The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

[DisneyGerry]

 

[tink1957]

My guess is that when the area is open to the public (for soft opening), Three Broomsticks will be open for lunch hours (after the breakfast for package holders is served)

I doubt it since I specifically asked when it would be open for lunch and the TM said not until after the Grand Opening.

 

[DisneyGerry]

 

[DisneyGerry]

 

[Slacking]

I doubt it since I specifically asked when it would be open for lunch and the TM said not until after the Grand Opening.

I think that just may be their standard answer. I find it hard to believe that the first day Three Broomsticks will be in full operational mode with their normal menu will be on Grand Opening that. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Musashi450]

It sounds like they simply don't know until the day of and even then there is confusion.

Also for what it's worth, I'm absolutely willing to give this hour of exclusivity thing a shot with an open attitude. However 60 minutes to wait in line for the castle when I only have a guaranteed 60 minutes to ride?! Kinda defeats the purpose...

 

[tink1957]

I think that just may be their standard answer. I find it hard to believe that the first day Three Broomsticks will be in full operational mode with their normal menu will be on Grand Opening that. Doesn't make sense to me.

The TM said it didn't make much sense to her either and she wished they would open before then so they would be prepared for the Grand Opening. I think they are crazy if they do wait till then. but I also think they were crazy for waiting as long as they did to soft open FJ.

 

[lildamo]

It sounds like they simply don't know until the day of and even then there is confusion.

Also for what it's worth, I'm absolutely willing to give this hour of exclusivity thing a shot with an open attitude. However 60 minutes to wait in line for the castle when I only have a guaranteed 60 minutes to ride?! Kinda defeats the purpose...

Plan to be there early and you should be able to get on in considerably less time than 60 minutes. If you want to re-ride the line will get longer, but apparently it was a walk-on by the end of the preview period today! Doubt we'll ever see that again!

 

[damo]

The TM said it didn't make much sense to her either and she wished they would open before then so they would be prepared for the Grand Opening. I think they are crazy if they do wait till then. but I also think they were crazy for waiting as long as they did to soft open FJ.

I can see FJ just phyically not be ready to open but Three Broomsticks? They kept the kitchen from Enchanted Oak, so how difficult can it be?

 

[inkkognito]

Plan to be there early and you should be able to get on in considerably less time than 60 minutes. If you want to re-ride the line will get longer, but apparently it was a walk-on by the end of the preview period today! Doubt we'll ever see that again!

Exactly! As long as it is running early and you are towards the front of the line to get in, your first ride will have little or no wait. The next one will be longer (for us #2 was 35 mins. today) because the crowd density has increased. After that I guess people were tired of it because there was literally no wait other than the time it took us to talk through the castle. The only thing that will gum up the works is if it is not operational first thing in the morning (which was our problem yesterday).

 

[Disney Padawan]

Exactly! As long as it is running early and you are towards the front of the line to get in, your first ride will have little or no wait. The next one will be longer (for us #2 was 35 mins. today) because the crowd density has increased. After that I guess people were tired of it because there was literally no wait other than the time it took us to talk through the castle. The only thing that will gum up the works is if it is not operational first thing in the morning (which was our problem yesterday).

Any chance that you can give us a detailed play by play of the ride over at the spoilers thread?

 

[inkkognito]

I may have it out of sequence but I will pop over there and give it a shot!

 

[Disney Padawan]

I may have it out of sequence but I will pop over there and give it a shot!

Looking forward to reading it. Thank you kindly.

 

[petals]

lol, you're right!

I've been to DL in Anaheim and Hong Kong and both times looking down Main Street, wondering where the castle is...all I see is a big souvenir.

Now that would disappoint me! Luckily I'm not likely to visit that anytime in near future I'lls tick with Paris or Florida where you won't blink and miss the castle lol!

Yes, the grey sweater she was wearing is in Filch's. I think it was $50 or $60.

BTW, it's a Gryffindor sweater with the Gryffindor shield patch on the left.

Cool thanks and luvin the pic that came after and the red hoodie ooh I like that better. Agh can't wait to hit WOHP shops. I'm gonna be so broke after this hol ha ha

Oh has anyone tried Bertie's every flavoured beans?? What are they like and what flavours did yee get?

 

[Disney Padawan]

Now that would disappoint me! Luckily I'm not likely to visit that anytime in near future I'lls tick with Paris or Florida where you won't blink and miss the castle lol!


Cool thanks and luvin the pic that came after and the red hoodie ooh I like that better. Agh can't wait to hit WOHP shops. I'm gonna be so broke after this hol ha ha

Oh has anyone tried Bertie's every flavoured beans?? What are they like and what flavours did yee get?

My better half bought me some earlier this year and I still have the package in my hands. Here are the flavors I've had so far.

Booger
Black pepper
Blueberry
Earthworm
Dirt
Cherry
Cinnamon
Ear Wax
Sausage
Grape Jelly
Grass
Tutti-Frutti
Lemon Drop
Vomit
Soap
Sardine
Toasted Marshmallow
Buttered Popcorn
Pickel
Rotten Egg

Don't know why but I'd rather have the Earthworm over the Cinnamon. By far the worst are Soap, sardine and Vomit. I think the ones they sell at the park are much more less offensive but I could be wrong.

 

[yeslek]

As a proud Ravenclaw, can anyone assure me that the souvenirs sold in the park don't only apply to the more "famous" houses like Gryffindor and Slytherin?

 

[phamton]

Can you imagine if Spiderman went down they shut down all of Marvel Superhero Island?!

My guess is that if the whole land is open, people would be complaining because they can't get on the ride. As long as the gate is shut, most people in the park just assume the land isn't finished and wouldn't complain about that.

Once FJ is 'open' on June 18th will Universal shut down all of WWOHP because FJ is closed and there is no longer the 'complete experience'; because that is the only reason I see why the preview is limited and not open to the public right now. With FJ experiencing problems Universal can not offer the complete WWOHP experience.

When the ride goes down after June 18th, it will most likely be up and running sometime later that day so they can ride it.

 

[mpaxton8888]

As a proud Ravenclaw, can anyone assure me that the souvenirs sold in the park don't only apply to the more "famous" houses like Gryffindor and Slytherin?

I am also a Ravenclaw fan. Most of the souvenirs are Gryffindor or Slytherin. You can find house robes, pins, scarves, a few t-shirts and mugs that are in all four houses. I think total I saw maybe 2 Ravenclaw T-shirts. There were probably 10+ Gryffindor t-shirts.

So yes, you won't be left out in the cold, but the selection is not the same.

Btw, if anyone has any specific questions, you can follow me on twitter, mpaxton88 and I'll try and respond there. I'm here until Wednesday and we are hitting up HP land tomorrow morning to try and ride FJ again.

 

[Planogirl]

After reading the latest posts, I suspect that some (not all!) who are complaining would have done so no matter what. I think that I'm starting to get it.

The size issue is certainly a legitimate concern and so is being uncertain about how long a preview is. Otherwise there are so many odd posts IMO.

From now on, I'm just going to read reviews from those who have actually been there and from those who have valid concerns. (Still pulling for you Mom/waplan!) The rest is just a downer and this constant arguing is pointless IMO.

 

[MadeToLove]

Wow, I take a day off and the thread exploded. Just a few thoughts:

Regarding Preds adventure. From what a TM said on OU yesterday, Sat. a pooh sized guest couldn't get the shoulder restraint locked properly, and refused to get off. Not sure where on the ride he caused the full stop, but the ride sensors will stop the ride if one person's restraint begins to wiggle around. It's for their safety. And as we've heard, it takes 45 min to 1 hour to evac and 1-2 hours to restart at that point.

This is hardly the only reason why the ride has stopped this past week, (apparently one shut down was due to an operator hitting the wrong button - that's why they have softs), but because of this incident, they decided to add a test seat near the ride on Sun. and why they've been more selective as to who rides it. For now, they are airing on the side of caution while they make some tweaks to the programs and ride hardware. They'll likely have some of it fixed in the next few months. (Of course they are also trying to reduce any reasons why the ride might stop, because they'd like it to run for longer than 30 min., and this is one thing they can do).

Now, about TMs being rude. I will agree that TM's should handle size related issues with compassion, but I have to say, on their behalf, this has got to be the worst work weeks of their lives. Think about it, would you want to work there right now. These guys are only human and are allowed to have their emotions too. Put yourself in their shoes. You work at this place that is supposed to be magical, but instead you get dozens of people yelling at you or complaining about things you have no control over. You have a boss that says you can't let larger people on, or your job's at risk for not following orders, or you've got someone larger than you giving you the evil eye and trying to intimidate you. Add to that the rumors of AP holders wanting to storm the castle like an angry mob. You might just get a little testy too. I know if I were working there and I said sorry the lights not green, and no one can ride if the lights not green and someone got in my face and argued with me, I'd punch them out. But then, that's why I won't work in a theme park with so many people. haha


And one thing about the package date/GO date fiasco. Yes, Univ. handled it all wrong, but here's what I'm thinking happened (not to excuse their inability to make sure all departments were on the same track). I was told by someone who used to work for the company that built FJ last fall (2009) that they were supposed to have the ride ready for a GO date in mid May. Remember when the actors were saying they'd be there in May last winter? I think the day Emma and the boys were there was supposed to be the weekend of the original GO. However, FJ has been months behind schedule since the beginning. I think what happened was they planned for all to be ready for Memorial Day and the various departments were planning for it, but around late Feb. early March, after they started selling the packages, it became apparant that FJ was no where near ready for mid May. So they had a meeting with Jo, WB, and other execs and decided to push the GO back a month (on a date convenient for Jo and actors), but forgot to invite Guest Services, the Hotel Dept heads, PR, etc. to the meeting where they made the decision, and those depts have been scrambling ever since. That, if anything is Univ.'s weakness, that the depts aren't communicating with each other properly on this.

OK, enought for tonight.