HP Critics Review

[kmk1180]

First, no I have not visited.
So I'm not passing judgement of the area myself
Just posting this one critics opinoin.

http://www.slate.com/id/2258081/

 

[Rip]

Hahahaha!

So, he's mad because

1. It was hot
2. It was crowded
3. It wasn't built in the UK

and at the end you get exactly what you'd expect from reading the hitpiece....

4. Disney would have done it better

 

[Purseval]

He sounds like a typical hyperfan. Sure it was good but there wasn't enough. For people like that there will never be enough. On paper it's easy enough to say that Disney would have done a better job but you can bet that if it was done at WDW he still would have managed to find faults with it. That's what happens when you try to condense a few thousand pages of details into one little space.

If the folks at Universal are smart they will read the words of all of the critics, even the ones on boards like these, find common points and work on improvements. This should be a work in progress and, for an opening day review, it's really not that bad.

 

[damo]

It is also kind of unrealistic considering Disney only wanted to do it as one ride and that was going to be a shooter-type ride. There wasn't going to be anything else such as Hogmeade.

 

[derekburgan]

I don't think the majority of posters here mind legitimate criticism of the WWoHP. The problem is that many of the critics, including the DisUnplugged at times, are lobbing unfair - and sometimes untrue - criticism. When you just take one small thing, like the guy in the Slate.com article saying the owls don't move and that's a sign of Universal not caring, and compare it to reality that can be proved - that the owls DO move and move in different ways - it's hard to take everything else he says seriously. Is he deliberately lying? Did he go in with the Disney Would Do It Better mentality and just look for things to attack, even if they weren't there? Only the author can answer that.

I don't even understand where the Disney Would Do It Better mentality comes from, unless it was from people who hadn't been to Disney in over a decade. Many of those in the know, including Jim Hill, have reported all Disney wanted to do with Harry Potter was make it an interactive ride/game like Toy Story Mania. And even if they were to be convinced to do a whole land, it would be most likely be filled with "hidden mickeys" and sponsored by Coke.

 

[Rip]

It is also kind of unrealistic considering Disney only wanted to do it as one ride and that was going to be a shooter-type ride. There wasn't going to be anything else such as Hogmeade.

And the only wizards he would have seen would be Mickey with black-rimmed glasses and a robe....

There is a reason Rowling didn't award Disney the rights, and Purseval is exactly right, it should be a work in progress and Uni should pay attention to all of the reviews. It's just pretty obvious that this guy wasn't going to like it from the start, but then I don't pay much attention to the opinion of people that won't take their kids to a theme park because it "cramps their style" (honestly, I don't pay attention to anyone's opinion that I don't know)

Really? Why have kids in the first place, then?

 

[Rip]

I don't think the majority of posters here mind legitimate criticism of the WWoHP. The problem is that many of the critics, including the DisUnplugged at times, are lobbing unfair - and sometimes untrue - criticism. When you just take one small thing, like the guy in the Slate.com article saying the owls don't move and that's a sign of Universal not caring, and compare it to reality that can be proved - that the owls DO move and move in different ways - it's hard to take everything else he says seriously. Is he deliberately lying? Did he go in with the Disney Would Do It Better mentality and just look for things to attack, even if they weren't there? Only the author can answer that.

I don't even understand where the Disney Would Do It Better mentality comes from, unless it was from people who hadn't been to Disney in over a decade. Many of those in the know, including Jim Hill, have reported all Disney wanted to do with Harry Potter was make it an interactive ride/game like Toy Story Mania. And even if they were to be convinced to do a whole land, it would be most likely be filled with "hidden mickeys" and sponsored by Coke.

Exactly. There are going to be legitimate criticisms for anything like this, no matter which company built it, but don't misrepresent what is actually there and then go off on a tangent about another company doing a better job when they had no intention of doing anything of the sort.

 

[Bradsdadg]

And the only wizards he would have seen would be Mickey with black-rimmed glasses and a robe....

This is one of my points as well. I guarantee they would have the Disney characters running around in HP robes, etc. I do love Disney, but sometimes you just don't want to see a giant headed costumed character...

Also, this article is all over the place. He talks about how well things are themed but then says there is no "imagination" Maybe he is the one with a lack of imagination, and in need of better writing skills, imo.

 

[Larrabe]

I was going to read the review but, eh, whatever. Can't say I really care about his opinion. I adore Disney, but after reading the downright petty comments on DISUnplugged, I've become defensive about UNI/IOA . . . and I haven't even been there yet!

 

[Rip]

I was going to read the review but, eh, whatever. Can't say I really care about his opinion. I adore Disney, but after reading the downright petty comments on DISUnplugged, I've become defensive about UNI/IOA . . . and I haven't even been there yet!

Yeah, it's really odd to see some of the things people say about UO. Most of the "redheads" around here love Disney as well.

 

[hoverpumpkin]

What a Debbie Downer. I'm what you would call a "hyperfan" too, but I intend to enjoy the park the way a sane person would - as a representation of things I like from the books. I'm not stupid enough to think that kind of magic can exist anywhere outside of our heads, and if it WAS reproduced in a theme park the way this reviewer seems to believe, it would be fake-looking overkill.

 

[Planogirl]

I wish that I could be a critic. I wonder what the qualifications are?

 

[inkkognito]

I had to put a clothespin on my nose before reading that report because it's such a steaming pile of bull. Granted, WWoHP has some issues and things that could be improved but this report comes across as a whiny rant rather than hitting on very many legitimate issues. If you want to be taken seriously, improve the rant to fact ratio.

(Disclaimer: I've been to WWoHP many, many times but am not even particularly a Harry Potter fan, and I;m quick to criticize when they deserve it...like the dragon without fog for multiple days...BAD show.)

 

[tfoster]

It was a funny review - he spoke so highly about so many things but concluded it stunk.

To me, he came off as a bit of a too-indulged child. I like a PP's comparison to one of the Willy Wonka children - Veronica, I believe is the one.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Let others think as they wish. Let them state how Disney could have/would have done it better.. in reality, they didn't and that is the bottom line. The more poor reviews, the less crowds those of us who enjoy will have to deal with...

 

[jkh1978]

I signed on here to post the link too... sure there are many critics saying good and bad things, but this one sounded like he wanted to be negative. Maybe it was the heat and crowds getting to him.

I'll agree with some things like the snow seems weird when you look at pictures and people are wearing shorts, but use some imagination.

He was disappointed he couldn't go in the exits... twice?

Stores that aren't really stores and are fake but have some little touches like a self moving spoon... that sounds like they copied Disney. We don't know if Disney could do better.

I haven't been there yet, but looking forward to visit in December.

 

[La2kw]

He's no critic, just some wanna-be whining about what was wrong with the park. I also doubt that he read the books very well either. If he had he would have noticed the multitude of details from the books that were everywhere you looked.

I'm a big Disney fan, but I shudder to think what Disney's version of Harry Potter would have been.

 

[La2kw]

I signed on here to post the link too... sure there are many critics saying good and bad things, but this one sounded like he wanted to be negative. Maybe it was the heat and crowds getting to him.

I'll agree with some things like the snow seems weird when you look at pictures and people are wearing shorts, but use some imagination.

He was disappointed he couldn't go in the exits... twice?

Stores that aren't really stores and are fake but have some little touches like a self moving spoon... that sounds like they copied Disney. We don't know if Disney could do better.

I haven't been there yet, but looking forward to visit in December.

Fake snow in Florida? Disney would never do that!

Oh wait, Doesn't Blizzard Beach have fake snow?

 

[Purseval]

To me, he came off as a bit of a too-indulged child. I like a PP's comparison to one of the Willy Wonka children - Veronica, I believe is the one.

Sure you aren't thinking of Veruca Salt?

 

[AJRitz]

I won't argue that Disney could have done it better. For what was done, Universal did an outstanding job. I would only echo the key criticisms of the DisUnplugged gang. While they've been harsh at times, they've also appropriately lauded the good things. The biggest issues I have are:
1) There's just not enough of it. WWoHP was wedged inside Lost Continent, and it's biggest drawbacks all have to do with space. I see this mostly as a missed opportunity. Universal could have built a truly repeatable crowd-magnet if they'd added a couple more (non-coaster) rides and spread out the shopping and perhaps added a "real" restaurant (perhaps entering Diagon Alley via a Fireplace-shaped entrance - like using the Floo Network to pass between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade).
2) The marketing of WWoHP all along has been terribly disingenuous. That isn't really a strike against the attractions, but more a strike against the Universal decisionmakers' hyperbolic claims and consistent under-delivery.
3) Related to #1, cramming HP fans into the narrow space of WWoHP forces guests to treat WWoHP like a separate park, even when it's not a separate park. It creates long waits for everything, and forces guests to plan around lines, instead of planning around attractions. I know that, for my family, it's a big reason why we'll only be spending one day at Universal. We've planned that day around HP crowds. Any other attractions we get to do are gravy. Then we'll move on.

Universal gets TONS of credit from me for doing a beautiful job with the theming, for including the food and drink menus in the authenticity they've created, and for getting more out of re-themed existing attractions than I thought they could (though I'm still bothered by there being only two dragons at the Tri-Wizard Tournament).