Article about People Finding Out Harry Potter Is NOT a Theme Park

[WaltD4Me]

Article by Ricky Brigante....People are figuring out HP is not a theme park. Of course, Pete is right again...Universal seems surprised by the crowds. This doesn't sound very good at all.

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As can be expected, many of those who made the trek to Islands of Adventure are not pleased with the result of their journey. This morning on Twitter, @jgat wrote, “the line at guest services is huge, full of people wanting their money back.” And the complaints are likely to continue as guests continue to wait in near-record Florida heat throughout the day.

Meanwhile some technical difficulties continue at the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction. One report indicates that the ride shut down briefly once this morning, forcing guests to leave temporarily.

It was only two days ago that Universal Orlando president Bill Davis told the media, “We’ve done this before. We’ll get through it.” But was Universal truly ready to handle the thousands of fans who showed up today based on Universal’s own advertisements to come see the Wizarding World? Given that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is only one section of a much larger theme park, thousands of guests can certainly not all fit comfortably into the area at once. But no one told them that in advance.

Many of those who showed up expecting a grand opening celebration and a “theme park within a theme park” have instead been met with a seemingly endless line that might not place them into the Wizarding World until much later tonight – or perhaps not even at all today.

Some might scoff and say that Universal has done everything they can with crowd control and that they can only safely allow so many guests into the Wizarding World at once. But crowd control is not the issue. The real question is could today’s oversized crowd have been avoided? Perhaps Universal should not have publicized a single day as *the* day to be here to see the Wizarding World. Perhaps Universal should not have announced there would be a “public grand opening” this morning, only to make it viewable for a select few individuals.

Or… perhaps this is simply what should be expected from the grand opening of one of the most highly-anticipated theme park additions in history. While lines are long, and will likely continue to be long throughout the busy summer season, the wait for dedicated Harry Potter fans will most certainly be worth it, as Universal has created an immersive and detailed themed environment rivaled by few others.

So, for now, it will be up to each individual guest to decide whether it is worth waiting literally all day to spend a few hours in Hogsmeade Village and Hogwarts Castle. For some who have grown up reading Harry Potter books and watching the film series, it most certainly will. For the rest, waiting a few months to visit, after the initial crowds have subsided, is likely the better choice.
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[cathie1327]

I have to whole heartedly agree with what's been stated in the article.

I think what a lot of people are going to get angry about, is not that they didn't expect there to be waits, crowding, etc, but that I think people were expecting this to be huge...something you could spend all day doing, a "theme park" and it is far from it. People who have waited in line for 4 hours are getting through the gates, and will likely be surprised that there's not as much to it as one would expect.

 

[dalt01]

to me its not so much that they oversold it. more like they underestimated the possibilitys.............sooner or later they will have to acknowledge the 800 pound gorilla in the room. the problem now is that there is nothing they can do about it. it is fine with me. if everyone is over there milling around the line will be shorter for the Mummy.....what up Sandy? good find!

 

[WaltD4Me]

to me its not so much that they oversold it. more like they underestimated the possibilitys.............sooner or later they will have to acknowledge the 800 pound gorilla in the room. the problem now is that there is nothing they can do about it. it is fine with me. if everyone is over there milling around the line will be shorter for the Mummy.....what up Sandy? good find!

I think they did oversell though too, because I think all those people standing in line think they are getting inside a whole HP theme park. I'm sure they also think there is alot more room in HP land than there really is. I mean, who in their right mind would stand in a line like that...all the way back to City Walk if they know how small that area is? If they know that, they know they either won't get in today or that if they do, it's going to be at 9pm tonight. Those people in that hideous line have no idea the size of that either, they are expecting a theme park because that is how Universal sold it.

 

[Dorisk3]

The pictures Kevin posted on another thread from the Orlando Sentinel are interesting. The theming is really beautiful, it just looks very small. I haven't been to Universal, so maybe it was more a size issue, but 3 attractions (2 or which are coasters) is a bit of a dissapointment. Definetly no theme park! How much are they charging extra for it?

 

[Metro West]

Definetly no theme park! How much are they charging extra for it?

They aren't charging anything extra.

 

[dalt01]

nothing, its part of park admission

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Wait until everyone finds out that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a Disney park.

 

[Metro West]

Wait until everyone finds out that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a Disney park.

Now THAT is pretty funny!

 

[Kimberle]

Well, what did these people expect? They knew it would be a madhouse today. That like people strolling up to the MK at noon on Christmas day & being suprised they couldn't get in...

 

[Dav2205]

So people turn up on the opening day of an area based on one of the most popular franchises of all time, and are horrified to find that it's a madhouse? Sorry I fail to see how Universal can be blamed for this, were they supposed to tell people not to come on opening day?

 

[derekburgan]

Had to share this link from Damo in the Islands of Adventure Zone. It's a collection of tweets from people inside the park.

http://twitter.com/search?q=forbidden journey

Just an amazing collection of what the average park patron is thinking about the Harry Potter experience.

Here's some of my favorites:

ThemeParkDaily Most coming off Forbidden Journey are saying something along the lines of "Best ride ever".

Jl_normal JoanLattanzio 6 hours and 100 dollars later : The Forbidden Journey. This paid off everything. Simply unbelievable.

uoccommunity Waited six hours to get into #wwohp. Forbidden journey is incredibly awesome! #potterwatch. Sorry for lack of updates

accentbradenton Six hours was worth the wait. Forbidden Journey was AMAZING. Feel like you're actually playing Quidditch. Wands are $28.95. Going back soon.

I'd put up some negative ones, but I haven't come across any yet. If people think the area is small and are very unhappy about it, they are doing a good job of keeping it a secret.

 

[brenalexacamp]

and what about the people that wait all that time and cannot fit in the seat??

 

[Dav2205]

and what about the people that wait all that time and cannot fit in the seat??

They should have done a bit of research.

 

[cathie1327]

They should have done a bit of research.

From what I understand, there are test seats outside the attraction to see if you will fit, however, some guests have reported fitting into the test seats but not "fitting" into the actual ride seat (not to the tm's satisfaction anyway) and not being allowed to ride after all.

It may not be a case of not doing one's research.

 

[Magpie]

And I've heard of guests not fitting in the test seats, going through just to see the queue and deciding to give it one more shot inside... and fitting!

Apparently if you are close to the limit, you can get a friend to push down on the restraint for the three clicks. The TMs sometimes will and sometimes won't - I expect it all depends on whether anyone's complained recently that they were injured by a TM pushing down too hard.

 

[WDWBlaze]

The title of this thread is misleading. The article is about the section being crowed, not the surprise it was not a full size theme park.