With WWoHP rumored for USH in 2015, How will this effect DL's 60th Anniversary?

[k_peek_2000]

So the LA Times and Wall Street Journal are reporting that a variation of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is just days from being green-lit for Universal Studios Hollywood and will open no later than 2015. The same year that Disneyland will hold it's grand 60th Anniversary Celebration.

My question is, will WWoHP finally be the spark Disney needs to green light a Fronteirland Expansion/Tomorrowland Expansion or will another successful Harry Potter themed land not affect Disneyland.

...and to think that 2012 is an amazing time to be a theme park fan in SoCal. 2015 is going to be insane.

[edge4004]

Disneyland would have to do something to match up the WWOHP. That's why competition is a good thing. It forces companies to stay on their feet.

[PoisonAppleDear]

It wont affect us WERE DISNEY. Personally as a CM I am excited that it is finally coming to Hollywood, I just hope Disney and Universal work out a discount for us. We get discount tickets now to Universal which is a great deal but I hope it will incorporate Harry into the Discounted Ticket.

[disneyland55]

Didn't WwoHP effect Disneyworld? If so, then I'm sure it will effect Disneyland. People talk about Harry Potter World all the time, but out here in the west very few people can afford the trip. If or when it opens in Cali, I'm sure it will effect Disneyland to some degree, nothing drastic though.

[toonaspie]

I kinda hope this doesn't happen. To me WWoHP is something you shouldn't replicate once you build it. It's a place that true Potter fans worldwide would make a pilgrimage to (which makes me think that maybe they should've built it in the UK). Now if they were to just replicate the Forbidden Journey ride itself...

Now keep in mind that WDW responded with NOTHING when WWoHP took affect, so who knows if Disney would even feel threatened by a WWoHP on the West Coast enough to do anything with DLR.

[calsig31]

So the LA Times and Wall Street Journal are reporting that a variation of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is just days from being green-lit for Universal Studios Hollywood and will open no later than 2015. The same year that Disneyland will hold it's grand 60th Anniversary Celebration.

My question is, will WWoHP finally be the spark Disney needs to green light a Fronteirland Expansion/Tomorrowland Expansion or will another successful Harry Potter themed land not affect Disneyland.

...and to think that 2012 is an amazing time to be a theme park fan in SoCal. 2015 is going to be insane.

I don’t know if it will affect the 60th that much. The Times article said that at the earliest the new area would open in 2015. That is not a guarantee that it will. Here is the link:

Harry Potter attraction coming to Universal Studios Hollywood - latimes.com

Universal would first need to clear existing land to build it or acquire new land. Secondly, due to the land problem, this probably won’t be on the grand scale that Potter is in FL.

Regardless, this will be a big draw that will give Disney a run for its money. This is a perfect time for them to announce plans for complete Tomorrowland makeover. A new highly immersive land attached to one of the parks based on Marvel may also be a good counter.

[choco choco]

I am just gonna put this quote here.

Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks (Part II) November 21, 2011:

"When I was there a decade ago, there was talk about what the other guys were doing. We actually rooted for them to outdo us so we'd get funded to so something better. WDI loves theme park wars. Big Thunder Mountain was actually a reaction to the Iron Ride wars of the 70's. Magic Mountain and Knott's were thriving with thrill rides and so DL had to come back with their own."

[Wren]

I kinda hope this doesn't happen. To me WWoHP is something you shouldn't replicate once you build it. It's a place that true Potter fans worldwide would make a pilgrimage to (which makes me think that maybe they should've built it in the UK). Now if they were to just replicate the Forbidden Journey ride itself...

Now keep in mind that WDW responded with NOTHING when WWoHP took affect, so who knows if Disney would even feel threatened by a WWoHP on the West Coast enough to do anything with DLR.

Why is it not ok to replicate WWOHP but its ok to replicate Disneyland the world over?

Just curious.

[kburford]

Why is it not ok to replicate WWOHP but its ok to replicate Disneyland the world over?

Just curious.

Personally, I think this is purely a harry potter fan's view. Casual fans probably don't care as much about having one place where you can visit Hogwarts. As a pretty hardcore fan myself, I agree that there should only be ONE Hogsmeade, etc. It loses it's immersion once there's a duplicate. I also love how involved Stuart Craig, Jo Rowling, & others were with WWoHP in USO; so I'm afraid as more lands are added in different areas of the world, the richness of harry's world and the great details will begin to lose out. The budget being rumored for construction in USH is already less than USO's, and obviously space is an issue...so I'm nervous. But I'm not 100% against it since I do live in LA and selfishly want to visit WWoHP a lot.

Disneyland is completely different from WWoHP in terms of re-creation for me. I didn't read about Disneyland in books as a real place like you would with Harry Potter. Disney is a theme park, and many theme parks are replicated; and I think that for Harry Potter fans, WWoHP is our glimpse into the 'real' world of Harry so we don't really visualize it as a theme park but as THE Wizarding World.

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As for Disneyland being affected, I don't think it will take as much a hit as Disney World. Locals aren't going to throw in their pass for Universal ones. If anything I might get a pass to Universal in addition to Disneyland. But I don't think I'd give up a park I love (Disneyland) for one land at Universal. And with the closer proximity, I think tourists will go to both Disneyland and Universal. I don't see USH standing on its own as a vacation destination.

[swampymarsh]

Universal would first need to clear existing land to build it or acquire new land. Secondly, due to the land problem, this probably won’t be on the grand scale that Potter is in FL.

Now if they were to just replicate the Forbidden Journey ride itself...

Room will be a big problem. I certainly don't think they would lnclude the 3 rollercoasters that WWoHP has. Each was rethemed but to put in ride like them would take a lot of space. Just building the Forbidden Journey seems much more likely.

Didn't WwoHP effect Disneyworld? If so, then I'm sure it will effect Disneyland.

No, WDW stayed pretty steady. USO had a big jump in attendance. Of course USO had a terrible drop previously. Some people think WWoHP brought people to WDW that would not have gone, and they also went to IOA for a day.


I could see Harry Potter having a bigger effect on DLR. With locals who are not APs, they may sub one park for the other. For APs they may skip a DLR year to see the exciting new HP attraction.

Hopefully DLR does something big to counter it.

[DisneyPro]

New Tomorrowland?

[disneylandfan95]

WDI has many a project slated for Disneyland between now and 2015 with many more on the table for after that period, some which would easily give Harry Potter a run for his money. Harry Potter would definitely give USH that extra boost, but don't think for a minute that Disney doesn't have projects to compete with it.

[avw94]

I think Disneyland will feel more threatened that Disney World did. DL is much smaller resort than WDW, and is also a much more regional park. So, many potential day customers may choose to spend their money at Universal that DL. WDW, by comparison, is much more of a resort destination, where people travel to for a week or so, and only travel there for WDW. Universal Florida is much more of a regional theme park the WDW. So, WDW didn't feel threatened to immediately respond to the WWoHP. But, if this rumor is true, then is DL wants to keep customers on their property than they will need to answer with something. A Tomorrowland renovation is what i personally would want to see happen.

[toonaspie]

Personally, I think this is purely a harry potter fan's view. Casual fans probably don't care as much about having one place where you can visit Hogwarts. As a pretty hardcore fan myself, I agree that there should only be ONE Hogsmeade, etc. It loses it's immersion once there's a duplicate. I also love how involved Stuart Craig, Jo Rowling, & others were with WWoHP in USO; so I'm afraid as more lands are added in different areas of the world, the richness of harry's world and the great details will begin to lose out. The budget being rumored for construction in USH is already less than USO's, and obviously space is an issue...so I'm nervous. But I'm not 100% against it since I do live in LA and selfishly want to visit WWoHP a lot.

Disneyland is completely different from WWoHP in terms of re-creation for me. I didn't read about Disneyland in books as a real place like you would with Harry Potter. Disney is a theme park, and many theme parks are replicated; and I think that for Harry Potter fans, WWoHP is our glimpse into the 'real' world of Harry so we don't really visualize it as a theme park but as THE Wizarding World.

---

As for Disneyland being affected, I don't think it will take as much a hit as Disney World. Locals aren't going to throw in their pass for Universal ones. If anything I might get a pass to Universal in addition to Disneyland. But I don't think I'd give up a park I love (Disneyland) for one land at Universal. And with the closer proximity, I think tourists will go to both Disneyland and Universal. I don't see USH standing on its own as a vacation destination.

Yeah pretty much. LOL. Thanks for explaining what I've been trying to.

[Brisal73]

Walt Disney World did take the wait and see approach and now they are countering with the New Fantasyland and the World of Avatar

I wouldn't think Disney would wait again in Southern California. Especially since California is fierce when it comes to Theme Park Entertainment.

Case in point Transformers the Ride was supposed to open this winter, but they decided to hold it back and compete with Cars Land.

This time Universal will make the announcement first and you can expect something from Disney announced soon after.