Universal Orlando Resort (USF, IOA, Epic) Discussion Thread

[cfc]

^I would prefer something along the lines of Mummy, rather than Forbidden Journey.

[Garet]

^I would prefer something along the lines of Mummy, rather than Forbidden Journey.

 

I would prefer something along the lines of journey to the center of the earth more than anything else in the whole world

[cfc]

And knocking the place because of crowds and not what it offers...yeesh it's Orlando...How about MK fireworks in the hub every night, or the horrible strollerfest in Frontierland? Or BGT's entirely annoying park layout? Or HHN in late october vs mid September? Or like, TDS/TDL/Half of Disneyland Park?

 

But the WWOHP's layout ensures that even on a "slow day" the place will be jammed. As beautiful as the area is, this is a big problem.

 

And, yes, people here have complained about the "annoying" layout of BGT and how Disneyland tends to be crammed. But park design has come a long way since those parks were built; I offer the Tokyo Disney parks as an example (they are built to handle huge crowds well).

[ernierocker]

Exactly what Chuck said. You should be able to tell from the concepts and knowing how much control J.K. Rowling has over this expansion, that the design will be the exact opposite of what most park's try to do for crowd control.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

I would prefer journey to the center of the earth more than anything else in the whole world

 

Fixed!

[ahecht]

We're still missing the most important detail of all of this Harry Potter 2 stuff though.

 

How do you get into platform 9 3/4?

 

[arby]

I'm looking forward to this although I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan. I think the story could have been improved upon if it weren't for the author's intervention. Oh well, we should be there in the fall to check it out. Funny how our next trip is starting to line up with HHN.

 

I do love the money Comcast is pumping into the parks. They've caught our attention and some of our budget.

[cfc]

^Same for me. I'll probably enjoy the ride, but I won't be buying any of the Harry Potter stuff--unless they sell good beer.

[pianojohn]

Went to IOA/USF today for the Harry Potter Celebration. Unfortunately, nothing starts until this afternoon at 4pm.

 

But we did head over to Diagon Alley where you can now sneak a look at the construction site in two areas.

 

Enjoy!

The view from the near side

The sign

The cleverly disguised viewing area with a lower window for kids

From the far end

[musicmand]

Curious to see if this will be open in late May/early June when I'm there... but I kinda doubt it. "Summer" seems to mean July/August.

 

Here's something that bugs me- when we're going down, we're allowing two days for Universal (which is actually twice as long as we've EVER spent down there). We plan to do one day in IOA and one in USO. Assuming that Diagon Alley is actually open (which I doubt), I will be more than a little annoyed if they will not let us ride the train just because we don't have park hoppers.

 

Honestly, it's not that hard to figure out. You just have turnstiles on either end (which you would need anyway) and make sure the patron's ticket matches the park you're walking into. Disney handles it just fine with the Monorail. There are many parks out there that share a ride between the park and the water park (Worlds of Fun's Monsoon, for example). If this is meant as an upsell item, well, it had been be bloody amazing.

 

More interesting is this- since the train will have to go in both directions, will the experience be different each way? Will there be a "going to Hogwarts" and "going home for holiday" experience? Right now I'm expecting a dynamic somewhat similar to the Jurassic Park river ride... except that JP has only one load/unload point. A show building would be optimized for one direction only. I suppose they could easily work out a track configuration wherein both trains could enter a show building at the same place... or perhaps there will be no show building at all... maybe all the effects will be housed on the train itself.

 

Is it bad that I'm more interested in the train than in the thrill ride? LOL...

[Jew]

The effects will be in the train. No show building.

[musicmand]

The effects will be in the train. No show building.

Dummy windows then? I wouldn't imagine they'd want guests staring at untreated backstage areas.

[Jew]

Correct.

[denning]

Assuming that Diagon Alley is actually open (which I doubt), I will be more than a little annoyed if they will not let us ride the train just because we don't have park hoppers.

 

Honestly, it's not that hard to figure out. You just have turnstiles on either end (which you would need anyway) and make sure the patron's ticket matches the park you're walking into. Disney handles it just fine with the Monorail. There are many parks out there that share a ride between the park and the water park (Worlds of Fun's Monsoon, for example). If this is meant as an upsell item, well, it had been be bloody amazing.

 

More interesting is this- since the train will have to go in both directions, will the experience be different each way? Will there be a "going to Hogwarts" and "going home for holiday" experience? Right now I'm expecting a dynamic somewhat similar to the Jurassic Park river ride... except that JP has only one load/unload point. A show building would be optimized for one direction only. I suppose they could easily work out a track configuration wherein both trains could enter a show building at the same place... or perhaps there will be no show building at all... maybe all the effects will be housed on the train itself.

 

Is it bad that I'm more interested in the train than in the thrill ride? LOL...

 

It is pretty clear from the press relase requiring press hoppers and the design that they will be checking your tickets BEFORE you get on the ride. Similar to pre-clearing customs. Bascially the entrace to the attraction will be considered the "gate" to the other park. Neat concept.

 

Rumor the trips will probably be different as they are desiging multiple different videos for the screens.

[Paul Arthur]

Based on the intimate interior of the train cars (traditional separated compartments next to a narrow hallway)... I wonder how long it will take to load/unload the train at each end?

[pianojohn]

Curious to see if this will be open in late May/early June when I'm there... but I kinda doubt it. "Summer" seems to mean July/August.

 

Here's something that bugs me- when we're going down, we're allowing two days for Universal (which is actually twice as long as we've EVER spent down there). We plan to do one day in IOA and one in USO. Assuming that Diagon Alley is actually open (which I doubt), I will be more than a little annoyed if they will not let us ride the train just because we don't have park hoppers.

 

Honestly, it's not that hard to figure out. You just have turnstiles on either end (which you would need anyway) and make sure the patron's ticket matches the park you're walking into. Disney handles it just fine with the Monorail. There are many parks out there that share a ride between the park and the water park (Worlds of Fun's Monsoon, for example). If this is meant as an upsell item, well, it had been be bloody amazing.

 

More interesting is this- since the train will have to go in both directions, will the experience be different each way? Will there be a "going to Hogwarts" and "going home for holiday" experience? Right now I'm expecting a dynamic somewhat similar to the Jurassic Park river ride... except that JP has only one load/unload point. A show building would be optimized for one direction only. I suppose they could easily work out a track configuration wherein both trains could enter a show building at the same place... or perhaps there will be no show building at all... maybe all the effects will be housed on the train itself.

 

Is it bad that I'm more interested in the train than in the thrill ride? LOL...

 

If you go on the website, when you buy a 2 day ticket, you get the 3rd day free. And a park hopper ticket is only $21 more than a single park ticket. As someone who has lived here for 15 years and been to the parks hundreds of times, a park hopper is the way to go. You can start out at IOA and go over to USF or vice versa. The flexibility is great, and since the parks are right next to each other, the walk between them is 5-10 minutes tops.

 

Plus with all the new dining at CityWalk, I can't see why you wouldn't want to be able to go to either park whenever you want.

[Nrthwnd]

Honestly, it's so simple.

 

Buy the park hopper pass, even for the one day.

 

Get the train ride between parks. Easy.

[arby]

^Same for me. I'll probably enjoy the ride, but I won't be buying any of the Harry Potter stuff--unless they sell good beer.

 

Truth.

[Koasterking48]

Does anyone have any clue if Hogwarts Express will begin its technical rehearsals in March? I was just asking because this will determine whether our group sticks with the park hopper pass or just one park (only in Universal for one day). Thanks!

EDIT: For reference, I am referring to the Hogwarts Express ONLY, not the entire expansion (for obvious reasons).

Edited January 26, 2014 by Koasterking48

[SharkTums]

^I cannot imagine it will be open in March for guest soft opening.

[Someotherguyuser]

Hopefully I might be able to make a short trip out here to see this. I'll need three for IoA, USH, and MK for the seven dwarfs coaster.

[HTCO]

I remember someone posting a video on YouTube about a possible theory for the 'Gringotts bank' themed coaster but I can not seem to find it.

 

Anyone have a link / know of its whereabouts?

[Jew]

If it was the Dynamic Structures alleged demo video, that video has been removed from youtube.

[musicmand]

^I cannot imagine it will be open in March for guest soft opening.

Orlando Informer makes an interesting argument that they might soft open the Hogwarts Express. They point out that the IoA and USO hours synchronize for the first time in March and April and also the fact that King's Cross (train station) can be open while still keeping Diagon Alley itself closed. March might be early, but they might be doing technical rehearsals by then with full operations by April or May...

[jedimaster1227]

^While it has been rumored that the attraction can in theory run without physically moving, thus allowing the ride to operate even with one park closed, the experience's capacity would then be cut by half as one train would be forced to remain inactive on the other side of the Wizarding World. If there's one thing I don't expect Universal to do with this, it would be to cut the hourly throughput of an attraction that is expecting to receive lines that rival, if not surpass Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. When you realize just how much queue is being prepared for each of the two stations for the Hogwarts Express, you realize just how badly they need both trains in operation. And soft opening or not, when guests are allowed onto this attraction, Universal will want it operating at full capacity.

 

It should also be noted that history shows that Universal put great care into their soft openings of the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Dragon Challenge soft opened back and forth between operating as Dueling Dragons and as Dragon Challenge, but aside from that, the land soft opened in full, at full capacity. With the world watching this original land with all kinds of microscope, they wanted the debut (even the soft one) to be a successful, smooth one. I'd like to believe that Universal will only continue to build off of that strategy and perfect it in time for the launch of these new attractions, especially knowing how many more technological breakthroughs are employed in this realm that have the chance to break down and mess with the operation.

 

It could also be an indicator that despite this past weekend's hoopla, we still don't have a public official opening date.