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Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

p. 624 - New Epic Universe details, including Isle of Berk!

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What in the hell is a giant bridge thing doing in the middle of the entrance?

 

I remember hearing, probably on Inside the Magic, that it blocks the view of Gringotts and the dragon so people will be drawn further into Diagon Alley and not stopping at the entrance to take pictures, causing traffic jams. Basically theatrical crowd control.

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Just wanted to add a few comments about how the elevated railway going over Diagon Alley fits in with the theme. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a very faithful embodiment of the books and films, but obviously is not 100% identical to them. They've already taken some creative license in the past to make everything work in a theme park context. For example, the presence of Ollivander's Wand Shop in Hogsmeade Village does not exist in the books or films, but the story in the park is that a second location has been opened in Hogsmeade. This was so the Ollivander's concept could be included in the experience before Diagon Alley ever existed at Universal. While Universal has changed/added/created things that are different from what we see in the films or read in the books, they've made these alterations with the utmost care and creativity, so they don't really clash with the world we see on the screen or page. Actually, the films display subtle changes from film to film as well (just look how the castle and its setting change and adapt throughout the series as the tone of the films change or as the plot requires.) The great thing about all of this is that The Wizarding World perfectly lends itself to these changes/additions/adaptations, because, well, simple magic can explain away the sudden appearance of an elevated railway zooming over Diagon Alley.

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Sorry if this is a stupid question but where there any restrictions on the hogwarts express? With the two and a half hour wait to get into diagon alley and return tickets for a later time, was there anything stopping people from just getting in line and taking the train in IOA to get straight into diagon alley

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Sorry if this is a stupid question but where there any restrictions on the hogwarts express? With the two and a half hour wait to get into diagon alley and return tickets for a later time, was there anything stopping people from just getting in line and taking the train in IOA to get straight into diagon alley

 

I believe the Hogwarts Express enters/exits into the London section not Diagon Alley?

 

Am I correct?

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On the one side I envy you guys for being there on opening day - on the other side I would despise the lines, opening day or not...

 

Big thanks for the live-tweeting and all the info.

 

Is Gringotts worthwhile without the 3-D glasses? I have a special eye condition that makes all 3-D stuff not work for me so would it be wise to line for this?

 

I totally agree with you on the envy, i saw the videos of the crowds from Inside the Magic and it looked crazy! What I'm interested in is how quickly/slowly do you think the crowds will die away. Hogsmede is still the most popular part of Islands of Adventure.

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My experience of Diagon Alley Opening Day was quite different. Having checked the USO website that park opening was 9am (NOT the actual unannounced 5:45am for resort guests and the public who got the word), I got into the park at 9:30 am and made my way to the the Diagon Alley line entrance in Central park where they told us the wait to enter Diagon Alley was already 6 hours!!!) That turned out to be a blatant lie and in discussing this with park execs later, I was told they should not have told us what the wait would be; in any case, the line was moving fairly rapidly so I got into line. The worst part of the line occurred behind Simpsons where we were subjected to direct blasts of sunlight and the exhaust from Simpsons A/C which made the wait with a total of 2 misters like vacationing in hell. Fortunately, that part of the line only lasted about 45 minutes and once we got into the MIB outdoor queue with shade and misters, it was fairly pleasant. The total time to actually gain entrance to Diagon Alley was 3 hours. USO realized this idea was a disaster and started distributing timed return passes (USO's Fast Passes - not Express Passes) in the afternoon. After photographing London, I made my way through the brick wall entrance into Diagon and immediately got into line for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, which handled its lines very efficiently and the food (Scotch Eggs, Toad in the Hole and the Tongue-Tying Lemon Squash) was very tasty. The staff were fun to interact with and they have their own version of the Magic Rose RFID device to take to your table with your drink: a large magic candlestick which is amazingly heavy! After lunch I wandered through the shops and environments and each store was more awesome than the previous one. Caught Celestina Warbeck and the Banshee's concert performance which was great entertainment, then made my way over to Gringotts. The dragon roared and breathed his fiery dragon's breath and the wait time for the ride was then 300 minutes. I was advised that single rider was half that and ALL INDOORS WITH A/C whereas the Standby line spent 4 hours outdoors. I got into the Single Rider line which allows limited but good views of the bank lobby with the goblins at work before directing Single Riders into a luxurious mahagony wood paneled hallway. The line moved slowly so everyone wound up sitting on the floor and playing with our cellphones. We got excited when we saw the warning video which displayed the ride vehicles dropping and rotating. Just as we made it onto the curving staircase the ride broke down. The break down lasted 45 minutes and once again we sat down, this time on the stairs and got to know the people in line around us, including a couple from Sweden who chose that day to visit USO. Finally made it onto the loading platform after 3.25 hours; as we got to the top we asked the people in the standby line how long they had been waiting and they told us: 8 FREAKING HOURS! That's right. 8 FREAKING HOURS! we Single Riders felt awfully smug in our air conditioned 3 hour wait. The ride is extraordinary. Robb has described it but I have a different takeaway, believing it's more of a coaster experience than he does. Combine a tilt coaster (yup), Mummy-style trains, 4K High Def 3D. Omnimax and Cinerama screens and incredible visuals synced to ride movement, and the final reaction is stunned amazement, awe and lots of screaming! Frankly, I LOVED it. Other highlights: Chocolate Chili and Clotted Cream ice cream from Florian Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlor and the Hogwarts Express. All in all, a magical day and look forward to many return visits.

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Sorry if this is a stupid question but where there any restrictions on the hogwarts express? With the two and a half hour wait to get into diagon alley and return tickets for a later time, was there anything stopping people from just getting in line and taking the train in IOA to get straight into diagon alley

 

You exit Hogwarts Express from Hogsmead into King's Cross Station which is OUTSIDE the Diagon Alley/London fence so you still have to get into line for Diagon Alley if there will be lines in the future. With the time-stamped Return Passes I believe there will not be long lines going forward.

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Can someone clear this up for me please:

 

What in the hell is a giant bridge thing doing in the middle of the entrance? At the top of the photo below.

 

In promotional images, it showed a train crossing this section, but that clearly doesn't happen in real life.

 

Its just a large walkway.

 

So, is this train track in the story? I don't remember it in the movie. It just really seems weird and out of place. Can anyone explain it?

 

Think of it as Utilidors for Diagon Alley to get merchandise and cast members into the shops without being seen by the guests in Diagon Alley

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So who has been confirmed to be involved on the Gringotts project? Which companies are responsible for what in the ride?

 

Did you not read the lengthy post by HTF? Just before your own or at least the beginning.

 

 

I did, but I was wondering for more specifics. For example, Intamin was responsible for which parts and Dynamics Structures was responsible for such and such parts.

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The ride system is fantastic and the "coaster" sections are indeed short like Robb said but they pack a punch for the first time.

Wow! Great pictures! I did just want to clear something up, though - There really is only one "coaster section" in the ride. The first one. That's the only time it really uses gravity to propel the ride vehicle. All the other places that are you moving along it's not "coasting", but is powered and controlled as the car moves along the track much like Spider-Man or Indiana Jones is. It goes fast (or more like briskly) in other places, but it's not actually "coasting" in the same way Test Track, while it's going 60+MPH, is not actually "coasting."

 

Just wanted to make that clear!

 

Thanks for the update! Great stuff!

 

 

What about the second tilt drop? Isn't that a coaster section also? Felt like it to me.

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^ Huh? What second tilt drop? There was one. At the beginning. When you first enter the vaults. There was no second tilt drop. Everything after that is all motion vehicle movements. There are a couple of sections where it moves quickly along the track, but it's all powered, no "coasting" the rest of the way.

Edited by robbalvey
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^ Huh? What second tilt drop? There was one. At the beginning. When you first enter the vaults. There was no second tilt drop. Everything after that is all motion vehicle movements. There are a couple of sections where it moves quickly along the track, but it's all powered, no "coasting" the rest of the way.

 

 

I don't think I imagined the second tilt drop and neither did our carful of screaming riders; it's about 2/3rds of the way through after the rotations -- unless it's just a DOF sim effect but the whole car tilts down again (I was in row 5) and we were definitely high above the front of the train.

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^ I have no idea what a DOF sim effect is, but all I know is that I was paying way more attention to how much of the ride was a "coaster" and less about the story when I rode it, and I saw *ONE* coaster section at the beginning and everything else was motion sim effects.

 

Are you talking about the scene with the bald guy and the witch chick with the electric bolts where the screen opened up and the car went through? That was not a coaster. That was a motion sim effect.

 

All of the people in our car were screaming too during all the non-coaster sections that were fast. But I only felt one coaster section.

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^ I have no idea what a DOF sim effect is, but all I know is that I was paying way more attention to how much of the ride was a "coaster" and less about the story when I rode it, and I saw *ONE* coaster section at the beginning and everything else was motion sim effects.

 

Are you talking about the scene with the bald guy and the witch chick with the electric bolts where the screen opened up and the car went through? That was not a coaster. That was a motion sim effect.

 

All of the people in our car were screaming too during all the non-coaster sections that were fast. But I only felt one coaster section.

 

I was focused on the whole experience and not on coaster vs non coaster elements as you were so I'll have to ride again. DOF sim is my shorthand for 6 degrees of freedom motion sim effects which a high tilt would require (similar to Star Tours); accomplishing a steep motion sim tilt on a flat or slightly tilted coaster track would unleash a lot of force on the mechanical elements so if that's what they're doing that's quite a technological achievement.

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^ I have no idea what a DOF sim effect is, but all I know is that I was paying way more attention to how much of the ride was a "coaster" and less about the story when I rode it, and I saw *ONE* coaster section at the beginning and everything else was motion sim effects.

 

Are you talking about the scene with the bald guy and the witch chick with the electric bolts where the screen opened up and the car went through? That was not a coaster. That was a motion sim effect.

 

All of the people in our car were screaming too during all the non-coaster sections that were fast. But I only felt one coaster section.

 

I was focused on the whole experience and not on coaster vs non coaster elements as you were so I'll have to ride again. DOF sim is my shorthand for 6 degrees of freedom motion sim effects which a high tilt would require (similar to Star Tours); accomplishing a steep motion sim tilt on a flat or slightly tilted coaster track would unleash a lot of force on the mechanical elements so if that's what they're doing that's quite a technological achievement.

 

Gringotts ride system is levels above FJ in terms of complexity. Were just gonna leave it at that.

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Great pics and report from opening day. I can't wait to visit again, it looks awesome! I wonder if they plan to add on more to Diagon Alley. It just seems small when compared to Islands of Adventures The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

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Great pics and report from opening day. I can't wait to visit again, it looks awesome! I wonder if they plan to add on more to Diagon Alley. It just seems small when compared to Islands of Adventures The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

 

It's actually larger than Hogsmeade from what I understand.

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Great pics and report from opening day. I can't wait to visit again, it looks awesome! I wonder if they plan to add on more to Diagon Alley. It just seems small when compared to Islands of Adventures The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

 

It's actually larger than Hogsmeade from what I understand.

 

 

Maybe it is, but ride wise, it lacks. It could use another coaster.

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Interesting that the current wait for Gringotts about 20 minutes ago was 100 minutes compared to the super long 450 minutes yesterday. Well, that is assuming that the tweets and wait time apps are correct.

 

One of my buds on FB, also a member here, is live-updating from the line. He's been in line for over 5 hours and still isn't even inside the building.

 

Tweets and wait time apps are LIES!

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^^With the expansion of the Wizarding World, we are seeing a new innovative ride from the Escape of Gringotts that I am almost certain has a ride building bigger than that of the Forbidden Journey. Also, we have the new inclusion of the Hogwarts Express. This with many different shops and interactive experiences in the world, I wouldn't say that it lacks in rides. The Hogsmeade area already had Dragon Challenge (Dueling Dragons before) and Flight of the Hippogriff (Flying Unicorn). They just received the Harry Potter theme. Diagon Alley is most certainly bigger, with more detail and greater experiences. So while there are more rides in the Hogsmeade area, Diagon Alley definitely doesn't lack at all.

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Interesting that the current wait for Gringotts about 20 minutes ago was 100 minutes compared to the super long 450 minutes yesterday. Well, that is assuming that the tweets and wait time apps are correct.

 

One of my buds on FB, also a member here, is live-updating from the line. He's been in line for over 5 hours and still isn't even inside the building.

 

Tweets and wait time apps are LIES!

Yeah, where did you hear it's 100 minutes? I haven't heard that at all today, in fact someone just posted to Twitter that the wait time is posted at 300 minutes.

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