How would you change Harry Potter World?

[TaylorsDad]

No sarcasm allowed!

Dont tell Dumbledore

 

[Surroundedbyboys]

This is something I envisioned when I first heard they were building HP land:

Have a building that looks like the Shrieking Shack or the Weasley's house, (or whatever) and do an attraction inside similar to Cal Adventure's Beast's Library.

Have computer screens/chairs set up around the room that people sit at and answer a series of questions. Then a sorting hat from the back of the chair comes down and proclaims which house you are sorted into.

Then move on to one of four rooms each with a different interactive experience: for instance, if you're Gryffindor you move on to a wand battle with Death Eaters; Hufflepuffs would navigate through the Forbidden Forest, using wands to hex their way through; Slytherin's would do Dark Magic against characters from HP; Ravenclaw would play a game of Quidditch.

You would earn points for your house that would accumulate through the day and then at the end of the day the House Cup would have the name of which house won. (Of course these would all be computer/video game assimilations~ obviously the "real thing" would be too difficult financially and space wise.

 

[glocon]

I still think it would be too cool to see the durmstrang ship in the lagoon. And if the Weasley's house was there, it could be a ride like MIB where you can target magical creatures, maybe with a wand! And a Forbidden Forest with different magical creatures and plants and monsters would be a great walk through kind of attraction. And Madam Puddifuts tea shop would be another nice place to get a sweet treat and rest. And definitely more butterbeer carts! I personally loved looking in all the "store" windows that weren't really stores- it was part of the attraction of Hogsmead I think. But for sure, I think they need to make a real moving Hogwarts Express. And.....

 

[TaylorsDad]

This is something I envisioned when I first heard they were building HP land:

Have a building that looks like the Shrieking Shack or the Weasley's house, (or whatever) and do an attraction inside similar to Cal Adventure's Beast's Library.

Have computer screens/chairs set up around the room that people sit at and answer a series of questions. Then a sorting hat from the back of the chair comes down and proclaims which house you are sorted into.

Then move on to one of four rooms each with a different interactive experience: for instance, if you're Gryffindor you move on to a wand battle with Death Eaters; Hufflepuffs would navigate through the Forbidden Forest, using wands to hex their way through; Slytherin's would do Dark Magic against characters from HP; Ravenclaw would play a game of Quidditch.

You would earn points for your house that would accumulate through the day and then at the end of the day the House Cup would have the name of which house won. (Of course these would all be computer/video game assimilations~ obviously the "real thing" would be too difficult financially and space wise.

Love the idea of kids getting sorted by the Sorting Hat. You really wouldnt need anything else, just a line where people go through and try on the hat and get sorted into their respective houses.

 

[Planogirl]

I would like to see some modified seats on FJ so that everyone (well most everyone) could ride. I would also like to see a well-themed TS restaurant. Maybe take over Mythos?. Another ride would be good but not a kiddie ride. It just doesn't fit IMO.

I like Surroundedbyboys' idea!

 

[WWEDUDE]

This is how to make WWOHP better
1. On flight of the Hippograph let people ride a real hippograph. This would be much cooler if probably a bit more smelly.
2. Dragon Challenge- let everyone ride their own real dragon. Much more satisfiying if you manage to survive, let alone tame the beast. Dont forget your flame retardant robes.
3. At Ollivaders I want a real wandmaker helping me be chosen by an actual wand made with a live Pheonix tailfeather.
4. Let people people send their owlpost by actual owls.
5. And finally on forbidden journey I want to ride with the actual cast of the HP movies and really magically fly avoiding Dragons, Dementor, and giant spiders.

I think my request are reasonable. After all Disney would have done all this

Seriously though, from all the reviews I have read Universal /IOA have done an amazing job already.

The fact of it is no matter how great WWOHP is, and I personally think it is pretty great, everyone will want more, but the fact of it is they spent a lot on it and have little room to expand. I would love a ride for each book, that is quite simply very impossible. Universal did a good job, let's just be happy they did build it, and enjoy it for what it is.

 

[the horned king]

Went opening day and one major thing that needs to be changed is the sizes of the stores. They're basically the size of a little bit oversized shed. They need to expand them indefinitely. Also the FJ ride needs to be more accessible to handicapped and people who are a little overweight. When I rode it I felt sorry for this woman who was a little on the heavy side and they told her to please get off the ride. The woman waited 2 hours just to be told, "Oh sorry maam but you have to get off. Our crappy technicians didn't think of people of your physique." What a crock.

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

I think if i could change something it would be to the castle. From what i gather the castle is the theming for the FJ ride-which many cant ride. It seems such a shame that people who cant go on the ride have to Q for hours to just do a walk thorough. Ive heard reports that there are such long Q's as people are taking their time to walk through the castle and take it all in. So the ride loading area is fairly empty.
If the Q could be split into 2 Q's for riders and non riders thatd be great.

Just to be clear many/most can ride. There just seems to be a large cluster here that can't.

 

[hoverpumpkin]

Love the idea of kids getting sorted by the Sorting Hat. You really wouldnt need anything else, just a line where people go through and try on the hat and get sorted into their respective houses.

I'm sure this was considered, but I think it was wise that they didn't do it. Most folks who enjoy the books sort themselves, so it could be disappointing for kids (and adults) who'd get randomly assigned to a house they might not necessarily identify with.

 

[adamsclan]

I think they need to figure out how to control the crowds. The area is way too small for the crowd size. There were hour long waits to even get into most of the shops and to buy the Butterbeer. We rode the FJ ride, waited to buy Butterbeer, and then didn't even attempt any of the shops. My husband took our two small girls to ride at Seuss Landing while we waited for FJ and then was not allowed back into the Harry Potter section because the crowd was too out of control. Very short-sighted--they only planned for crowd control for the FJ ride itself.

 

[Commando2319]

I think the intense popularity shows that more space and more rides are needed. Here are some more ideas: (some already mentioned by others)


1. Hogworts Express ride. Circle around the entire Islands of adventure with stops in different areas of the parks.

2. Gringots ride. Could be similar to space mountain, dark roller coaster.

3. Sorting hat. I see this similar to Crush at Epcot.

4. Forbidden Forest ride. Similar to MIB/Buzzlightyear.

5. Weasley house playground. (what better place for a bunch of kids to run wild than the Weasley house)

6. Hagrid's Hut walk through. Similar to Mickey/Minnie's house.

7. Knight Bus. Could be flight simulator type ride. (star tours)

8. Bush Maze (Goblet of fire). Just a maze where you could run around in to find the exit. Could have fun 'magical" experiences.

 

[indimom]

From what's there already, you can tell that they're not making rides just for the sake of making rides -- the theming has to fit into being something that could well be there. That means a Gringotts ride wouldn't work unless there was a Diagon Alley, as they wouldn't throw Gringotts in the middle of Hogsmeade. They've done an amazing job at staying true to the books and making it feel like you're actually there, as opposed to in a theme park, which I personally really appreciate. I'd much rather immersive theming over putting a ride in because they could.

That being said, the Shrieking Shack would fit in perfectly, as it is supposed to be in Hogsmeade. The only way to do Diagon Alley would be to have it on the other side of the park with the train going from one to the other, which there isn't the space to do. Otherwise, walking directly from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley wouldn't make sense with the themes.

There has been rumour that it is a part of Universal's contract to represent all 7 books/8 movies evenly throughout the area, so it's highly likely that there will be more to come. However, it's still just one land within a whole theme park, and I think Universal would be worse off to crowd it than to have less, but better attractions. Quality over quantity!

Actually, since we're throwing ideas out... there IS a vanishing cabinet that will take one straight from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley and vice versa. Just saying...

 

[Clare Voince]

I sincerely hope they're working on modified seats right now (as I've heard rumoured), but I'd hate for them to make it less "extreme". That's not fair to the vast majority who actually do fit, and can ride, and enjoyed it very much.

That would be like saying they should make Expedition Everest less extreme so people with heart conditions can ride.

Part of what gets people into theme parks and spending money is the promise of a ride that's "extreme" and "new" and "never been done before". So choosing to create a ride like that is just smart planning on the part of theme park owners.

I was very upset when I learned that Forbidden Journey was an 'extreme' ride. I don't enjoy roller coasters, and I am not alone. It seems that all three rides in WWOHP are roller coasters! They seem to have designed the rides only for a very specific demographic rather than Disney's method of having something to appeal to everyone. I was looking forward to visiting WWOHP as I am a big fan of the books, but I will probably not go now that I know that the one ride I thought I might like is an extreme ride after all.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

I was very upset when I learned that Forbidden Journey was an 'extreme' ride. I don't enjoy roller coasters, and I am not alone. It seems that all three rides in WWOHP are roller coasters! They seem to have designed the rides only for a very specific demographic rather than Disney's method of having something to appeal to everyone. I was looking forward to visiting WWOHP as I am a big fan of the books, but I will probably not go now that I know that the one ride I thought I might like is an extreme ride after all.

Just because the rides are roller coasters doesn't make it extreme. There actually are some pretty tame roller coasters. Plus, isn't FJ the only extreme ride? (The Dragons thing was there previously, so I'm not counting that.)

My thinking is this: I think you'll have a great time is your are a Harry Potter fan. I heard that you are immersed into that world.

 

[toonaspie]

I do recall that one of the earlier attractions planned for WWOHP was a Sorting Hat attraction that was supposed to be inside of Hogwarts. Originally the Great Hall was going to be a dining area and off to the side there was going to be this thing where you're basically putting your face infront of a Mirror and a CGI sorting hat would be placed on top of you.

Thank god this concept didnt make it. I saw the artwork for it and the concept of wearing a CGI hat on top of your head wouldve been so tacky. There would have been no way this could realistically work.

 

[rjvose17]

I think the intense popularity shows that more space and more rides are needed. Here are some more ideas: (some already mentioned by others)


1. Hogworts Express ride. Circle around the entire Islands of adventure with stops in different areas of the parks.

2. Gringots ride. Could be similar to space mountain, dark roller coaster.

3. Sorting hat. I see this similar to Crush at Epcot.

4. Forbidden Forest ride. Similar to MIB/Buzzlightyear.

5. Weasley house playground. (what better place for a bunch of kids to run wild than the Weasley house)

6. Hagrid's Hut walk through. Similar to Mickey/Minnie's house.

7. Knight Bus. Could be flight simulator type ride. (star tours)

8. Bush Maze (Goblet of fire). Just a maze where you could run around in to find the exit. Could have fun 'magical" experiences.

These are all very similar ideas that I had as well. I really would have liked to actually been able to go into the train station and have my picture taken under the Platform 9 3/4 sign and get to ride it, even if it did go around all the different lands of IOA. As much as I enjoyed my experience there, (I got to go in as a preview on the 28th, and 29th of May) I am so happy that I got in and didnt have to fight the crowds that are there now. We plan to go back in December and will see how the crowds fair then. I do really hope they expand. There is so much untapped potiental for this and it could be a huge money maker for Universal. Let's hope they(Universal)figure out what's gone wrong with part one and learn a lesson for the next section.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

Using what exists already there - I would definitely put in more retail, maybe where some of the shop facades are and/or make the existing shops larger - especially the owl post area, it's tiny, so crowded I finally gave up.

I also wish Hogwart's express was a ride.

 

[Magpie]

I was very upset when I learned that Forbidden Journey was an 'extreme' ride. I don't enjoy roller coasters, and I am not alone. It seems that all three rides in WWOHP are roller coasters! They seem to have designed the rides only for a very specific demographic rather than Disney's method of having something to appeal to everyone. I was looking forward to visiting WWOHP as I am a big fan of the books, but I will probably not go now that I know that the one ride I thought I might like is an extreme ride after all.

What about actually getting to walk through Hogsmede? What about the cool, animated shop windows in Hogsmede? What about the students from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang performing live shows? What about the animatronic frog choir? What about the whole Olivander's wand-choosing show? What about eating in the Three Broomsticks, or listening to Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom, or having a Butterbeer? Or enjoying a Hogs Head Brew in the Hog's Head pub, complete with Hog's Head? What about getting your picture taken with the conductor of the train? What about walking through the castle and seeing the talking portraits and exploring all the classrooms?

Also, the Flight of the Hippogriff is a kiddy coaster - quite gentle, along the lines of Goofy's Barnstormer. And if you don't want to ride it, you can still walk through the queue and admire Hagrid's house and hear his dog barking inside.

Go, or don't go, as you wish. But if you base your decision entirely on whether or not you can get on one 4 minute ride, you'll end up missing out on a heck of a lot - designed to appeal to a very broad demographic!

 

[themilesfamily]

My one and only request is for more Harry Potter rides that the whole family can enjoy together -- from young to old.

 

[TaylorsDad]

I was very upset when I learned that Forbidden Journey was an 'extreme' ride. I don't enjoy roller coasters, and I am not alone. It seems that all three rides in WWOHP are roller coasters! They seem to have designed the rides only for a very specific demographic rather than Disney's method of having something to appeal to everyone. I was looking forward to visiting WWOHP as I am a big fan of the books, but I will probably not go now that I know that the one ride I thought I might like is an extreme ride after all.

I dont think Disney Method would have made the ride so it would appeal to everyone. Would you really want the ride as TAME as Peter Pan, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, or Small World (although to be fair my daughter loves those rides)I believe Disney's Last movie based attraction was Prince Caspian and you cannot honestly convince me that that walk through appealed to everyone. I think FJ probably appeals to the widest range of guests that will visit WWOHP because those that like the rides can ride and others can just walk through the line and enjoy the detail. And lets not the rest of WWOHP.