Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

[Visioneer]

^ @Jew Agreed.

 

Waiting in line is part of the strategy. Typically, that’s why you see “long” waits with one train ops. Parks are designed with targets for # of attractions per hour. They need the majority of guest in their park for a specific period of time to make money.

 

Attractions / target guest time in park = capacity … this is the rough equation. There’s more to it. You increase or decrease various factors based on this.

 

USO w/ HP isn’t meant to be a one day trip.

 

Parks wouldn’t make money if every attraction was built with huge capacity and little waiting. They will stretch the HP experience, because it’s smart business. The area is meant to be explored. It’s not just about the rides.

 

We’ve become too “ride” centric. It will be a challenge for parks to help guest understand that. You’ll see more overall experiences, non-ride centric, as theme parks evolve.

[knottslover77]

^Trust me, those listed capacities are not accurate. Theoretically, Space can probably do that many...but the reality is 1800 is around the best they do. Splash Mountains capacity was greatly reduced when they put in individual seat dividers. The 1656 number is based on the old configuration of 7 people max per log.

 

But anyways...the point of all this is simple: the area shouldn't be an "operational nightmare." Two major attractions with decent capacity and a ton of queue, a 2-train roller skater, plus all the other stuff in the area and park....will be more than enough for the park to handle.

 

I Believe you haha, you know alot more then me. And yes it should be enough. The parks capacity is 35,000, and theres gonna be 2 major attractions which combined will get about 4300 people in per hour, plus you have the roller skater and shops.

 

--Jay

[Wes]

^ There's going to be very few days where they actually hit that 35k number.

[SharkTums]

The money and time they're spending on advertising this thing is insane.

 

I'm pretty sure that in the last month, I have seen more commercials for the Harry Potter area, than I've seen for the whole resort since it was created. Reminds me of the time they were struggling since no one knew there was even a second gate at the park cause they were calling it Universal Orlando Resort or something that people didn't understand.

 

I really wonder if they had put this much effort into advertising IOA and Lost Continent when it opened if they would have even been interested in a big redo!

[PriestofSyrinx]

At least it isnt marketing overkill like what Merlin does.

 

Im also in that boat that hates Harry Potter, yet welcomes this new area. And I think alot of people are gonna react that way too.

[jray21]

I know that costs were huge for this project, but could you imagine if they had just created a whole new land, instead of re-theming one. That would have been incredible, but, of course, there was no way that would have been feasible.

[knottslover77]

^ There's going to be very few days where they actually hit that 35k number.

 

I dont know, This summer should be packed! I mean I know 3 kids from my school who are going to Florida just for Harry Potter this summer! I see a HUGE increase in attendance. I can see IOA getting close to 7 million people this year.

 

--Jay

[testtrack321]

^ There's going to be very few days where they actually hit that 35k number.

 

I dont know, This summer should be packed! I mean I know 3 kids from my school who are going to Florida just for Harry Potter this summer! I see a HUGE increase in attendance. I can see IOA getting close to 7 million people this year.

 

--Jay

 

Disney gets huge numbers due to repeat visits in the same trip. I can't see the same for IoA and the HP "park-within-a-park-see-what-we-did-there-with-the-wording-it's-just-a-land!" due to it's size. I think IoA will see a spike and so will other Orlando attractions after people realize it's not what they were hoping for.

[WFChris]

I like how the commercials I have seen do not even mention that it's at a park called 'Islands of Adventure.' It only mentions the Universal Resort in Orlando. It's totally so people buy tix to the park, then get out there and realize they need to purchase a second gate ticket to see HP.

[knottslover77]

I like how the commercials I have seen do not even mention that it's at a park called 'Islands of Adventure.' It only mentions the Universal Resort in Orlando. It's totally so people buy tix to the park, then get out there and realize they need to purchase a second gate ticket to see HP.

 

Yeah but everyone does that. WOC will say at Disneyland Resort NOT DCA. And every new ride at Disney World, the preview says AT Disney World not the park itself.

 

--Jay

Edited April 14, 2010 by knottslover77

[Lenaapple1974]

When I went to IOA last year, the one thing I made sure of was to take my time walking through the queue - as much as I could anyhow. I took some pics, some with, some without, and some with and without flash. I was not sure what would change and I do wish I took more. There was so much detail with all the bones and everything. I wish I was able to walk through again, to take more. The second time they did not want us bringing bags, regardless if we were child swapping. I never got to finish my PTR... maybe one day. I apologize in advance, as I had the wrong lens for the cobra flash, and you can sometimes see the shadow depending on how extended it was.

Castle...

[monsterfan99]

The money and time they're spending on advertising this thing is insane.

 

I'm pretty sure that in the last month, I have seen more commercials for the Harry Potter area, than I've seen for the whole resort since it was created. Reminds me of the time they were struggling since no one knew there was even a second gate at the park cause they were calling it Universal Orlando Resort or something that people didn't understand.

 

I really wonder if they had put this much effort into advertising IOA and Lost Continent when it opened if they would have even been interested in a big redo!

Dead on. Tonight alone I saw 3 TV spots on Fox out of Chicago from 5-10:30 PM. I'm not even sure I've seen that many Disney ads in that same time period in years.

[triggernel]

Here in MN, the only time I have ever really seen theme park advertising as frequently as the WWoHP, was when they were constantly playing the Disney "Give a day, Get a day" promotional ads with the Muppets.

[alpengeist04]

Between all these Harry Potter commercials down here in central Florida, I did actually see one for King Kong at USH the other day.

[nursemelis374]

The other night I was watching the hit movie, "Bring It On 4: In It to Win It" on ABC Family which not only features a ton of footage from the Universal Orlando resort but even a never-before-seen awesome cheer stunt based on the head cheerleader's experience on Dueling Dragons. I was barraged with Harry Potter commercials that totally worked because I actually went online and begin pricing trips there.

 

Melissa "Just because you skanks go all the way, doesn't mean your team will." Howard

[Guest]

Hello all! Sorry if I'm late in the discussion but has anyone figured out the "soft" opening date of HP?

[kidcoaster 2]

^ Nope Universal hasn't released anything about that yet. But we figure it will be soon.

[Mr. Starr]

The other night I was watching the hit movie, "Bring It On 4: In It to Win It" on ABC Family which not only features a ton of footage from the Universal Orlando resort but even a never-before-seen awesome cheer stunt based on the head cheerleader's experience on Dueling Dragons. I was barraged with Harry Potter commercials that totally worked because I actually went online and begin pricing trips there.

 

Melissa "Just because you skanks go all the way, doesn't mean your team will." Howard

 

"Bring it"

 

"Oh, it's already been baroughten!"

 

[Jew]

^ There's going to be very few days where they actually hit that 35k number.

 

I dont know, This summer should be packed! I mean I know 3 kids from my school who are going to Florida just for Harry Potter this summer! I see a HUGE increase in attendance. I can see IOA getting close to 7 million people this year.

 

--Jay

 

Will attendance increase? Absolutely. By nearly 25% from 2008's number? No way.

[rosscoe]

There has been print media ads in Australia for the opening of this park within a park. Disney I think have been the only other company to place ads in Australian print, that I can think of, and the last time would have been for the opening of DCA.

 

Universal is selling this far and wide, and with the US dollar not being what it used to be, I have a feeling this will lift numbers above anything USF have seen in a long time.

 

Compaired to Disney, Universal is a way cheaper.

[disneyfan1313]

^ Huh? Gotta disagree with you there. Admission prices are almost identical. Parking is the same. Food costs are quite a bit higher - burgers were a buck more than WDW the last time I was there and a slice of pizza was the same price as an entire personal pizza at pizza planet. Bottled Water and Soda is either .50 or .75 more depending on where it is purchased. Resort Hotels at WDW without any discounts start at just over $100 a night (but lots of discounts available) - Cheapest Uni hotel is generally in the $200 range. Even comparing a moderate WDW hotel which is more comparable to Royal Pacific the prices are almost identical. And don't forget Fastpass is free at WDW vs. having to pay at Uni.

[knottslover77]

^ There's going to be very few days where they actually hit that 35k number.

 

I dont know, This summer should be packed! I mean I know 3 kids from my school who are going to Florida just for Harry Potter this summer! I see a HUGE increase in attendance. I can see IOA getting close to 7 million people this year.

 

--Jay

 

Will attendance increase? Absolutely. By nearly 25% from 2008's number? No way.

 

Your right, when you put it as a percentage it sounds way to big! I think 15% could happen though.

 

--Jay

[Guest]

^ And don't forget Fastpass is free at WDW vs. having to pay at Uni.

 

I disagree. If you stay at a Universal resort your key is your fastpass. You only pay extra if you're not staying at one of their hotels.

 

Disney's hotel key is not a fastpass. Rather you have to rush to those little booths to get your fast pass ticket, which is usually sold out anyway ;(

[Swimace]

^ And don't forget Fastpass is free at WDW vs. having to pay at Uni.

 

I disagree. If you stay at a Universal resort your key is your fastpass. You only pay extra if you're not staying at one of their hotels.

 

Disney's hotel key is not a fastpass. Rather you have to rush to those little booths to get your fast pass ticket, which is usually sold out anyway ;(

 

 

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at here... It's not like he's stating an opinion. Fastpass is free, Express is not.

 

"You only have to pay extra if you're not already paying hundreds of dollars to stay in one of their hotels?..."

[Guest]

We're all just opinionated people living in a opinionated world. That's all.

 

I rather have it included in my "overpriced" room rate than run around a park and try to figure out which ride I will get a fast pass for because I can only get them in 30 minute intervals.

 

Back to the regularly scheduled harry potter discussion.