Is it stupid to say that WWOHP needs, well, HARRY?

[nile455]

Think about it for a second. It's called the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and yet the character that carries the namesake of the entire place can not be found anywhere in the park except the ride movie.

Nearly every Universal attraction that featured a star has had a physical character roaming the streets outside (Shrek, Terminator, Homer Simpson, Doc Brown, Spiderman, Spongebob, etc).

And in this case it's an entire land. The only other land I can think of that had a star character's name in the title is the now retired "Mickey's Birthday Land" in MK. Can you imagine if Mickey did not appear there?

 

[damo]

The characters will not appear. That was part of the contract. Rowling did not want imitators of the characters roaming the parks.

 

[Magpie]

Actually, I'm glad Harry's just on the ride. I don't want to see some teenager with a fake scar on his forehead, going around pretending to be Daniel Radcliffe, I mean, Harry Potter.

I think it's more than enough that they have students from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang and Hogwarts, as well as wizard-y locals in Hogsmede.

 

[inkkognito]

I think it's more than enough that they have students from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang and Hogwarts, as well as wizard-y locals in Hogsmede.

I agree. We had lots of fun interactions with the students, train conductor, etc. It didn't feel weird to have Harry absent at all. I'd rather just have him in the movie than have an imitator and just soak up the overall ambiance of Hogsmeade with students and villagers.

 

[cressy]

I agree. We had lots of fun interactions with the students, train conductor, etc. It didn't feel weird to have Harry absent at all. I'd rather just have him in the movie than have an imitator and just soak up the overall ambiance of Hogsmeade with students and villagers.

Yeah, I have to agree.A fake Harry would be lame. Like the fake Star Wars characters at WDW.

 

[MineMail]

Face characters aren't needed in this case, and they'd never do the originals justice. It would be neat to see a quidditch flyover now and then by lookalikes. Or window silhouettes of Harry reading by wandlight or animated moongazers (with telescopes) on the castle roof.

Forgot to ask: any ghosts in the Castle yet?

 

[damo]

Yeah, I have to agree.A fake Harry would be lame. Like the fake Star Wars characters at WDW.

That is exactly why Rowling did not give Disney the contract.

 

[Larrabe]

Yeah, I have to agree.A fake Harry would be lame. Like the fake Star Wars characters at WDW.

Agreed, lame is a good word for it! I'm glad JKR would not allow it.

 

[nile455]

Agreed, lame is a good word for it! I'm glad JKR would not allow it.

Face characters are always lame. When was the last time you saw the Doc Brown lookalike and thought, holy cow, it's really him! Yes they're lame, but most guests don't care. It's a neat experience to meet the character, even if they are just the lookalike.

Terminator lookalikes are ultra lame.

Even Disney face characters are lame. I never saw an Alice or Cinderella where I thought they belonged right in the movie.

And while we're on the theme of being lame, I think Mrs. Rowling is lame for not giving guests the chance to meet and greet her characters.

Welcome boys and girls to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter... where you WON'T get to meet Harry Potter!

 

[MrBryan]

the doc brown character at the studios actually works cause the face structure looks just like him and he wears glasses

he was sitting in the car once, i thought it was a dummy and i went to go touch him and he turned his head and scared the crap out of me

 

[Magpie]

Face characters are always lame. When was the last time you saw the Doc Brown lookalike and thought, holy cow, it's really him! Yes they're lame, but most guests don't care. It's a neat experience to meet the character, even if they are just the lookalike.

Terminator lookalikes are ultra lame.

Even Disney face characters are lame. I never saw an Alice or Cinderella where I thought they belonged right in the movie.

And while we're on the theme of being lame, I think Mrs. Rowling is lame for not giving guests the chance to meet and greet her characters.

Welcome boys and girls to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter... where you WON'T get to meet Harry Potter!

Jack Sparrow was actually not that lame. But he's the rare exception, I think, and I expect Rowling just didn't want to be responsible for ruining someone's memories of the character.

Besides, if the boys and girls want to meet Harry THAT badly, they can just get a special friend to dress up as him and meet them in the park.

And if you have no friends, I'm quite certain there's folks in Orlando who will be willing to play Harry for you, for an hourly fee.

 

[inkkognito]

Even Disney face characters are lame. I never saw an Alice or Cinderella where I thought they belonged right in the movie.

Princess Tiana and Price Naveen (the first two they had, who were in the temporary riverboat show) looked so much like the characters it was downright scary. There is one WDW Jack Sparrow who could be Johnny Depp's twin. Other than that I've never been struck by an amazing resemblence of a face character.

I think the little ones will be satisfied with seeing Harry in the HJ queue (you can go in without riding). The holograms are very lifelike.

 

[Bradsdadg]

And if you have no friends, I'm quite certain there's folks in Orlando who will be willing to play Harry for you, for an hourly fee.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

Agreed, lame is a good word for it! I'm glad JKR would not allow it.

I am glad as well. It just wouldn't seem right to me to meet the characters. I would rather just feel like I am in the wizarding world as part of it rather than looking to meet fake characters. We are going this summer and thanks to Pete and crew we and really managing our expectations.