Star Wars Land to be WDW's answer to Harry Potter?

[btk2333]

I love Harry Potter - I've read all seven books seen all eight movies and listen to weekly podcasts- I've been to wdw about 15 times since ioa opened potter and never gone to universal.

Star Wars is an entirely different animal- it is my childhood and adulthood- Star Wars has the potential to be so much more than Harry Potter imo. Ive seen the new movie twice already and it's ok- not great but ok- but disney has the ability to do so much with the franchise that I'm excited

 

[Davey Jones II]

Maybe. Disney could do it. But with their recent work on new Fantasyland - you have to wonder. How many years did it take Disney to build this new land? And it is a couple of rides, a restaurant and some meet and greets.

Don't get me wrong - I love all things Disney and vacation there several times per year.

But if you have ever been immersed in Harry Potter's Diagon Alley, you know Disney has some very, very stiff competition. Diagon Alley is just like being in the Harry Potter movies. Totally first class, and in only a couple of years building time.

Universal will probably have a whole new theme park built before Disney finishes Star Wars land and Pixar land

On our Orlando trip last year, we were experiencing both New Fantasyland and Diagon Alley for the first time, and enjoyed both about equally. DA was more fun to explore, but we preferred 7DMT over Gringott's (shock! heresy!). Gringott's, although a fun ride, is yet another screen-based 4D ride/simulator. Universal has cranked out too many of those lately. Also, Festival of Fantasy was part of the New Fantasyland offerings, and we were absolutely charmed by that parade.

Of course, all this is a matter of opinion. But if I had listened to some cranks on the internet, I would have skipped NFL altogether and spent all my time at Universal. Potter is not the be all and end all of theme park attractions. Both Disney and Universal have a lot to offer any theme park fan and visitor to Orlando.

As for the speed of development of new attractions, it's a myth that Universal is much faster. They wait until the last possible minute before making official announcements, which makes it look like they're building blazingly fast. They broke ground on King Kong in mid-2014, and it's opening next summer, so that's two years to build one ride.

As for Star Wars, it could be a Potter Swatter. But, more likely, as usual, a rising tide of tourists will lift all boats in Orlando. Besides, the third Potter land is coming, too.

 

[Musicman20]

I’ve recently been to both WDW and Univeral/IOA.


Both Harry Potter areas are extremely advanced and really do feel exactly like the Harry Potter films and books.


WDW is still stunning , but I do think they need to knock it out of the park with Star Wars. It has to feel and look authentic to parts of the films.


It may be that part of the Star Wars land is related to Episode VIII and IX, who knows. Hence they are taking their time and investing in the new and the old trilogy. No doubt there will always be parts dedicated to I, II and III.


I personally cannot wait. As soon as a date is set I want to book to visit. I am off back in October 2016 but I realise there won’t be any major advances by this point.

 

[Seeker615]

I hope they do a great job with Star Wars. There is a lot of potential there.

 

[epcotty]

"If you build it they will come". Just hopefully they won't be disappointed. Universal really does put a lot of effort into everything, so Disney always needs to keep up or they risk people losing interest

 

[MJ6987]

I can imagine Disney creating some rides that compete with the Wizarding World, as long as they're willing to embrace (i.e. spend money) on new technology, such as that used on Forbidden Journey.

But I have a hard time imagining them making it as immersive. Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are richly described areas, well-developed in the books with a variety of familiar store fronts. Their old European layout, with short twisty streets, are ideal for amusement parks. What does Star Wars have? A desert, a forest, and a glacier. Oh, and an underwater city that many of us would prefer to forget. They could probably do something with Mos Espa, involving markets and a podrace stadium. But are any of the Star Wars locations places you'd want to visit as a tourist in a galaxy far, far away?

the "Star Wars" bar!!

 

[Magpie]

Besides, the third Potter land is coming, too.

Tell me more, please! What are these rumors? Do you have any links?

 

[wookiebeck]

I'm guessing we're looking at at least 2020 before Star Wars opens. That's not much of a response time.

THIS!

 

[andyman8]

While their Star Wars response to WWoHP will surely be great, I'm more curious about what they'll do in regard to Universal's "response" to Star Wars: a third theme park.

 

[rwdavis2]

I don't think there will be any comparison. It is my belief that the new Star Wars project will blow Diagon Alley out of the water.

Not if the go the route of New Fantasy Land. How many years for the mediocre additions? They have the capability to do it right. Just look at what they are doing for Avatar. I just hope they don't think Star wars fans will settle for anything.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

remember the original plans for New Fantasyland? what they did put in is actually much better than what they wanted to do at first.

 

[cigar95]

the "Star Wars" bar!!

That's easy - just arrange a visit to a session of the United Nations general assembly.

 

[JimmyV]

remember the original plans for New Fantasyland? what they did put in is actually much better than what they wanted to do at first.

...and yet still far below the immersive qualities of HP, and far inferior in terms of rides. HP has innovative attractions the likes of which WDW simply seems disinclined to build. (Reserving full judgment until we see what Avatar brings. But what has been revealed and/or rumored about Avatar still seems as if it falls below the technological thrills of HP).

Past history plus the D23 revelations leave me thinking that SWL will not blow HP out of the water. SWL will be immensely popular and crush HP in terms of attendance. But will it surpass HP in terms of theming, thrills and attraction quality? I am very, very skeptical. Why? Well, for starters, J.K. Rowling had her choice of WDW or US and chose US because she liked what it was going to do more than she liked WDW's proposals. Second, as noted above, NFL was a huge expansion that resulted in a "Barnstormer" quality coaster, a 1970's quality clam shell ride, a story-telling attraction (that admittedly has a terrific use of technology in terms of the magic doorway), a restaurant, and meet and greets. That is nowhere near what Hogwarts and Diagon Alley are in terms of immersion. Third, the announced plans for Toy Story Land again present us with some pretty simple carnival rides, with the land being anchored by the existing TSMM attraction. Toss that all together and I fear that SWL will be anchored by an existing attraction that opened in the 1980's (but was overhauled in 2011...still 9 years before SWL will open). Look for two or so more attractions to be added, with one being geared toward the 5-9 year old crowd. And a restaurant or two. And a bar. And a meet and greet. Also worth considering is the fact that the planets of SW are frequently barren. Not sure how "immersive" Disney wants to get in replicating a desert planet. HP just had way more cool source material to build on, literally.

SWL will likely be pretty cool. But blow HP out of the water? I don't see it. Not the way Disney has approached things in the past 15 years. Remember that HP was built largely by former Imagineers who left Disney to join US because they simply liked the direction that US was taking more than they liked the future that Disney envisioned. That alone tells me a lot.

 

[larryz]

If they don't cheap out!

By limiting Star Wars to a "land" inside DHS, they've already "cheaped out."

Star Wars could support an entire park. They just don't want to commit the $$$.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I'm not sure I want attractions like the Harry Potter lands have. I have friends who won't ride them because of motion sickness which seems to be exacerbated by the screens. went over there with some friends to ride Gringotts and they found the restraint system so uncomfortable that we only rode it once. But everything is beautiful for sure.

For Star Wars I am not looking for the rides so much as I am for the level of theming in the area.

 

[BrianL]

I dunno that Disney really needs a "Potter Killer" as MK is still by far tops in attendance, but SW will definitely be a draw. I do hope it's as immersive as the HP worlds, though honestly, I don't think that the Gringott's ride is all that. The queue is nice, but the ride is just a bunch of projection screens. That's all Universal does anymore. Even Forbidden Journey was much better tech-wise and had some animatronics, though tech doesn't make a ride. 7DMT may not be such an exciting roller coaster, but it does have one thing: Charm. I don't discount that.

I'm sure Star Wars will be done well and it will be a huge and much-needed shot in the arm for Hollywood Studios.

 

[Satchmo128]

I hope so but I just don't have the trust that Disney will do it right.

Such a strange comment. How would Disney do it wrong?

 

[larryz]

How would Disney do it wrong?

"It's a Small Universe," a tranquil boat ride through the wilds of Naboo, with hundreds of Gungan children arrayed on each side, singing an irritating refrain over and over...
"Soarin' over Tatooine," a pod-racer simulator based on an erector set that puts YOU in the action during Anakin's famous pod race with Sebulba...
"Coruscant City Racers," a giant slot-car ride where guests are subjected to Universe-famous Coruscant's rush hour traffic...
"Han Solo's Bounty Hunter Spin," where guests control the movement of their gun pods to shoot laser guns at Hans' infamous intergalactic foes and their ships...
"Jammin' with Jar-Jar," an audience-interactive stage show where the now-famous Gungan answers audience questions and cracks Naboo classic jokes...

With a little more time, I could think up many more...

 

[DOOM1001]

Such a strange comment. How would Disney do it wrong?

There's been plenty of threads talking about Disney's pitch to JK Rowling and how unimpressive it was,where Disney wanted to build a Potter attraction Universal pitched a full immersive land that was chosen by Rowling.Disney hasn't been the top dog in creating themed attractions for close to a decade.Expedition Everest is the last attraction that was on par of what people expect from Disney.

 

[GPC0321]

I can imagine Disney creating some rides that compete with the Wizarding World, as long as they're willing to embrace (i.e. spend money) on new technology, such as that used on Forbidden Journey.

But I have a hard time imagining them making it as immersive. Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are richly described areas, well-developed in the books with a variety of familiar store fronts. Their old European layout, with short twisty streets, are ideal for amusement parks. What does Star Wars have? A desert, a forest, and a glacier. Oh, and an underwater city that many of us would prefer to forget. They could probably do something with Mos Espa, involving markets and a podrace stadium. But are any of the Star Wars locations places you'd want to visit as a tourist in a galaxy far, far away?

I was watching Revenge of the Sith with some of my Star Wars geek students on the day we got out for Christmas, and I cannot remember exactly where they were, but I did make the remark, "I want to GO there!" It was just, you know, a really cool city with really tall, futuristic looking buildings and little space cars zipping around. LOL. (I love Star Wars, but I'm not cool enough to know all the locales and such).

I think Star Wars and Harry Potter both appeal to many of the same folks. I love them both. I've not been to Wizarding World yet, even though I'm a huge fan of the books and movies. I'm not sure if I ever will. That's really the only draw to Universal for me, and it's not so much for the rides but just to see the theming of those parts of the parks. I'm not sure I can justify the money to go just for that. Star Wars land (or whatever the heck) will give me even more incentive to return to Disney in a few years. Love it already, and will love it even more with the new additions.