This made me think and I don’t know if I can’t think of any location that is on a Hogwarts level of the general public wanting to visit. The only opponents I can think of are the Millennium Falcon (now a lackluster attraction) and maybe Jurassic Park (right next to HP in IoA). I haven’t watched any Lord of the Rings but from what I know it could be a contender.
The lesson learned here is Islands might be the park with the best wish fulfillment for franchise movie fans with recreations of Hogsmede and JP right next to each other.
I think the real lesson should be that one need not turn to movie properties for locations to create successful wish fulfillment.
Cinderella Castle ties itself (loosely) to the 1950 movie, but its success as a worldwide dream destination isn't based around audiences desperate desire to visit that specific place after watching the movie. Technically, Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom isn't even supposed to be the castle from the movie. Same sort of thing with The Haunted Mansion, same with Big Thunder Mountain - these attractions pull from aspirational notions that are far bigger and more timeless than any one movie, book, or franchise provides.
While it isn't necessarily bad to pull from them on occassion - using a once-in-a-generation property like Harry Potter makes plenty of sense - letting that tail wag the dog is how you end up with theme parks full of lands whose meanings are isolated from each other, and with millions of dollars being thrown at properties whose popularity does not necessarily translate to a desire to visit the locales.
This is one of the reasons why Moana would make a better ride than a land. The aspirational moment for guests who enjoy that movie would be to sail on a voyage with Moana and encounter some of the characters/creatures, not to just visit her island, and not to just end up out on the open ocean. The only real distinct and unique location in that movie was the Realm of Monsters, but it was just a footnote and I don't see people clamoring to go there specifically. Zootopia at least offers a breadth of locations unified under one umbrella, which if properly developed could make for an interesting land to explore. They seem to be doing that in Shanghai. And yet, puzzlingly, that doesn't even seem to be the pitch at WDW - Zootopia seems to be sequestered to a standalone ride.
They really need to get their head around the idea that the property itself will usually tell you if it should be a land, a ride, or neither. Some things simply do not need to be blown up to the proportion of a land.
