel like typing.

Of course they're going to put the rest of the Disney merchandise in each of these stores too, because there's a lot of shelving to fill...and for convenience. Every guest tours differently, and they all leave the park after visiting a different attraction.

Disney does a good job of making sure that no matter where I am when I want to "buy that one thing I saw this morning that I really want", I can get it. Unless it's a Tower of Terror hand towel, which I'll just have to get next time I'm at ToT.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I went to Universal in March, Potter wasn't open by then but I'll see it someday soon hopefully. That being said, I think the last thing Disney needs is a knee-jerk reaction to this thing. They need to keep doing what they are doing. Adding a Miley Cyrus exhibit would be cheap and un-Disney like. They still have rides that no one else is the world has got. Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash, Everest, Small World, etc. People will continue to flock to the parks because of that, just so long as they don't replace Peter Pan with a "Cars" ride or something stupid.

Not saying Disney should rest on it's laurels, no way, but just keep doing what makes it the best park in the world. That is QUALITY. Fix things, improve things, utilize space and keep the nostalgia buzzing at all times. Stuff like that is something Universal and every other park in the world envys even with Potter.

Now another poster mentioned Universal is a glorified "Six Flags" park. No it isnt. That's not true. Universal has a pair of exceptional parks in Orlando and there are rides like E.T. that compare in animatronics and nostalgia to Disney. Albeit there aren't as many in there, but still there are things like the Jurassic Park Ride that has excellent theming. Universal is no cheap park by any means. While Disney will always trump it in my book when it comes to quality and quantity and nostalgia, the truth is Universal would probably be my 2nd choice of a park to visit in the world outside of Disney