People thinking Harry Potter is another theme park

[Justin Jett]

Pete is absolutely correct that Harry Potter is just a new 20 acre "land" at Islands of Adventure.

The problem with people thinking Harry Potter will be a whole new theme park is partly due to Universal's own marketing engine. In the promo video on Universal's own website, the star of the films refers to Wizarding World as "a Harry Potter theme park." Universal should have caught that.

 

[Zeebs]

Will they care if it gets people through the door?

Kirsten

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Will they care if it gets people through the door?

Kirsten

They will care when they have thousands of angry fans fussy and pitching a fit that it is just a small land with 3 rides (and only one them brand new) and a bunch of shops (even if a couple of them are supposed to be interactive).

Personally, I'm looking forward to checking it all out. I also know not to expect an entire park.

 

[Justin Jett]

Will they care if it gets people through the door?

I personally dont think that it will hurt Universal in the short-term, but I do feel that it will have long-term effects.

My personal take on the overall situation:

To me, the Harry Potter area is a bit like the Apple IPad. It will be cool for sure. My question is if it can live to the hype and people's expectations. I feel that while the Harry Potter area will be revolutionary, it has been over-marketed for what it actually is....A rethemeing of 20 acres with one new major attraction.

As I will soon be entering the Rosen School on the Theme Park Management career path, I am very interested in how Universal is handling this, and what effects it will have on Universal's business.

Good or bad....word will spread through sites like thid one. This could be a great thing for Universal and the city of Orlando. That said, it could also backfire if not handled correctly.

Is it also possible that people could consider the video of Emma Watson and Stuart Craig talking about a "Harry Potter theme park" be considered false advertising?

Time will tell, I guess

 

[Justin Jett]

I personally dont think that it will hurt Universal in the short-term, but I do feel that it will have long-term effects.

My personal take on the overall situation:

To me, the Harry Potter area is a bit like the Apple IPad. It will be cool for sure. My question is if it can live to the hype and people's expectations. I feel that while the Harry Potter area will be revolutionary, it has been over-marketed for what it actually is....A rethemeing of 20 acres with one new major attraction.

As I will soon be entering the Rosen School on the Theme Park Management career path, I am very interested in how Universal is handling this, and what effects it will have on Universal's business.

Good or bad....word will spread through sites like thid one. This could be a great thing for Universal and the city of Orlando. That said, it could also backfire if not handled correctly.

Is it also possible that people could consider the video of Emma Watson and Stuart Craig talking about a "Harry Potter theme park" be considered false advertising?

Time will tell, I guess

I totally agree with what Kevin said on this week's show, about word of mouth.