Wizarding World Location Angers London Mayor

[mjohnson96]

Saw this news article on CNN and thought to share

http://www.wesh.com/entertainment/23841419/detail.html

I understand that the British feel they are getting the shaft because Universal built the WWOHP here in the States but it is a little late to ask kids to write to Universal and ask them to move it

Johnson said he has nothing against Orlando, but he deeply and bitterly resents that this city is about to become the official place of pilgrimage for every Harry Potter fan on Earth.

Umm...Orlando is already a huge draw for people all over the World due to Disney so why should Universal not capitalize on that to draw those travelers from other countries to their park as well?

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We don't all feel the same way - if someone wanted to build a Harry Potter themed park in the UK they should have.

I can't wait to see the new attraction at Universal - to be honest being from England the comments of Boris are one's I have never actually given any thought to.

 

[schumigirl]

Thank Goodness it wasn`t in London!!!

I certainly don`t feel shafted....as far as I`m concerned Orlando and more importantly Universal were the right choice for this project.

Although I haven`t been yet (roll on October) the vast majority of reports have been so positive and it sounds wonderful.

I don`t go to theme parks in the UK EVER, as they, for ME and my family cannot beat the standard of Orlando parks and of course we get 3 days of warm sunshine a year normally

I have never thought much of Boris Johnson and think even less of him now. Is he seriously asking kids to write and ask for the park to be relocated to the uk

Surely with the state the Uk is in just now financially and other ways he should be having more to concern himself with!!!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I think HP would look good in London, because of the historical theming which matches that of the city.

I can to a small degree understand his comments, but I don't necessarily agree with him.

Not many , with all due respect, would visit Orlando if it wasn't for the theme parks, and many wouldn't have heard of it either.
However, he is still wrong.

As ever it's all about opinion, I think 'Rip Ride Rocket' looks totally out of place at Universal Studios and should be at IOA, wonder what Boris thinks?

 

[Jason71]

According to an article in the Sentinel, Universal only has a 250-mile or so radius of exclusivity...so a London park is not out of the question (although I thought Hogwarts was technically in Scotland).

 

[bubba's mom]

Someone (at the end of the article responded) exactly what I was thinking: Why CAN'T they build one over there also? Disney has parks over there...what's stopping them? If it's money, then quit complaining already!

 

[Twinkbelle]

Someone (at the end of the article responded) exactly what I was thinking: Why CAN'T they build one over there also? Disney has parks over there...what's stopping them? If it's money, then quit complaining already!

Disney doesn't have any theme parks in the UK, the nearest is Disneyland Paris in France. I doubt that they ever will open a park here, I hope I'm proved wrong one day but I don't see it happening.

 

[yeslek]

Like...2% of HP takes place in London. If the mayor REALLY wants it to be correct, then it should be in the middle of nowhere Scotland on a lake. Yes, Great Britain and the London area gets a lot of tourists. Orlando does too. Not to mention most of Orlando's tourists come for an amusement park while London's tourist come for the history and culture. Not to mention Harry Potter is owned by WB which is American company.

 

[bubba's mom]

Disney doesn't have any theme parks in the UK, the nearest is Disneyland Paris in France. I doubt that they ever will open a park here, I hope I'm proved wrong one day but I don't see it happening.

idk where you live, but by the phrase "over there", I meant overseas in general...not in the states.

 

[toonaspie]

Like...2% of HP takes place in London. If the mayor REALLY wants it to be correct, then it should be in the middle of nowhere Scotland on a lake. Yes, Great Britain and the London area gets a lot of tourists. Orlando does too. Not to mention most of Orlando's tourists come for an amusement park while London's tourist come for the history and culture. Not to mention Harry Potter is owned by WB which is American company.

If they really want to something like this in Scotland I want to be 100% realistic. I dont want a FJ ride in the Hogwarts castle, I want the real and life size Hogwarts castle (not just have all the the school icons in the queue). And they can have tour guides and ghosts and moving pictures

I would vacation to Scotland just for that.

 

[Bradsdadg]

I've seen alot of grumbling on Youtube about this. When you boil it all down, it's a business. And people are in it to make money. I don't care where it was built, but am glad I can visit it in Florida!

 

[JenM]

When I was in London two years ago, we took a trip to Kings Cross station just to get our picture taken at Platform 9-3/4. I felt silly looking for it in this busy train station, but when we found it there was already a whole group there (all adults!) - one guy was even flinging himself at the wall while his friends were taking pictures. It was pretty funny.

I think it would be great to have a WWoHP-type park in the UK, especially now that they're planning to open up Leavesden Studios so people can see the stuff from the movies once they're done filming. But I guess it's a matter of where it would go, when it would run, the weather is certainly an issue too.

 

[bartola]

Is this dude for real? At any rate, he should be angry with JKR for selling London's patrimony to "the Americans"...

 

[Dollyrar]

What a flipping idiot. I'd rather save up and go every few years to a country where superb customer service and exceeding guest expectation are the chief goals. Can you honestly imagine what it would be like in London? It would be tiny for a start, due to the lack of space/cost for land in London, and the staff would be as awful as we British have grown accustomed to over the years at theme parks here.
I used to work in the tourism industry in London, and you can absolutely be guaranteed that it would be a complete rip-off as well. Madame Tussards was nearly £30 to get in to for an adult, for something that takes about 45 minutes to walk around. The London Dungeon is the same. London has enough special things to see such as St Pauls Cathedral, The Tower of London, the fantastic museums, awesome markets and excellent nightlife without a small theme park/attraction being placed in the middle of it. Can he not spend his time more productively, by promoting these existing world class attractions to encourage visitors to come?!!?

 

[bumbershoot]

... and of course we get 3 days of warm sunshine a year normally

Good point! It would be like building a huge theme park in western WA...sure, some people will get absolutely incredibly beautiful days where the sky is ridiculously blue and the clouds are so big white and puffy they look unreal...but the rest of the time...not so attractive!

When I was in London two years ago, we took a trip to Kings Cross station just to get our picture taken at Platform 9-3/4. I felt silly looking for it in this busy train station, but when we found it there was already a whole group there (all adults!) - one guy was even flinging himself at the wall while his friends were taking pictures. It was pretty funny.

Lots of people do it. DH was in London on business a few months back, and one day too late I realized that Kings Cross actually had built a 9 3/4 spot...he'd been at KC the day before, and couldn't work his schedule to get back there! Oh we were so bummed.

 

[Claire-Bear]

To be honest, I have no idea why Boris is complaining since it couldn't be in London anyway - there isn't the room. They also don't have the funds at the main UK theme parks for something of this grandeur. They could still re-theme or build a castle, yes most suitably towards Scotland (since that is where a lot of it is filmed, and you can actually take the train over the viaduct bridge in the film), and theme all the inside as Hogwarts.

I don't see it as a major hit at England/Scotland since UO is just a theme park - for real HP nuts, we have the actual castles and scenery used in the films and books (including the train ride I mentioned above).

 

[cieslack]

One of you folks from the UK needs to ring him up and break the news that Harry is a fictional character and not a historical figure. But be gentle.

 

[Planogirl]

He can go whine to Ms Rowling. It was her decision after all.

 

[petals]

It doesn't matter where they build the theme park world the real Hogwarts castle is always going to be in England! True fans will still visit that!

 

[dazzling]

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