The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

[Poohbeck]

Was at the park today, and they were pumping nitrogen into the show building. They are getting close to at least soft openings!
Check the pics of it here!

Well, i hope they hurry up.

 

[B0uncyballz]

Was at the park today, and they were pumping nitrogen into the show building. They are getting close to at least soft openings!
Check the pics of it here!

I was there today too and noticed that too.

 

[shl1108]

Was at the park today, and they were pumping nitrogen into the show building. They are getting close to at least soft openings!
Check the pics of it here!

Sorry, what is the nitrogen for???

 

[braddillman]

It might be for the 'chilling effect' of the Dementors. I expect there'll be some 4-D components like Spider-man.

I wonder what other 4-D things they might do?

 

[Sun Lover]

Is there any way to tell if the FJ ride is even finished? It seems like it would still be a long way to soft openings, as I'm sure this ride will need extensive testing before they can do a soft opening. Since it's inside a building, it's hard to tell what stage it's in. I wish they would give us some sort of idea soon. The waiting is torture.

 

[Lucky4me]

Sorry, what is the nitrogen for???

I would imagine to immerse you into the Wizarding World as much as possible. From what Universal is saying, it will immerse you more than any other existing themed ride in the world.
I like the term someone coined here-that it may be like "Soarin" on steroids. But I also think it will have elements of other rides as well and new technology never seen before. I think the entire ride will be 4-D.

My daughter keeps sending me info she finds on other sites-most I've read here already. You guys are good.
They really are keeping a tight lid on this ride, which just adds to the anticipation. I love Soarin at Disney. I have a feeling Forbidden journey will replace Spiderman as my favorite at Universal.
I think the Quidditch match will be the roughest and most exciting part of the ride. Like braddillman said, I think the nitrogen/dry ice will have something to do with the dementors or maybe even floo powder.
I can't believe the entire ride from walking into Hogwarts, until getting off the ride, will take almost an hour. It makes me wonder how many people the ride can take in one day. It's understandable why on site guests will only get one express pass per day.

Maybe they'll have a queue-less system like they're attempting for Rock N Roller Coaster at Disney. Take a number and come back later so you can enjoy the rest of Hogsmeade village instead of standing in line to get into Hogwarts. That would be pretty great..

Wow, I am getting much more into this than I thought I would....

 

[Don Pacho]

Universal's official pics since
the opening announcement






Dumbledore’s Office

Griffin Statue

Hagrid’s Hut

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Ride Film

Hogwarts Castle

Hogwarts Express

National Television Ad

Portrait Gallery

Room of Requirement

.
​

 

[Don Pacho]

Courtesy of mebweb, Orlando United
http://www.orlandounited.com

Well, I went to the park today and of course they were out of soft pretzels. In fact, they wanted to be clear they were out of soft pretzels, so they placed a large piece of equipment in front of the pretzel stand. OK, I know, enough! We already knew they weren't going to be offering soft pretzels today.

Anyhow, I'm a little bit frustrated with myself today. I was walking towards the 'temp' bridge from Lost Continent and I see Mark Woodbury, President of Universal Creative, walking straight towards me. I was so tempted to stop him and at least ask for a photo with him. But he was clearly headed towards WWOHP with a group of VIPs. I didn't want to be rude and interrupt his work. Ughh! I'm too polite.

Here are my observations. They are still doing so fairly heavy construction in the area. I noticed that after Mr. Woodbury went in with his group, they were all wearing hard hats. In addition, they are still doing welding on the railings in the greenhouse queue of FJ (I tried to get a pic of that in my photo update below). I could hear the sounds of various other construction equipment as well. All of this likely could be finished up pretty quickly. So, the start of softs really depends on what is going on inside FJ.

Here is a link to the various pics I took today. There is nothing earth-shattering revealed here. I tried to get Hogwarts from many different angles in the park. Some were taken when I arrived and it was overcast. Others were taken later in the day when the sun came out. Enjoy!

http://img21.imageshack.us/g/dsc07054ax.jpg/

Here are a few of my favorite shots:

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

With all the technology now I can only imagine how cool it will be to see the portrait gallery and see the paintings move!!
I'm not sure what will be open or not when I go,but if we can at least see the castle and get some cool pics,that will be great! But keeping my fingers crossed that some of it, if not all will be what you all have been calling a soft opening the day we go!!

 

[glocon]

Was that a picture of the room of requirement or the great hall with all the floating candles?

 

[Magpie]

Was that a picture of the room of requirement or the great hall with all the floating candles?

The Universal site and press releases all say "Room of Requirement". Which I suppose can look like anything it wants to look like!

 

[braddillman]

I seem to recall floo powder being mentioned before somewhere. I expect to feel a blast of heat (say, by detonating propane) like when the green goblin grenade detonates on spider-man.

Maybe a spray of water from skimming over the lake (just me speculating).

I wonder if Grawp could pick you up? It's a natural given the ride mechanism.

I wonder if they'll include a great fall like in spider-man? Say, off the tallest tower in Hogwarts (or even Azkaban). Again, its just something that's possible with the ride mechanism, just me speculating.

 

[mickey916]

We're going to IOA next Tuesday, April 20th. Does anyone know if the Dragons Challenge is open now and/or will be open then? We've pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that we probably won't be fortunate enough to catch a soft opening of HP but we'd like to be able to at least ride this ride. Any insider info on this?

 

[ChrisFL]

We're going to IOA next Tuesday, April 20th. Does anyone know if the Dragons Challenge is open now and/or will be open then? We've pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that we probably won't be fortunate enough to catch a soft opening of HP but we'd like to be able to at least ride this ride. Any insider info on this?

The ride has been open, but the queue is still not finished I don't believe.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

I am so excited! I love all of this ride stuff. I follow it like my dog follows me with food!

 

[mickey916]

The ride has been open, but the queue is still not finished I don't believe.

Thanks for the update! We'll take whatever we get at this point...

 

[yaytezIOA]

Was there tonight, and the Dragons queue was open, all the old stuff is gone. And there's nothing really going on Triwizard about it. However, we did get some shots and a little vid of some lights going on in the trees behind Hippogriff, and a good look at the Three Broomsticks menu. Check it out here.

 

[universalfan]

Thanks for the link. That's at least some sign of progress. I can't help but remain hopeful for soft openings during Grad Bash. I am an old person, so I won't be there for that specific event. I will, however, be there during that time period and I can't help but feel vaguely disappointed that they distributed all of those posters promising Grad Bash participants a first look at WWOHP, leading the hopeful among us to think that we might be included as well. . .

Is there a twelve-step program for this WWOHP news addiction that I have developed?

On the Facebook page set up by VERY disappointed Grad Bash participants, there is a note stating that Universal has promised return tickets to students if they do not get to experience WWOHP as promised. I took that as another hopeful sign that there still might be a chance of it soft opening at that time.

 

[MadeToLove]

Is there a twelve-step program for this WWOHP news addiction that I have developed?

I hearby open this meeting of Potterholicis Anonymous.

God grant us the serenity to accept the grand opening dates we can not change, the courage to ride the rides we can, and the wisdom to refrain from hitting the complaining muggles on this board, or in the queues, who try to ruin all our fun.

Hi, I'm MTL and I'm a Potterholic.



I think I need a 12-step program. I was shaking when I read the insider reports on Mugglenet and Leaky Cauldron and when I watched Ellen. If that's not addict behaviour.... This place can't open up fast enough for me. It's the first thing I do every morning, and when I get home from work, check for updates on the park.

 

[universalfan]

Me too!