new blog: Diagon Alley is Right up My Alley

[LeahZ]

Universal Orlando’s latest addition to its theme parks has raised the bar for theming, cutting-edge facades, and technology. It’s easy to walk through the brick wall into Diagon Alley and forget you’re not in Central Florida anymore.

Read more here:

http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2014/12/18/diagon-alley-is-right-up-my-alley/

 

[georgina]

Well that added to my anticipation! DD and I will be there in a few weeks! We went in 2010 after Hogsmeade opened and had a blast.

 

[kbelle8995]

I LOVED Diagon Alley. Can't wait to go back.

 

[FlipHipster]

Totally agree with this. WWoHP and Universal in general was definitely the highlight of our Orlando trip a couple weeks ago. DA and Hogsmeade were off the charts. We hit the parks early, it was dead and I couldn't even find the entrance to DA (complete Uni newbs). I love how they set it up, the theming, attention to detail is top notch. The kids dd(4.5), dd(10.5) and nephew(10.5) were blown away with the Potter stuff and can't wait to go back. dd(10.5) said she wants the next trip to be all Universal. I am beginning to think I am totally down with that

I hope all the other parks are paying attention, this is how you do a theme park!! I really appreciate that Universal was willing to make the investment and take it to another level. Can't wait to see where they take it next!

 

[Seeker615]

Wow - that was an awesome little video.

I have to get there!

 

[nkereina]

We visited both for the first time a few weeks ago, and preferred Diagon Alley over Hogsmeade. Even though Hogsmeade had more "stuff" to do, we felt Diagon Alley was more detailed and even felt less crowded. We were content just walking around there. Plus we prefer US over IOA anyway.

 

[lazer]

We visited both for the first time a few weeks ago, and preferred Diagon Alley over Hogsmeade. Even though Hogsmeade had more "stuff" to do, we felt Diagon Alley was more detailed and even felt less crowded. We were content just walking around there. Plus we prefer US over IOA anyway.

We felt the opposite...haha. DA was so crowded and not very manageable most days. But, it was a different time of year crowd-wise. I am also partial to Hogsmeade because I loved the castle and the excitement of my now 6 year old riding flight of the hippogriff 89000 times

 

[TXTransplant]

We visited just before Thanksgiving and were completely blown away! I have always loved Disney and never thought anything could top their experience, but WWoHP does. My son (10) and I also preferred Diagon Alley, but both areas are great. What sets these parks apart is that you aren't just watching a show or being entertained...my son actually felt like he was a character in one of the books. I haven't even read the books, and I still felt the same way. The attention to detail is incredible. I think the only negative is that the rest of US and IoA was kind of a let down compared to WWoHP, but don't let that stop you. It is an amazing experience!

 

[nkereina]

We felt the opposite...haha. DA was so crowded and not very manageable most days. But, it was a different time of year crowd-wise. I am also partial to Hogsmeade because I loved the castle and the excitement of my now 6 year old riding flight of the hippogriff 89000 times

haha it's all based on perception! Supposedly, when they designed DA, they tried to take the fact that Hogsmeade often felt crowded into consideration and account for this in the DA design. Hogsmeade is one longer-ish area and DA has essentially two sections, so for us that helped to disperse the crowds a bit.

 

[pigletto]

We are a family of two Potter fanatics, One fan, and Dh. . He "likes" Potter but maybe only as much as anything else in the park. I wouldn't call him a fan by any stretch.
Anyway, we purposely avoided all articles, videos, and threads on the new Diagon Alley so that it would be a complete surprise to us. We go to Orlando at least once a year so we like to really experience something new with fresh eyes.

Diagon Alley was OUTSTANDING. It was visually stunning, with incredible attention to detail. The atmosphere can not be described and we were all blown away. The most impressed? My non Potter loving husband!!!!! He's a hard sell and he said that it was hands down the most impressive thing he saw on our 10 day trip.

Kudos to Universal. We can not wait to go back

ETA) and we also think we will be skipping Disney and focusing mostly on Universal and waterparks for our next trip!