thekidd33 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Looks like Mr. Potter is getting a second home. Link to article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204397704577070691060558140.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Looks like even more attractions that currently reside in Uni Hollywood will be getting the axe sometime very soon. As it stands, the last several "new" attractions have either been redesigns or outright replacements of existing rides such as Revenge of The Mummy and The Simpsons Ride. The only thing I can see them doing is bulldozing Terminator 2 3D, House of Horrors, and the few sets in-between them (the French and London Streets). This would also put a major damper on their Halloween Horror Nights event, removing two scare zone and haunted house locations should that be their idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 We should have seen this coming due to the popularity of the Florida park. Hope it is successful in CA as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XGatorHead 8904 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I never thought any dark ride could be better than Spider-Man at IoA, and then I rode Harry Potter. It was well worth the 90 minute wait in 90+ degree heat and yelling at the Brazilian tour group behind us in line. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Oh the joys of Orlando in the summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thekidd33 Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 ^Heck I went in January last year and waited two plus hours for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Announcement for Harry Potter West later on today: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/12/harry-potter-attraction-at-universal-hollywood-to-be-unveiled-tuesday.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongliveKingsCobra Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 two hours? Really? I went in Feb. our longest wait was 45 minutes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thekidd33 Posted December 6, 2011 Author Share Posted December 6, 2011 Well that wasn't totally accurate because we got out of line the first day we were there after we had been waiting about 40 minutes and still hadn't reached the castle gates. The next day the posted wait was 90 minutes and was pretty accurate. So all in all I waited 2+ hours in line lol. I really don't know what the deal was the first day but the line was just insane and barely moving. We were there the first week in January and IOA was absolutely swamped both days were there. There seemed to be a ridiculous amount of Asian tour groups at IOA but the Studios were all but empty the half day we spent there. The power of Potter I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 It's official for Hollywood. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1120055#p1120055 And already, TPR members are arguing that now, people 'will only visit one instead of visiting both.' What kind of world do these people live in where people plan massive coast-to-coast trips? It's just unfathomable that they would see this as a negative. Like, be upset that it's being "duplicated" if you must, but don't try to pass it off as a bad financial decision. That's laughable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsrattler Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 A great financial decision? Most definately. I can not disagree with this decision at all. Will it make as much (if not more with it being on the west coast) of a killing as the one in Orlando. You can bet on it. I love seeing amusement parks expand. And, I, for one have been a strong supporter of Cedar Fair's carbon copying lately of WindSeeker, etc. But this, to me, seems to kill the magic of being " The World of Harry Potter" because its not "the" anymore, its just "a world of Harry Potter". Don't get me wrong, it was a wise decision, and will reap benefits for Universal. But in my little selfish "fantasy world", the magic is ruined with two Wizarding Worlds of Harry Potter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 I felt that way at first, too. But we live in an age of that sort of thing. At my last count, there were five Sleeping Beauty Castles, four Hollywood Tower Hotels, four Pirates of the Caribbeans, five Haunted Mansions, six Space Mountains... (to put it on a smaller, Cedar Fair scale, do you have less fun on Backlot Stunt Coaster knowing it exists in two other places?) On paper, you may feel a let-down to know that an experience you hold dear is not one-of-a-kind. But the undeniable truth is that visitors planning trips to Disneyland in California scarcely know if they're heading to "Disney Land" or "Disneyworld," much less that there exist duplicates in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, Shanghai... Contrary to the beliefs of TPR members, MOST visitors to either Universal Orlando or Universal Studios Hollywood do not, have not, and will not visit both resorts in their life time. For them, the experience of riding "their" Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey will feel one of a kind. Upon seeing Sleeping Beauty Castle or entering the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror or riding Space Mountain, most people don't take the time to say, "Oh, there's already one of these in Florida / California, so I'm let down." At the time and place, it really is inconsequential whether it exists elsewhere. So yeah, there's a sense of disappointment from afar. The same way I felt when Disney's California Adventure announced their own Tower of Terror. But the truth is, Universal does have enough time, money, and space to add that wonderful land to Hollywood, and it might almost be unnecessarily prude of them to NOT put it there just to preserve some sense of "individuality" for the Florida resort. I don't know. That's my take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsrattler Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 I agree 100 percent, and do not bash them at all for doing it. It's a great and enchanting world, and I can see why they would want more people to enjoy it. Best of luck to Universal, for I do love their parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 It's official for Hollywood. http://www.themepark...120055#p1120055 And already, TPR members are arguing that now, people 'will only visit one instead of visiting both.' What kind of world do these people live in where people plan massive coast-to-coast trips? It's just unfathomable that they would see this as a negative. Like, be upset that it's being "duplicated" if you must, but don't try to pass it off as a bad financial decision. That's laughable. What's sad is that those same people complained about the severe lack of attractions Hollyversal has to begin with, and are expecting a clone of the upcoming Transformers ride to be replacing JAWS @ Uni Orlando. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 ...and are expecting a clone of the upcoming Transformers ride to be replacing JAWS @ Uni Orlando. I think that's gonna be the new thing that gets on my nerves. If you've seen the ride footage from Transformers, it (understandably and expectedly) reuses much of the "action" of Spiderman, nearly scene for scene. Something hops onto the hood of the car, then something explodes producing real heat, then you lift up, then you drop, then you somehow get caught at the last second and pass under a 3-D prop to prove you won. (For those keeping score, that's roughly the storyline of Curse of DarKastle in Williamsburg, too). Transformers cannot exist at a park with Spider-Man because of those similarities. It's not bad that the similarities exist, it just makes them incompatible in the same resort. Some of the animation in Transformers truly and honestly looks like it contains a duplicate of the backdrop of the Spider-Man animations, with Autobots placed where Spider-Man would be. That's not a bad thing, because probably 80-90% of the people who ride Transformers will never ride Spider-Man. But even the casual visitor can point out that both have a first scene with something jumping onto the car, both have a flaming projectile effect, both have a rising effect, both have a nearly identical falling scene, and in one you're caught in a net and in one you're caught by a robot. It's not saying one is better or worse, just that they're too similar to be neighbors. Plus, there's the ongoing rumor that, sooner or later, Marvel Superhero Island will become Cybertron (which, God willing, won't happen... I truly and honestly don't see the longevity of the Transformer's series. I really don't. I can't imagine it'll still be E-ticket worthy in 5 or 10 years. Both the most recent movies did pretty terribly critically, and it seems that the cultural appreciation for the series is basically already over...) I think there are much smarter properties to retheme Marvel Island to if it really does come to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 If anything, Marvel Super Hero Island would go the route of Uni Singapore's Sci-Fi City if worse comes to worse, with random rides based off futuristic films/properties (Battlestar Galactica & Transformers). One thing I'm particularly saddened by is the complete absence of animatronics/robotics, something Universal was keen on drilling through everyone's skulls when they first announced it way back in 2008. Even something as simple as a life-sized Optimus Prime doing the most rudimentary of gestures that would put the cast of it's a small world to shame would be much better than having everything be on a screen. Of course, I'd have to wait until Hollywood's opens up as it's much closer than Singapore to see how it is in real life before I put the ride down any further (just seeing handheld footage from Sing Sing's doesn't really do it justice, like Forbidden Journey). Oh, and Mr. Bay is apparently on for Transformers 4, with filming beginning next Winter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongliveKingsCobra Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Can you post that ride footage you talked about Yellowkorn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 To me, it looks nearly impossible to follow and like a SFX extravaganza, but I guess that's what the movies are, too. People will love it, and I'm sure it's incredible. I just think that it's an odd decision in intellectual property. Spider-Man, in comparison, seems like a timeless classic. But I still think it'll be a fun, popular ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsrattler Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I just wonder what the attendance will be like the next couple years, knowing that in 2015, Harry Potter will be there. Will people thinking about a trip to Universal, put it off a couple years in order to be able to experience "it" also? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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