"Potterland" Expansion at USF Now Official

[jzarley]

While this is probably the worst kept secret in the theme park world, Universal officially announced the new Diagon Alley/London expansion at USF:

http://media.universalorlando.com/PressRelease/detail.aspx?id=1576

[Delirium_Guy]

Meanwhile, a few miles down I-4, the 3 year construction of Seven Dwarves Mine Coaster will finally be completed....and new Fantasyland will finally be complete. Yawn. Come on, Disney....you can do better.

In all seriousness though, this really is an amazing addition. It's already looking incredibly impressive and has already drastically altered the former Amity area in USF. Transformers. Springfield. Potter. USF is almost like a brand new park.

[TTD-120-420]

I'm interested to see how they pull off the train.

[CedarPointer]

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one left unimpressed by New Fantasyland.

[jzarley]

I'm interested to see how they pull off the train.

The rumors are (according to ThemeParkInsider, Screamscape, and a few other sources) are that the train's "windows" will actually be video screens on which the story of your journey (to Hogsmeade from London and vice-versa) will be projected, so you'll never actually see the real "outside." One of the sites (I think ThemeParkInsider) reports that there will actually be six different "adventures" that will randomly occur based on when you ride the train. The train station currently under construction in IOA (under the Dragon Challenge coaster) seems HUGE...much bigger than what I was expecting. But then I realized that they'll actually have to have full ticketing and gate facilities built into each depot to account for people crossing from one park into the other. (I have no idea how many people don't currently buy "park hopper" tickets at Universal Orlando, but I can only guess this will dramatically increase that number...)

This entire expansion sounds incredible...the kind of thing we theme park enthusiasts live for :-)

[Captain Nemo]

Meanwhile, a few miles down I-4, the 3 year construction of Seven Dwarves Mine Coaster will finally be completed....and new Fantasyland will finally be complete. Yawn. Come on, Disney....you can do better.

I'm sure Disney is a little nervous right now too with this news. Harry Potter took quite a toll on Disney's annual attendance.

[jzarley]

^ Although, interestingly, the Disney Parks (as an overall unit) are still humming along pretty well according to the Q2 results that were released earlier in the week...14% increase in revenue and a 73% increase in operating income (profit). Granted, they're attributing much of that to the way the holidays fell this year, but still...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/walt-disney-company-reports-second-201500006.html

[LongliveKingsCobra]

I am squeeing all over the place. Very VERY excited!

[Gabe]

Having just been to the new Fantasyland at WDW, if you are a small child, it is an astoundingly cool and beautiful space-much better than before. Once the Fantasy Faire opens in the fall along wih the mine train, I think it will rival Potterland. I liked WWOHP as well...two different demos being served.

[Delirium_Guy]

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one left unimpressed by New Fantasyland.

Here's the thing. New Fantasyland is absolutely stunning. It's gorgeous. No doubt about it and I'm glad to see Disney go back to that level of detail once again. My biggest issue is there just isn't much to it. Belle's Enchanted Cottage features some amazing special effects, but at the end of the day it's still just a meet and greet. Little Mermaid has an incredibly elaborate queue that builds up to a very average and ordinary ride. Storybook Circus is very well done, but it was just a re-theme of an existing area in the park.

Is Disney nervous about any of this? Part of me wants to believe that maybe it is sinking in that Universal is stepping up to be a very SERIOUS competitor with them. Then again, with the arrogance and complacency that is TDO...I have my doubts. As Disney has release their quarterly results, attendance at the US Parks & Resorts have been down....but they continue to sing the praises of Cars Land and its significant impact on the Disneyland result. If Disneyland and DCA are seeing such surges in attendance, it is pretty clear that the loss of attendance is coming from Florida.

With Sea World stepping up its game with Antarctica and the new projects coming on line at Universal, which are reported to be only the beginning of the expansions that are coming down the pipe in the next few years, I have to believe that TDO have to have projects forthcoming.

[Delirium_Guy]

Having just been to the new Fantasyland at WDW, if you are a small child, it is an astoundingly cool and beautiful space-much better than before. Once the Fantasy Faire opens in the fall along wih the mine train, I think it will rival Potterland. I liked WWOHP as well...two different demos being served.

Agreed about two different demographics being served, then again I think that Potter can serve a much broader demographic than Fantasyland can. It is no secret that Potter definitely dinged WDW. Will Diagon Alley have the same impact? If it does, will the opening of SDMT be overshadowed by the new Wizarding World opening just a few miles down the road?

[Gabe]

As they say, Time will tell!

[UnrealNightmare]

I'm excited for this! And I will be at Universal in two weeks from today. So expect lots of pictures of construction from me before the end of the month.

[jdawg1998]

Aw, snap. Too bad I'm going this year. The family says it's "their turn" next year and we'll be going to the beach (I'm not a beach fan.)

Anyways ... I wish they'd officially announce the Gringotts Coaster. I would really like to see how they're doing it. Maybe I'll visit in 2015 when most of the major construction is done.

Unfortunately for Universal, Walt Disney World will always be the first theme park to come to mind when visiting Orlando. In my opinion, Universal is much better, but I just don't think, even with all these new attractions and improvements, it will still barely be peeking into the top 10 in attendance.

[Delirium_Guy]

Aw, snap. Too bad I'm going this year. The family says it's "their turn" next year and we'll be going to the beach (I'm not a beach fan.)

Anyways ... I wish they'd officially announce the Gringotts Coaster. I would really like to see how they're doing it. Maybe I'll visit in 2015 when most of the major construction is done.

Unfortunately for Universal, Walt Disney World will always be the first theme park to come to mind when visiting Orlando. In my opinion, Universal is much better, but I just don't think, even with all these new attractions and improvements, it will still barely be peeking into the top 10 in attendance.

I agree that Walt Disney World will always be what people associate with Orlando. I don't agree, though, that these attractions won't help boost attendance numbers at UOR. Will Universal ever eclipse Disney in terms of attendance? I wouldn't say it is impossible, but extremely unlikely. Can they continue to invest in attractions that can help persuade people to spend a little less time on property at Mouse House...absolutely.

I'm interested in seeing how the Gringott's attraction turns out as well. The show building is huge. There is still quite a bit of track yet to be installed. It's visible when driving down Hollywood Way just before you get to Royal Pacific.

[jdawg1998]

I'm not doubting a boost in attendance, just not enough to surpass any Disney theme park (all Disney World parks and Disneyland included). Which is a shame.

[kblanken]

Looking at the attendance numbers for the last few years, SeaWorld took a bigger drop than WDW did.

Whenever I hear of somebody visiting Florida for a theme park vacation week, it has always sounded like they visit Universal for just a day or two, and still visit WDW for three or four days.

If Universal gets more people to stay another day, instead of adding one more Disney day that that could change the numbers a bit; but in some ways more people visiting Orlando for theme parks could be good for Disney.

[Delirium_Guy]

Looking at the attendance numbers for the last few years, SeaWorld took a bigger drop than WDW did.<br /><br />Whenever I hear of somebody visiting Florida for a theme park vacation week, it has always sounded like they visit Universal for just a day or two, and still visit WDW for three or four days.<br />If Universal gets more people to stay another day, instead of adding one more Disney day that that could change the numbers a bit; but in some ways more people visiting Orlando for theme parks could be good for Disney.<br />

SeaWorld had a terrible year in 2010. This was also the year that they were fighting all of the negative publicity associated with the accident early in the year. They have since seen attendance climb in 2011 and 2012. More people coming to Orlando is good for all of the parks, you are absolutely right about that. What you mentioned above is what is the most important though. If they can get people to spend one less day on property at Disney, that can be significant.