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Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter. "Gringotts"


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I'm very happy I went to Universal last summer, but dang, that means I won't be able to go this year! This looks absolutely amazing. I love rides like Spider-Man and Transformers, but is Escape from Gringotts just like those? It's getting kind of old now. I'm sure it will still be an awesome ride though.

What I love about Universal is the every little detail they put into things. I enjoy Disney World like everyone else, but honestly, Universal feels more magical to me. I don't know why...that's just me, I guess.

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Didn't get the chance to watch but I'm excited for all of it!

A couple sad notes:

Probably won't be getting a Universal Orlando pass for 2014... (gotten one every year since 2009), But the trade off is a Disney World pass... which I personally prefer Universal Orlando.

Still miss JAWS. :'(

Edit: they put up the video now, in case like me you missed the live stream:

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I'm very happy I went to Universal last summer, but dang, that means I won't be able to go this year! This looks absolutely amazing. I love rides like Spider-Man and Transformers, but is Escape from Gringotts just like those? It's getting kind of old now. I'm sure it will still be an awesome ride though.

What I love about Universal is the every little detail they put into things. I enjoy Disney World like everyone else, but honestly, Universal feels more magical to me. I don't know why...that's just me, I guess.

I'm pretty sure this one has roller coaster elements to it. If you look at the construction photos you can see some coaster track.

I think were going to be seeing something like how the Mummy works. Just maybe a little bit better.

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While I greatly enjoy Harry and am excited for the new addition, although I miss Jaws as well. I wonder how much staying power this area will have. The last movie came out in 2011, so the franchise is still fresh in folks minds. But 10 years from now, will Harry still have the same excitement as it does now? I don't know, but it will be interesting to watch.

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In defense, Back to the Future stuck around for years after the last movie came out. HP at least had multiple movies that patrons grew up on. Most likely these same patrons will show these movies to their children.

ET is still a ride and that movie is a few decades old.

If this still has drawing power in 15-20 years, then it should be considerd a success. Plus everything is so well done, that even if you didnt know HP it is full immersion and works well.

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Back to the Future also had 3 movies, not as many HP, but was a franchise. And was eventually removed after 16 years of operation and I believe less than 20 years after the last movie. Compare that to a specific area at Magic Kingdom say Fantasyland that has remained unchanged for nearly 40 years before the New Fantasyland expansion. Which I think only happened because of HP. I know it is comparing apples to oranges, but still something to ponder.

Even look at Amity and Jaws, that area and ride existed around 20 years and then the area was bulldozed for the new HP area. Just throwing thoughts out there.

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According to Wiki, the first HP book came out in 1997. I know the books were popular amongst tweens, teens, young adults and adults alike, but lets assume for a moment, that the books first starting catching the imagination of 10 year olds in 1997. That was 17 years ago, which would make those 10 year olds 27 today, and right about the time, or perhaps shortly after the time people that age get married and have kids of their own. Obviously there are 27 year olds today, who read the books as a youth and now with kids old enough to read the series themselves. But the 2nd generation of the book is just starting to begin. According to wiki, the last book came out in 2007, which means that the series spanned an entire decade, which means there will be, at a minimum a decade long gap of parents who first read it as kids, and are looking forward to the day they can read it with their own children when they move into adult hood. Since many familes have more than 1 kid, often spanning 5 years or more difference, you can tack on anothe 5 years to that. I think HP can maintain its popularity well into 15+ years.

Or, think about it this way. The Chronicles of Narnia were written sometime around 1950. In 2005, they came out with a big budget release of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. The movie was successful enough to produce three more stories from that series, with the potential for them to produce more down the road (and for those that haven't read the entire series, it moves in such a way that it doesn't matter that the original characters have all grown up by now as the characters shift in the novels). I never actually read Harry Potter, nor have I seen a ton of the movies, I've seen parts, of a handful, not sure if I've ever seen the whole thing, I was in college when it came out, and never got into it. My wife is the same way. However, we are both still excited to introduce it to our current 5 year old in a couple of years. Though he's never seen the movies, he's asked about HP on more than one occasion, which means its talked about in kindergarten. Back to the Future had 3 movies, all produced realatively close to one another. While they remained popular, it didn't have the shear volume of media to span across an entire generation, a generation that could then happily pass it along to another generation behind them, and another behind them again.

time will tell, but there is no doubt in my mind that Harry Potter will remain an important part of Pop Culture well into the next couple of decades.

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I think there is another Harry Potter book in the works, too.

I have never seen the movies or read the books and I loved the area in IoA. I don't think the franchise has to be fresh for people to enjoy the rides or spend their money on Butterbeer. It's so well done that someone that doesn't know anything about the franchise can enjoy it.

Even if it is only popular for ten years, it has been worth it for Comcast.

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There's zero reason to worry that the Harry Potter franchise will become obsolete or lose its place in pop culture.

Think Star Wars, which is nearing its 40th anniversary and is just now inspiring new films, theme park attractions, entire themed lands, and selling massive merchandise to consecutive new generations.

Like Star Wars, Harry Potter will be passed between generations and recognized as timeless writing and imagery. Just when you don't hear about it for a while, it'll rocket back into pop culture and prominence.

As for James Cameron's Avatar...

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Here is another thought. Would Potter Land be popular without the Harry Potter tie in? Would Avatar Land be popular without the tie in? I think what Universal is doing is excellent and it will raise the bar for what happens at Disney. Which is why Star Wars Land will more than likely become a reality at the Studios. Disney doesn't want their guests to leave their property and will need to offer more incentives to stay in and on Disney. Which is the main reason Avatar Land is happening, although I think it would be better received if it were not Avatar branded.

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Harry Potter books contain a lot of real life issues that kids relate to, that's why you have so many different people identifying with different characters in the books.

I think the books stand the test of time pretty well, due to this.

the magical elements are just icing on the cake, the same as Superman's ability to fly.

My niece is as small as me, 5'2" 100 lbs, in high school, they called her Dobby, as an insult. She instead, embraced it. Dobby is her favorite character.

The bullying issues that occur in the books helped her with that.

I think the books are going to be classics, compared to Narnia.

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Here is another thought. Would Potter Land be popular without the Harry Potter tie in? Would Avatar Land be popular without the tie in? I think what Universal is doing is excellent and it will raise the bar for what happens at Disney. Which is why Star Wars Land will more than likely become a reality at the Studios. Disney doesn't want their guests to leave their property and will need to offer more incentives to stay in and on Disney. Which is the main reason Avatar Land is happening, although I think it would be better received if it were not Avatar branded.

Just the contrary, I don't think Disney is too worried about this. They've rarely shown any real attempt to combat Universal's growth, and why should they? Disney World is engrained in pop culture in a way Universal Orlando never ever will be. Walt Disney World will always be number one in Orlando and probably the world, period. What bar has been raised at Disney? Sure, they've invested a hefty $1 billion+ (the price of California Adventure's six year floor-to-ceiling renovation, for comparison) on the technological MyMagic+, and New Fantasyland has been a fine little renovation resulting in two new attractions.

But what's next? Avatar Land, announced in 2011, is due to open in 2017, assuming all goes as planned.

Anything major announced in 2014 would likely not see the light of day until the end of the decade or beyond.

Disney has said before that they applaud Universal's work, and that people aren't spending less time at Walt Disney World, just adding a few extra days after Disney World to visit Universal. Whether they truly think that, I don't know. But their parks remain in the top ten and could "coast" in their current states and stay in the top ten for decades more. They don't need massive expenditure to pull in guests in Florida, and sadly, they know it.

Is Disney investing? You bet. It may look different from Universal's E-ticket opening every 6-months, but it's happening. The question is, is it in a way that guests can see, feel, and appreciate? Doesn't seem like it to me.

Agreed that Pandora would actually be a celebrated addition if it weren't Avatar themed. Yet here we are!

If the co-evolution of Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World are of interest to you, I have to do my plug and invite you to read an in-depth, three-park series I wrote on their growth here. If you're into that sort of thing, it's a great read for a frosty Ohio night. :P It traces the introduction of Universal in the 1980s through today's competition and the Avatar / New Fantasyland / Diagon Alley playing field.

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If you read through my series and enjoy it and want to learn more about Universal's rise and Disney's rebuttal, I'd also like to plug a book written by a close friend, Nick Sim's Universal Orlando: The Unofficial Story available on e-reader and paperback formats through Amazon. I happen to be named in the acknowledgements, so I'm biased, but check it out. :D

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Just an outsider looking in, but you don't thing the timing of New Fantasyland between the original Potter Land and new Potter Land is purposeful? Just a mere coincidence this was the first major expansion at the Kingdom in years and that it was aimed at drawing more families to the park for longer. The expanded resort offerings and Vacation Club upgrades is also playing a role to keep more folks on property than not. I guess my thought is would these expansions and additions happened if Potter hadn't? I am not sure they would have.

I will for sure read what you linked when I have some free time.

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