Affect of Harry Potter on Disney

[GingerJay]

If anything, I may think it will eventually bring more business to the Orlando area. After the crowds from opening season have died down, I bet that a lot of people will come down to see HP and then spend the rest of their vacation at Disney.

 

[SanFranciscan]

I am mildly interested, with my husband being more so because he read most, if not all, of the Harry Potter books. I am not a Harry Potter fan but have been assured by others who have seen this attraction at Universal that I could still enjoy it without knowing the series.

We aren't going to include Harry Potter in our September trip to WDW because it would add considerably to the cost of our trip; and we would rather spend the time and the money at WDW, where we have been only once before and will be staying on site for the first time. It is impossible to see everything in one trip anyway so it is pointless to try.

 

[Donald is #1]

While I am a Harry Potter fan and thought about using one of the "non-Disney" days during my up-coming trip to visit IOA, I have decided that we will stick to my original plan and visit Sea World instead. To be honest, since I am very pooh sized, the reports of people not being able to ride the new attraction made my decision easy. ie. Why would I pay the admission price if I can't ride the ride?

 

[flicx]

Well, HP has lured us off-site for the first time in years! Our teens are big HP fans. So, we're doing 3 nights at Portofino Bay followed by 7 nights at Beach Club. We always rent a car and we don't do the dining plan, so, given the boys' HP enthusiasm, spending part of our vacation at Universal was a no brainer. We're excited to try Portofino Bay -- it looks like a gorgeous resort and a step or two above the Disney deluxes.

This is a first for us at Universal. Would we have gone to the Universal parks and stayed on-site at Universal without HP? Possibly, since we think the boys are at an age to really enjoy it. But, HP sealed the deal.

You'll like universal, some great stuff there.If you stay on site the hard rock and and royal pacific are great hotels,and I think you still get the front of the line access.Been a few years since we stayed but it was great.I really think HP will bring more tourism to disney and universal,a plus for both!

 

[jcriket]

There was a news story today about how US attendance was way up this year due to WWoHP. I'll see if i can find a link to it, because I don't remember the details. One of the things they said was area hotels were able to raise rates, because of the increase in visitors. So that must effect Disney somehow, just not sure if thats good or bad.http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-07-20/business/os-orlando-hotels-june-20100720_1_wizarding-world-room-rates-harry-potter

 

[MyMagicKingdom]

I very much love HP, however I wouldn't make a special trip from NY just to go to US for HP. However, I would hands down, any time, any day, make a special trip to WDW. We spent one day at US last year during our honeymoon and I was so unimpressed and I'm a really big Marvel (mostly X-Men) fan. It definitely doesn't compare to Disney. I could definitely see some people taking a day away from their WDW trip to see WWOHP, but I can't see it being too damaging to Disney. I do agree with a PP though about regional visitors, that makes sense.

 

[WDWBW09]

Have invested little time in the Potter books or movies. In no way am I saying their not cool. However for us low on the priority list. Been to FL many times but rather be at WDW...