Universal + Harry Potter...It's Official!

[Figment22]

Revenge of the mummy sucks first of all.

I'm just hoping that there will be a separate castle for Hogwarts. You don't think they'd just re-vamp the DD castle, do you? I'm also hoping it's three new rides, not just the DD re-vamp, FU re-vamp and one other.

No matter what, I'm looking forward to this immensely. Two of my very favorite things: IOA and Harry Potter, together at last! I'm so glad it's finally official, no more speculation on who'd be getting the HP franchise.

 

[tlinus]

Billionare authors are not alone on their business endeavors.

I remind you she started out as a normal, single mom, writing harry potter, the philosphers stone, on napkins in a coffee house.

She might have gained some business sense over the years, but she has a team that helps give her the pros and cons of every situation.

I am hoping, praying even, that they do this right. I want to visit this attraction.

But im also open to the fact that with every good idea, comes the possibility of bad orchestration. And IMO a lot of Universal/IOA concepts were GREAT IDEAS with bad orchestration. I enjoy Universal/IOA a lot, I have the power pass, we go often. I also have a Disney pass and admit that with every good idea comes bad orchestration for them too.. Stitch being a great example. And again IMO, Test Track too. Universal? Halloween Horror Nights, Great Idea, Bad orchestration. The Mummy? Great idea. Great coaster. Bad orchestration.

I think as much as you're obviously accusing me and a lot of other people of being Disney snobs, you (and others) need to take a step back and realize you're being Universal snobs. Universal has just as much possibility of making a crappy attraction as Disney does. Just because JK rolling and her business sense is behind it, doesnt make it gold. Michael Eisner and his business sense were behind a lot of projects too, and not everyone is in love with a lot of his ideas.

Even if Disney was doing this, Id be anticipating the worse and hoping for the best. Seeing how they deeply themed one of their most recent rides (everest) I would have a little more faith in them going on track record, when it comes to theming large scale attractions. Universals most recent was Mummy, and while the technology and ideas are great, it just doesnt work for me, and many others.

IOA isn't large scale? The whole park is deeply themed and as you believe Disney is more qualified, I encourage you to go to my trip report and pictures in the Uni trip report board and tell me that IOA is not a heavily themed PARK, not just a ride but a whole theme park.

 

[damo]

Billionare authors are not alone on their business endeavors.

I remind you she started out as a normal, single mom, writing harry potter, the philosphers stone, on napkins in a coffee house.

She might have gained some business sense over the years, but she has a team that helps give her the pros and cons of every situation.

I am hoping, praying even, that they do this right. I want to visit this attraction.

But im also open to the fact that with every good idea, comes the possibility of bad orchestration. And IMO a lot of Universal/IOA concepts were GREAT IDEAS with bad orchestration. I enjoy Universal/IOA a lot, I have the power pass, we go often. I also have a Disney pass and admit that with every good idea comes bad orchestration for them too.. Stitch being a great example. And again IMO, Test Track too. Universal? Halloween Horror Nights, Great Idea, Bad orchestration. The Mummy? Great idea. Great coaster. Bad orchestration.

I think as much as you're obviously accusing me and a lot of other people of being Disney snobs, you (and others) need to take a step back and realize you're being Universal snobs. Universal has just as much possibility of making a crappy attraction as Disney does. Just because JK rolling and her business sense is behind it, doesnt make it gold. Michael Eisner and his business sense were behind a lot of projects too, and not everyone is in love with a lot of his ideas.

Even if Disney was doing this, Id be anticipating the worse and hoping for the best. Seeing how they deeply themed one of their most recent rides (everest) I would have a little more faith in them going on track record, when it comes to theming large scale attractions. Universals most recent was Mummy, and while the technology and ideas are great, it just doesnt work for me, and many others.

I think that Rowling probably wanted deeply themed with a GOOD ride and that is why she chose Universal. Although Everest is nicely themed, the coaster itself is not the greatest and they spent 100 million on that. I think that Universal does both really well and that time will tell.

 

[chasgoose]

No one knows why Rowling went to Universal instead of Disney, makbe it was creative control, money, maybe she hates Disney...who knows.

Going by past attractions, yes Disney's attractions are better than Universal's attractions so it would make perfect sense that if Disney did HP that it would turn out better than if Universal did it.

While on average you would be right, The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ride at Islands of Adventure is widely considered to be the best theme park attraction ever made. While the Indiana Jones Ride at Disneyland and the Tower of Terror come close, they are not as good as Spiderman. To say that Disney is that much better than Universal is ridiculous too, as pretty much all of Universal's ride development team are ex-engineers. While their parks aren't quite as well-done and immersive as the Disney ones, Islands of Adventure is pretty much the only park to combine Disney theming with actual thrill rides (say what you will, but only Tower of Terror, Rock and Roller Coaster and Expedition Everest even come close to being a real thrill ride). They fit different niches, and I for one just think Universal is probably the better one to do this.

Also, I doubt Disney would ever build an entire Harry Potter park or even a Harry Potter land the way that Universal Studios is doing. At best we would get one ride that was Harry Potter themed put into Fantasyland/Disney Studios and that would be it. Disney still hasn't finished building out the Animal Kingdom yet, and it is not about to embark on a new park just for Harry Potter. Universal is devoting an entire section of Islands of Adventure to Harry Potter. Disney would have to raze Fantasyland and replace it with Harry Potter land to come close to what Universal is doing and they have never devoted an entire section of any park to just one movie so I don't really see that happening.

Finally, Universal has apparently bought the rights to some pretty cool ride technology that is going to be the centerpiece of the Harry Potter section (Disney wanted the rights to it for an Incredibles themed ride, but Universal beat them in the bidding war) that was a significant part of Rowling deciding to go with Universal Studios over Disney.

 

[damo]

I'm just hoping that there will be a separate castle for Hogwarts. You don't think they'd just re-vamp the DD castle, do you? I'm also hoping it's three new rides, not just the DD re-vamp, FU re-vamp and one other.

No matter what, I'm looking forward to this immensely. Two of my very favorite things: IOA and Harry Potter, together at last! I'm so glad it's finally official, no more speculation on who'd be getting the HP franchise.

I think that the Hogwarts castle may be a dining hall. If you look in the picture, the castle is beside Flying Unicorn. The entrance to DD is through the tents. You can see the castle. I think that there may be only one new technology ride. However, since the parking lot area is to be used, there will be room for some expansion over there.

 

[goofy!]

Billionare authors are not alone on their business endeavors.

I remind you she started out as a normal, single mom, writing harry potter, the philosphers stone, on napkins in a coffee house.

She might have gained some business sense over the years, but she has a team that helps give her the pros and cons of every situation.

I am hoping, praying even, that they do this right. I want to visit this attraction.

But im also open to the fact that with every good idea, comes the possibility of bad orchestration. And IMO a lot of Universal/IOA concepts were GREAT IDEAS with bad orchestration. I enjoy Universal/IOA a lot, I have the power pass, we go often. I also have a Disney pass and admit that with every good idea comes bad orchestration for them too.. Stitch being a great example. And again IMO, Test Track too. Universal? Halloween Horror Nights, Great Idea, Bad orchestration. The Mummy? Great idea. Great coaster. Bad orchestration.

I think as much as you're obviously accusing me and a lot of other people of being Disney snobs, you (and others) need to take a step back and realize you're being Universal snobs. Universal has just as much possibility of making a crappy attraction as Disney does. Just because JK rolling and her business sense is behind it, doesnt make it gold. Michael Eisner and his business sense were behind a lot of projects too, and not everyone is in love with a lot of his ideas.

Even if Disney was doing this, Id be anticipating the worse and hoping for the best. Seeing how they deeply themed one of their most recent rides (everest) I would have a little more faith in them going on track record, when it comes to theming large scale attractions. Universals most recent was Mummy, and while the technology and ideas are great, it just doesnt work for me, and many others.

First of all, I never accused anybody of being a Disney snob. Disagreeing with somebody and believing that Universal is just as good as Disney does not make one a Universal snob.

I just don't see all the failure with Universal that you see. We see a park that is on par with Disney with incredible theming, incredible rides, incredible customer service and much better hotels.

Secondly, if all of us could move from welfare status to billionare status in just a decade with the help of team of advisors, we could all be very wealthy. Her business savy is unprecedented. And you can't go from writing on napkins to one of the richest women in the world by learning some business sense along the way from your advisors. Otherwise all successful authors with lots of movies and good teams would be billionaires. Give the woman some credit.

 

[goofy!]

I think that the Hogwarts castle may be a dining hall. If you look in the picture, the castle is beside Flying Unicorn. The entrance to DD is through the tents. You can see the castle. I think that there may be only one new technology ride. However, since the parking lot area is to be used, there will be room for some expansion over there.

What do you think the small coaster is that you can see part of on the high-res picture that is right off the owl's right wing? Could it be the end of Pterodon Flyers?

 

[CoPirate]

IOA isn't large scale? The whole park is deeply themed and as you believe Disney is more qualified, I encourage you to go to my trip report and pictures in the Uni trip report board and tell me that IOA is not a heavily themed PARK, not just a ride but a whole theme park.

please re-read what I said. I did not say that IOA is not large scale. Nor do I need to look at your pics, as I could get in my car right now and drive an hour and show YOU pics.

The theming on Everest is beyond the theming ive seen of ANY attraction, its beautiful, and such attention to detail.

IOA is heavily themed. I dont disagree with you. But its the attention to detail and not the attention to giant iconic figures (IOAs themeing strategy) that impresses me more.

I think that Rowling probably wanted deeply themed with a GOOD ride and that is why she chose Universal. Although Everest is nicely themed, the coaster itself is not the greatest and they spent 100 million on that. I think that Universal does both really well and that time will tell.

That is your opinion. I like Everest a lot. Have you ridden it at night? its stunning. Just because Universal gets the 'big kid' rides doesnt mean they're better. My 50-something mother, 50-something father, myself and my teenager brother, can all ride everest together. And its still a thrill ride. My parents have ridden the hulk and dueling dragons once, and feel they dont need to ever again.

While on average you would be right, The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ride at Islands of Adventure is widely considered to be the best theme park attraction ever made.

According to who? Critics? Well critics also thought Pirates of Caribbean 3 sucked. The fans tell a different tale.

Spider man is cool, I admit it. And to a techy engineer, its probably amazing. But after I rode it once, I felt like I didnt need to do it again. And most everyone I know feels the same way. I plan trips for people to orlando, and I ask them what was memorable about Universal/IOA. its never spiderman.

Again.. for me Great Idea, Bad orchestration. And the que for that ride is in DEPLORABLE condition. Idk what Universal uses to glue things down, but they better ask disney, because when I was there a few months ago, the que was in pieces. Keyboards strewn about in the office section, paint chipped, chairs moved, Phones in pieces, pieces stolen. Thats not how it looked when it first opened, and it was embarassing IMO.

 

[Nimbus]

I agree with you. My initial thought was "wow, that's awesome". But I'm just not sure how they can do justice to the Potter theme with just another "island" at IOA. I don't see how it can really be the immersive experience they are talking about when it's going to be so small and only have 3 rides. I would have loved to see an entire park dedicated to this theme, including a Hogwarts themed hotel and dining.

Those are exactly my thoughts, as well. I think Universal will be able to do a good job with it, but Disney's just got sooooo much room that they could create a truly immersive experience where for an entire day--or days--you can be in the Harry Potter world--hotels, food, shoppings, transportation, etc. With Disney it would be like a Harry Potter park the size of MGM (I don't know if they would actually do that but the point is that they could). WIth Universal, however, there limited by space so it can never really be that immersive.

I wonder if JK has ever been to Disney World and/or Universal

-Shawn

 

[damo]

What do you think the small coaster is that you can see part of on the high-res picture that is right off the owl's right wing? Could it be the end of Pterodon Flyers?

No, I think it is flying unicorns. Oh, I think I have misinterpreted your post. I think that is part of DD off the right wing..

 

[Fan2CSkr]

I think that the Hogwarts castle may be a dining hall. If you look in the picture, the castle is beside Flying Unicorn. The entrance to DD is through the tents. You can see the castle. I think that there may be only one new technology ride. However, since the parking lot area is to be used, there will be room for some expansion over there.

Thats exactly what it says in the FAQ's
http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/
Looking closer at the pictures it does look like the train travels! That would be awesome! So Rons Dads car is most likely going to be the new attraction/ride. Just speculating.

 

[Raider82]

Finally, Universal has apparently bought the rights to some pretty cool ride technology that is going to be the centerpiece of the Harry Potter section (Disney wanted the rights to it for an Incredibles themed ride, but Universal beat them in the bidding war) that was a significant part of Rowling deciding to go with Universal Studios over Disney.

Any idea of what this technology is or what it does? It may give us a clue as to what the ride may be like.

 

[tlinus]

please re-read what I said. I did not say that IOA is not large scale. Nor do I need to look at your pics, as I could get in my car right now and drive an hour and show YOU pics.

OUCH!!! my response did not warrant that kind of answer......

People - I am done - I am not going to get into this anymore.....there are some responses here that have my blood boiling and I will not get banned over the ruffled pixie dust!!

 

[Son_of_Quint]

The coaster in the center of the owl picture is The Flying Unicorn and the coaster seen near his right wing is Dueling Dragons.

 

[CoPirate]

Any idea of what this technology is or what it does? It may give us a clue as to what the ride may be like.

Have you ridden the new Finding Nemo ride at Epcot?

If so, the fish that chases Marlin and Dory is on a Kuka Arm. Its dark, but if you look you can see it. its a big hydrolic arm that moves around in every direction at rapid speed.

I dont have the link, but www.jimhillmedia.com talks (in the archives) about Universal using the Kuka arm to create a flying car ride, for HP.

 

[damo]

Here is our take on the area

Here is the concept art for comparative purposes.

 

[GreyStr0ke]

People - I am done - I am not going to get into this anymore.....there are some responses here that have my blood boiling and I will not get banned over the ruffled pixie dust!!

I had to stop responding 2 hours ago. Not that I really care if I get banned from the DIS boards cause frankly I get tired or reading countless repeated threads but when there is not much going on "other" boards then I can come here and unleash the Anti Pook Army.

 

[goofy!]

That is your opinion. I like Everest a lot. Have you ridden it at night? its stunning. Just because Universal gets the 'big kid' rides doesnt mean they're better. My 50-something mother, 50-something father, myself and my teenager brother, can all ride everest together. And its still a thrill ride. My parents have ridden the hulk and dueling dragons once, and feel they dont need to ever again..

Uh Oh. Now I feel old. Perhaps, since I am close to the age of the CoPirate's parents, I should give up enjoying Hulk and DD and stick to the tamer rides such as Everest

Now where did I put my cane?

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Any idea of what this technology is or what it does? It may give us a clue as to what the ride may be like.

http://thatoneguy.wordpress.com/2007/04/17/introducing-kuka-the-future-of-theme-parks/

 

[Claymax]

Here is our take on the area

I agree, nice work. That's what I envisioned after overlaying the owl pic with the sat maps earlier in the thread.

Not sure about the train to the other area but as I said, I hope so!