View Full Version : Harry potter expansion
Spuddybaby
08-05-2013, 15:53
It's now official folks!!
Was announced by the head honcho today. If u run a quick web searchican find all details.
But it's going to be based on diagon alley and grimgotts bank as speculated by geeks on the web. And it's slated to open in 2014!
Allegedly with the Hogwarts Express available to shuttle people between the Hogwarts site at IOA and the Diagon Alley site at Universal.
I've been following the rumours for months and it looks like it is going to be absolutely fantastic.
My own personal guess is that the Hogwarts Express will have digital windows. Let's face it, when you are going from Kings Cross to Hogwarts you don't exactly want to see all the scabby back-roads and maintenance areas do you? This rumour hasn't made it main-stream on the internet yet - it's my own guess. I was pretty close with the original HP ride at IOA so I'm keen to see if I'm anywhere near right with this one.
I post a few rumours out as and when I hear them via my Facebook page. The forum rules prohibit me from posting the link here but if you want it feel free to drop me a PM.
Spuddybaby
09-05-2013, 09:36
I had heard that rumour as well, and with today's tech it could work quite well.
I hope they get the motion of speed right though as there is a lot of distance in the films and probably not that much between the parks.
They might even go as far as to give you a different view, ride or experience each time you ride the Hogwarts Express; making it an attraction in its own right.
The hard part in my mind will be the transition from the real world to the magical one and then back to the real one. At the point you board the train and look out of the window you will expect to see exactly the scene you have just left ... same platform, same people, same weather. Then at some point you have to switch from that to the journey. Then switch back again at the far end. That's going to be really difficult to do to the level of quality that makes it really difficult to see the join. If indeed that happens at all; although to just leave a view of the roads around Universal with the all-you-can-eat restaurants would be a bit pants. A truly less than magical experience.
Personally I think Disney have a real fight on their hands now, and I'm not sure that the rumoured Avatar land at Animal Kingdom is up to the job. However the other rumour of closing the Indianna Jones show at Disney Studios and replacing it with a massive Star Wars themed area. That might work :-)
DisneyFunVilla
10-05-2013, 13:46
A dark tunnel will solve the transition problem.
I'd hate to see the Indy show go.
Spuddybaby
10-05-2013, 15:26
Would love a Star Wars themed land!!!
Wouldn't mind losing Indiana for that!
Cruella DeVilla
10-05-2013, 16:03
Would love a Star Wars themed land!!!
Wouldn't mind losing Indiana for that!
Your wish might be granted but yes it will be Disney that will do it, I read something about this just the other day!
i know they have to continually develop these places, but I miss Jaws and King Kong.
DisneyPrincess
11-05-2013, 12:23
So excited for the HP development - the current area is amazing and I'm sure the new London section will be equally fab!
DisneyFunVilla
11-05-2013, 13:19
i know they have to continually develop these places, but I miss Jaws and King Kong.
Me, too, along with Ghostbusters and Back to the Future.
Cruella DeVilla
11-05-2013, 19:06
I liked the Jaws ride but can't wait to see what it is going to be like after the work has finished!
The expansion to the Wizarding World should be fantastic - it's going to be hidden behind a London waterfront facade, featuring muggle places shown in the movies.
I understand the Hogwarts Express is going to have TV-screen windows (as Steve said) and that each time a slightly different calamity will befall the occupants - including being stopped by Dementors!
I've ridden the Transformers ride in Hollywood and really enjoyed it, even though I thought the updated Spiderman ride was technically better (sharper video, more fluid transitions etc.) - and I'm a huge Transformers fan.
It must be said, though, I too really miss Back to the Future! I love the Simpsons ride, but Back to the Future was absolutely one of my favourites.
If the rumours are true and Disney counter the Universal expansion with a Star Wars themed land and Cars land at Hollywood Studios, we're in for a really good couple of years - I really like these completely themed lands like WWoHP and Cars Land over at Disney's California Adventure. I may even try to be there on opening day for Star Wars, if I can brave the crowds... As long as they have a huge Millennium Falcon, I'm in!
I loved Back to the future too but think the Simpson's ride is just awesome, though have to admit to closing my eyes on part of it. Think Harry Potter is just great and look forward to the new extension, all so exciting and it is these new extensions that bring visitors back to Florida time and time again.
Val
Big_Momma
12-08-2013, 11:16
I love all the Harry Potter stuff- I just wish it wasn't quite so busy tho!!
You know, I'm not sure how much of it is that the area is (undeniably) busy, and how much of it is that the stores and public areas are teeny tiny!
I actually feel uncomfortable in the gift shops in the Wizarding World... I always thought that was the 8th deadly sin in a theme park!
I'm bursting to see the expansion, and also Disney's response to it.
I'm bursting to see the expansion, and also Disney's response to it.
Ah yes.
I think Disney have given up on 2014, but beyond that they might well own the next few years. The Downtown Disney remodel (aka Disney Town Center) is a multi-year project. Festival of the Lion King has just moved to Africa in Animal Kingdom which would seem to give the green light for the on/off Avatar Land project. Then there are the rumours of a big Start Wars themed area at Hollywood Studios, plus the rumour that Disney will bring Cars Land to DHS as well.
The next few years look like they are going to see opening after opening.
All good stuff :)
Big_Momma
13-08-2013, 05:56
Yeah, the shops are tiny in there! It seems to get busier each time I visit- I foolishly thought it would quieten down after a couple of years!
ujpest doza
01-11-2013, 18:48
The new bit that you can see behind the wooden building screens looks like a remarkably good replica of Kings Cross Stations outside Façade.
In Universal and IOA last week and obviously well under way in both sites. Went on the new Transformers ride in Universal and all I can say is it is just brilliant so good we went on twice.
Val
DisneyFunVilla
18-03-2014, 13:25
Some big and fun sounding news about Universal's Harry Potter attractions:
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/loc...ement/24979628
Some excerpts:
"From "London" (Universal Studios side) you will actually go through the magic portal at King's Cross Station's Platform 9 3/4. You may want to go at it with a bit of a run. How the illusion will work is still not clear. But here's what you will see once you are in the mythical place where Hogwarts students board for the trip to school".
"Once you board the train itself (8 per cabin, 200 people per train) you will be seated by a window that (instead of the industrial backstage of the Universal parks) will let you see the countryside to Hogwarts (or, from Hogsmeade, the scenery back to London). The roughly 7 minute trip each way will feature two different experiences complete with beloved characters from the movies."
I'm reliably told that one of the 'experiences' on the Hogwarts Express will be an encounter with the dementors; including both visual and physical effects. (Think pre-chilled icy-cold air being used to flash-chill the cabin as the dementors approach).
It all sounds quite stunning.
I still don't have much news on the new feature attraction though, other than its name: Escape from Gringotts.
florida4sun
18-03-2014, 16:27
Escape from Gringotts is going to be a stunner. Kimd of a merger of all the latest technology rides and pushing the envelope a bit. There is spill the beans article on themeparkinsider and they have good inside info ;)
I'm reliably told that one of the 'experiences' on the Hogwarts Express will be an encounter with the dementors; including both visual and physical effects. (Think pre-chilled icy-cold air being used to flash-chill the cabin as the dementors approach).
It all sounds quite stunning.
I still don't have much news on the new feature attraction though, other than its name: Escape from Gringotts.
DisneyFunVilla
14-05-2014, 14:01
The centerpiece of the new Harry Potter-themed area at Universal Orlando Resort will take visitors into Gringotts Bank to help retrieve a magical object and re-create a scene from the wildly popular book and movie series. Universal executives officially announced yesterday that the ride, scheduled to open this summer, will be called "Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts."
In a post on YouTube, Universal said, "Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts will be the signature ride of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- Diagon Alley. It will be a groundbreaking, multi-dimensional thrill ride that will place riders in the middle of an incredible adventure as they navigate their way through the Gringotts vaults."
"You come face-to-face with Bellatrix," said Thierry Coup, senior vice president of Universal Creative Studios. "She sends us deeper into Gringotts Bank, where we eventually survive the security detail. We end up falling down deeper into the bank toward where the dragon is."
Among the features of the new ride: a 60-foot, fire breathing dragon atop Gringotts Wizarding Bank, a labyrinth of Gringotts vaults and a marble hall with goblins. The ride will use 360-degree themed sets, digital high-definition animation, 3-D projection systems and live special effects.
A specific opening date has not been announced.
http://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/details-revealed-harry-potter-escape-gringotts/
DisneyFunVilla
19-06-2014, 13:48
Official opening date is July 8th!
https://www.universalorlando.com