The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

[becky1960]

I think it would be better to open by Spring break, the more people that see it, the better the word spreads.

 

[damo]

I think it would be better to open by Spring break, the more people that see it, the better the word spreads.

Word is going to spread so quickly. Even those people seeing is before it is open are excited.

When it was announced, newspaper, television and radio stations around the world covered the story. It will be big news once again.

 

[Rip]

I would think Universal would wait until after the Easter/spring break crowds to open WWoHP. Why? The parks and hotels will already be filled. Open a little later so everyone who comes over the Easter break will want to return sooner. Just my opinion. (And someone coming Easter week.)

I understand the logic in your thinking, but last year I called the Wednesday before Easter to check hotel availability and not only was there plenty of availability, but they were actually giving an AP discount for that weekend. A room at RPR was around $225 or $250 at most, which is pretty unheard of for Easter.

I would bet that they are going to open it the minute it is ready.

 

[Nicole786]

News about opening:

My brother informed that he has "Grad Bash" on April 24th, and that they were told they were Pre-opening it for the students there. This might help to get an idea of opening day!

 

[fayt19]

News about opening:

My brother informed that he has "Grad Bash" on April 24th, and that they were told they were Pre-opening it for the students there. This might help to get an idea of opening day!

P-pre opening? We're going the middle of May, and I was expecting it to be open for at least a month by then.

 

[Prettyprincess317]

News about opening:

My brother informed that he has "Grad Bash" on April 24th, and that they were told they were Pre-opening it for the students there. This might help to get an idea of opening day!

Well that really stinks! We're going in the end of March/Early April and I was hoping it opened by then!

REALLY stinks to pay the new pricing with nothing new to see!

 

[Rip]

Well that really stinks! We're going in the end of March/Early April and I was hoping it opened by then!

REALLY stinks to pay the new pricing with nothing new to see!

It may be, they hope to have it open before the end of March.

 

[universalfan]

I think it's going to be sooner than that. When I made my reservations for late February, I expressed my sincere disappointment that WWOHP wouldn't be open yet. The reservationist said, "well, I guess you're right but" and then stopped herself. It kind of made me want to change my reservations for a few weeks later (hate to miss it by an inch like that!) but it's too difficult taking a sixth grader out of school for a week. Also I have friends in construction in Orlando and they say it is really close. And don't forget they have staffed it up already and they're not going to pay TMs to stay in rehearsals forever, not to mention the wait staff, etc. Let's stay hopeful. I am just praying for a walkthrough myself.

 

[yaytezIOA]

For all of you that cant make it to Potter when it opens, Universal is going to give you a free Augmented Reality map of the WWOHP when you buy USA Today On Jan. 28th.

 

[universalfan]

That sounds cool. Wonder how the webcam fits in?

 

[yaytezIOA]

You hold the map to the webcam, and it takes you to the place the cam is pointed to on a website. If you move the map in your hands, the map online moves and goes to the next place. If you blow into the mic, the flags wave...etc.

 

[52plan4]

Maybe this will come out along with the announcement of opening dates!!

 

[snowbunny]

For sure they will do a soft opening, no publicity, to work out the kinks. The official opening will be after that.

 

[ChrisFL]

You hold the map to the webcam, and it takes you to the place the cam is pointed to on a website. If you move the map in your hands, the map online moves and goes to the next place. If you blow into the mic, the flags wave...etc.

Yes, if you've never tried augmented reality before, it's really cool!! But you must have a webcam to use it.

 

[Don Pacho]

Courtery of Samuele and Felipe, Orlando United

For all of you that cant make it to Potter when it opens, Universal is going to give you a free Augmented Reality map of the WWOHP when you buy USA Today On Jan. 28th.

I've already seen something like that in the FUTUROSCOPE site...

Woah! That's awesome!

(You can see a video showing you how it works by clicking on the orange "demonstration video" button on the bottom right)

 

[universalfan]

I am going to be in Orlando for work next week and was not going to go the parks because we're at the RPR for a week in February and again in the fall, but now I feel compelled to poke around and see if I can get any more info on the opening. A friend told me to just walk on site with an attitude, a clipboard, and a hardhat and they'll assume I'm an OSHA inspector and let me in. LOL. Actually, I think I'm actually feeling crazy enough to try that . . .

We need to come up with a Top Ten list called You Know You're A Universal Fan When:

10. Someone mentions a WWOHP map and you get so excited you momentarily consider trespassing on a closed construction site by impersonating a government official (and you're a middle-aged woman!).

9. You know they originally promised a Late 2009 opening because you've been tracking this story since 2007, and when you saw that they changed it to 2010, you were inexplicably depressed for the better part of a day.

8. While you're VERY excited about a new attraction, you secretly resent the fact that hordes of people will be crowding the parks, and you actually flinched when you first saw those billboards go up.

7. Someone says "the scaffolding is down" and you know exactly what they mean and are just as excited as they are.

6. Your favorite out-of-town restaurant is in a concrete rock in a theme park by a spitting fountain. When you mention this to business associates, they look at you as though you've lost your mind . . .

 

[trstno1]

I think it's going to be sooner than that. When I made my reservations for late February, I expressed my sincere disappointment that WWOHP wouldn't be open yet. The reservationist said, "well, I guess you're right but" and then stopped herself. It kind of made me want to change my reservations for a few weeks later (hate to miss it by an inch like that!) but it's too difficult taking a sixth grader out of school for a week. Also I have friends in construction in Orlando and they say it is really close. And don't forget they have staffed it up already and they're not going to pay TMs to stay in rehearsals forever, not to mention the wait staff, etc. Let's stay hopeful. I am just praying for a walkthrough myself.

I know it's a long shot, but I wouldn't rule out WWOP opening in March. There are rumors of a March 1 opening, and several people have felt that Universal employees are hinting that the park will be open in March.

If you think about it, Universal seems to be gearing up for WWOP. Last week, they included sneak peek DVD's in many newspapers in Britain. Next week there will be a major promotion in USA Today. And do we really think they would have jacked up prices before Spring Break if they didn't expect to have WWOP open by Spring break?

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

I'm hoping they announce the opening date soon, I have a whole trip waiting to be booked so I can be there on opening day, but I need the date first.

 

[Carl4628]

Not sure if it's legit but I read an article in a Canadian magazine that interviewed a couple of the film's characters. In the interview the pair confirmed their attendance of a May 2010 grand opening of WWOHP. We'll see.

 

[damo]

Not sure if it's legit but I read an article in a Canadian magazine that interviewed a couple of the film's characters. In the interview the pair confirmed their attendance of a May 2010 grand opening of WWOHP. We'll see.

I think a May opening is reasonable. There are still a lot of structures that are just steel beams. A lot of landscaping has yet to be done. I think we are still at least a few months away. We also have no idea on how the interior of the ride is going or how the queue of Dragon's Challenge is coming along.