Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

[TPDave]

My inner tech theatre geek wants to know how they're doing the "run through a wall" bit within the confines of a system that has to have a large capacity etc.

 

I assume they're going to have to use 4k screens or similar for the train windows to maintain the realism? I would have thought they're going for the same effect as the artwork on the new Disney ship (can't remember which is which, dream? Magic? Wonder? Fantasy??)

[SharkTums]

The entry to Platform 9-3/4, I'm guessing, is going to be some sort of fog curtain. We've all seen them at work in other places, we all know how they work, but they'll probably come up with some way to make it look perfect. Of course I could be completely wrong.

 

I could also see them using something similar to the Magic Mirror in Enchanted Tales with Belle.

 

Skip to 0:18 in this video to see it in action:

[ernierocker]

I'm thinking they will use some sort of projection technology (for the brick wall) similar to the Christopher Walken projection in the Disaster pre-show.

[cfc]

Whether you're a Potter fan or not, it all sounds pretty cool.

[coasterbill]

I can't wait to see this. It sounds amazing.

[robbalvey]

The official press release just came out:

 

 

ALL ABOARD!

 

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT REVEALS NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED DETAILS ABOUT THE MAGICAL JOURNEY GUESTS WILL EXPERIENCE ABOARD THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS

 

Universal Creating First-Ever Experience that Will Allow Guests to Actually Ride the Iconic Train Between London and Hogsmeade – Just Like in the Books and Films

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 14, 2014) – One of the most memorable and exciting experiences from the Harry Potter series will come to life at Universal Orlando Resort this summer. Imagine:

 

· Being transported from the Muggle world to the wizarding world as you pass through the brick wall at King’s Cross Station to arrive at Platform 9 ¾

 

· Watching in amazement as the Hogwarts Express pulls into the station – its billowing steam and authentic whistle beckoning you to hop aboard

 

· Sitting in one of the train’s cabins with your family and friends and actually riding the Hogwarts Express – just as your favorite characters did in the Harry Potter films

 

· Looking outside your cabin window and enjoying a scenic, breathtaking journey through the British countryside as you encounter magical creatures, some of your favorite Harry Potter characters…and even Dementors…

 

Since the very first Harry Potter film, every fan has dreamed of taking the same classic journey Harry Potter did aboard the Hogwarts Express. And this summer – they will get to live it.

 

Today, Universal Orlando revealed never-before-released details about the Hogwarts Express experience that will debut as part of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley – the all-new, magnificently themed land opening this summer. The train will connect the new land in Universal Studios Florida with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure – allowing guests with park-to-park admission to enjoy a real journey aboard the iconic locomotive.

 

Never before has this been done – creating an actual train ride experience to connect two spectacularly themed environments. The Hogwarts Express experience combines powerful storytelling, live special effects, lifelike animation and state-of-the-art technology to take riders on the journey of a lifetime. Guests will enjoy two completely different experiences depending on whether they’re traveling to Hogsmeade or London.

 

Once seated in the cabin, guests will be able to look out their windows as an incredibly authentic and magical adventure unfolds before them. They’ll see Hagrid come alongside the train on his flying motorbike, Buckbeak the Hippogriff swoop gracefully over the black lake, the Weasley twins on brooms and up to their usual antics, the Knight Bus swerving through London traffic – and other special moments and surprises.

 

Universal’s Creative team has been working closely with Warner Bros., Stuart Craig and the production team from the Harry Potter films to create a sensational Hogwarts Express experience that the entire family can enjoy. The Creative team has gone to great lengths to ensure the experience is true to the books and films. Everything about the train is authentic – from the paint and the materials used to build it….all the way down to the whistle.

 

Park-to-park admission is required to experience the Hogwarts Express journey from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley (located in Universal Studios Florida) to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade (located in Universal’s Islands of Adventure). For more information about the Hogwarts Express – including a new video that features a first-look at the ride experience – and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, visit http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter.

 

About the Harry Potter Series

Harry Potter continues to be a global phenomenon. Each of the seven books by author J.K. Rowling has broken sales records, with the series to date having sold over 450 million copies worldwide and translated into 77 languages. The Harry Potter films, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, have grossed more than $7.7 billion to date worldwide at the box office, making Harry Potter the largest-grossing film franchise in history.

 

About Universal Orlando Resort

Vacation like you mean it at Universal Orlando Resort – where every heart pounding, jaw-dropping, goose-bumping second counts. It is the only place where you can turn spending time with your family into spending time as a family. Together, you can soar above Hogwarts with Harry Potter, swing above the streets with Spider-Man, become a Minion in the hilarious and heartwarming Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride, and join Optimus Prime in the fight to save mankind on the new mega-attraction, TRANSFORMERS: The Ride – 3D. And, coming this summer, you can step into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley.

 

Edited March 14, 2014 by robbalvey

[KingRCT3]

My bet on the plateform 9 ¾ wall would be a curved-mirror trick, or something similar to the exit of The Smiler (anamorphosis painting). Can't wait to see more!

[Tanks4me05]

^I was thinking something more along the lines of either a large hologram or projecting an image of the wall on a screen of extremely fine water droplets which would be too small to feel.

[ahecht]

^I was thinking something more along the lines of either a large hologram or projecting an image of the wall on a screen of extremely fine water droplets which would be too small to feel.

Mist screen have trouble if they don't have time to rebuild in between people passing through. The one on Pirates of the Caribbean works pretty well, but the one on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland almost never gets back to the ground before the next car passes through. I can't imagine it working well with a stream of people walking through (and I don't think they could get 200 people to walk through simultaneously).

[Tanks4me05]

^I was suspecting that there would be problems with the mist screen, as well as a likely lower image quality. Nevertheless, I suspect it was most likely pursued during development as an alternate version in case the higher quality but more expensive/risky option didn't work out.

[Woodie Warrior]

Sorry if this has been answered already, but how will they make it appear that the train is departing from the station without it appearing to move backwards? Won't riders be able to feel they are going the wrong way?

[Garet]

Sorry if this has been answered already, but how will they make it appear that the train is departing from the station without it appearing to move backwards? Won't riders be able to feel they are going the wrong way?

 

Since it's based on the movie carriages, i'm pretty sure both ways half the people seating will be going backwards since in the movie they have the seats facing each other.

[WFChris]

If the train holds 200 people, I wonder how many hourly circuits it will make. It makes me think they might have more than one train?

[goatdan]

No Opening Date Yet

Other important details: no, there's no official opening date though execs did repeat that it should be open in "Summer." And though previously reported, it's probably important to emphasize that in order to ride the Hogwarts Express, you will need to have a park-to-park ticket for both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

 

This is the part that is totally mindblowing to me. This is essentially going to be an expensive up charge attraction for the parks, and I'm guessing one of the most successful ones ever. It is mind blowing to me the ways that USF is figuring out how to print massive amounts of money, and this seems like another great step forward for them. With the innovation that they are doing, I would not be surprised to see them as the main destination in Florida. That's crazy.

 

I can't wait to hear details!

[COASTER FREAK 11]

If the train holds 200 people, I wonder how many hourly circuits it will make. It makes me think they might have more than one train?

 

It's a cable car system. There are two trains and a bypass/track split half way. I don't know if a single train holds 200, or if it's the whole system holds 200 at a time.

[TPDave]

No Opening Date Yet

Other important details: no, there's no official opening date though execs did repeat that it should be open in "Summer." And though previously reported, it's probably important to emphasize that in order to ride the Hogwarts Express, you will need to have a park-to-park ticket for both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

 

This is the part that is totally mindblowing to me. This is essentially going to be an expensive up charge attraction for the parks, and I'm guessing one of the most successful ones ever. It is mind blowing to me the ways that USF is figuring out how to print massive amounts of money, and this seems like another great step forward for them. With the innovation that they are doing, I would not be surprised to see them as the main destination in Florida. That's crazy.

 

I can't wait to hear details!

 

I wouldn't say it's an up charge. I would say that the execs certainly knew what they were doing when they put potter property in both parks though

 

If you want to experience all of the resort (as most guests do currently) you go to both parks, all they're doing is spreading a very popular property over both parks, they're not charging any "more" for it since park hopping tickets have been sold for years and many people buy them (myself included last October) because they want to get to both parks.

[Jew]

The theme park/technology nerd in me is actually excited to see all the stuff they plan to do despite the fact I will have no idea what is going on!

[sackninja]

They've said the ride will be seven minutes long. So if that means 200 people every seven minutes that some where around 1700 people per hour. If they run two trains that will go up and they haven't said if they counted loading and unloading in the at time. If they did and they run two trains capacity could be in excess of 3000 people per hour.

[cfc]

The theme park/technology nerd in me is actually excited to see all the stuff they plan to do despite the fact I will have no idea what is going on!

 

Same here. Ocean Park's funicular, which also runs two different "shows," was a lot of fun.

[Meteornotes]

The theme park/technology nerd in me is actually excited to see all the stuff they plan to do despite the fact I will have no idea what is going on!

 

Exactly. This sounds like interesting technology that I want to see, but I'm not reading a bunch of books or watching a bunch of movies that I have no interest in so I can understand the story.

 

dt

[ernierocker]

They've said the ride will be seven minutes long. So if that means 200 people every seven minutes that some where around 1700 people per hour. If they run two trains that will go up and they haven't said if they counted loading and unloading in the at time. If they did and they run two trains capacity could be in excess of 3000 people per hour.

 

I'm sure that is ride time that will be 7 minutes. That's a pretty good distance between both stations.

[larrygator]

They've said the ride will be seven minutes long. So if that means 200 people every seven minutes that some where around 1700 people per hour. If they run two trains that will go up and they haven't said if they counted loading and unloading in the at time. If they did and they run two trains capacity could be in excess of 3000 people per hour.

 

I'm sure that is ride time that will be 7 minutes. That's a pretty good distance between both stations.

 

Is that the exactly time of the train ride in the books? Shhhh! Don't tell JK.

[robbalvey]

They've said the ride will be seven minutes long. So if that means 200 people every seven minutes that some where around 1700 people per hour. If they run two trains that will go up and they haven't said if they counted loading and unloading in the at time. If they did and they run two trains capacity could be in excess of 3000 people per hour.

 

I'm sure that is ride time that will be 7 minutes. That's a pretty good distance between both stations.

The thing is, though - it's really not. Especially if you consider the route backstage:I have probably WALKED that exact same route in under ten minutes.

[ernierocker]

^Well, it would certainly help capacity if that is the case.

[robbalvey]

^ Totally. When I read the 7 minute ride time I was thinking to myself "that's either got to be one REALLY SLOW train, or that includes everything, boarding, pre-show, etc..."

 

To put things into perspective, I just looked at the video I shot of the Ocean Park train ride, and that one is just shy of 4 minutes. And that thing goes through an entire mountain from one side of the island to the other! The images below show the distance the Ocean Park train goes and if the Universal train went that same distance, you'd be well outside the park across Vineland Ave! lol

 

So I would have to assume the 7 minutes is a slower train ride taking the "show" into consideration (and you'll never see the real outside, so you'll never know how fast or slow it's going), or that includes all the loading (boarding), and unload, etc...

Ocean Park

Universal

And to help even more, I drew a line on the Universal image about where the train station is:

Edited March 15, 2014 by robbalvey