Beware The Spell Of Harry Potter Park

[Ride Warrior]

An Owl's Eye View of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Thought that I would start out with an old fact that is not common place knowledge among the general populace. Walt Disney lost the rights to his first popular cartoon character, Oswald the Rabbit, when he demanded more mony from the distributer, Universal Studios. When Universal wouldn't budge, Walt walked away and lost his licensed rights altogether. So in a sense, Disney's competitor spirred Walt to create Mickey. along with a company that would kick Universal's butt.

Well they say turnabout is fair play. Rumor has it that now decades later, the underdog Universal was engaged in a bidding war with Disney to build licensed Harry Potter based theme park attractions. The buzz going is that Universal won - and a lot of it had to do with their ideas being more creatively clever and unusual, and financially sound - a billion dollar unprecidented use of resources.



So today, Harry is preparing to swoop in to Islands of Adventure in 2009. This will mark IOA's 10th aniversary, and the official opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Universal's attendance and fiscal stability has been sliding downhill in recent years (although they are up this year). Potter could very well be what they need to significantly shift more interest away from WDW and to Universal.

Now, some have said that interest in Potter has peaked and that Universal has waited too long to capitalize on the venture. Others say that Universal is smart to take plenty of time to develope their attractions right. Considering what the monolithic giant that the company has been up against, I would say that they are the only entity that has proven itself capable of going toe to toe with Disney.

Since the day's of Eisner, Disney has attempted to copy every technolgical innovation that Universal puts forth - and has requently succeded in doing so. As much as I love Disney, I'm rooting for the Potter theme park within a theme park to be so technologically taylored and creatively immersive that Disney will not be able to come up with anything similar to it for years to come.


Approximate New Area For Harry Potter Theme Park/Island

In addition to being a theme park within a theme park, the Wizarding World of harry Potter will be an Island unto itself, and about the size of the other islands (20 acres or so from what I've heard). It will be located in the North corner of the park and it will occupy part of the land that is currently a part of the Lost Continent. The Flying Unicorn coaster is near it's border. the rest of the new island will rest on undeveloped land that universal had set aside for expansion. See the map above for the approximate location.

Three areas of the future park have been officially announced. First, there is the Village of Hogmeade. Judging by the picture below, I would assume that this section would include merchandise shops, restaurants, and possibly indoor shows and/or rides -



Another area will be the Hogwart's castle itself. Universl creative engineers are likely going wild with freaky/exciting attractions for the castle and it's grounds. There is bound to be an interactive quidditch game/simulator ride on the premises - in the courtyard arena. Here is some concept art of the structure -



The third area is the Hidden Forrest. There will likely be a close encouter with the monster Aragog, an encounter with giant spiders, an oppertunity to become airbourne in Mr. Weasley's enchanted Ford, and a host of other unnerving fun.

At this time, I don't have any illustrations of the Hidden Forrest area. According to what I've read, J.K. Rowling is contributing a heavy amount of her own ideas for the park, and Universal working with her directly in Scotland. It would seem that she has final say on everything.


Rowling's is quoted as saying, " The plans I've seen look incredibly exciting, and I don't think fans of the books or films will be disappointed.

You might find this announcement interesting at the Fox 35 news report. it's old news, but in depth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http:...?v=_TSRhDakIjk

The final book was so popular that people were on waiting lists. Harry Potter is already an imortal classic, and Two movies are yet to hit the theaters. How anyone can say that the story is old news is behond me. Yeah! It's outdated and forgotten like Lord of the Rings, Narnia, the Wizard of Oz, the Golden Compass, StarWars, and Alice In Wonderland.

Like a fine wine, clasic old tales only get better in time. We salute you, J.K. Rowling, and your visionary work of fantasy and imagination.




Rowling At Cenimatic Premier of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.


The toung actors that deserve to be given credit for helping to capture the imagination of the world, and for personifying the key characters in a believable fashion.

Beware the spell of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It just might enchant you for the rest of your life, and make you less of a muggle.


Film Picture


Film Picture

[JtnOrl]

You know this is old news.... right?

A little known fact is that Walt Disney lost the rights to his first popular cartoon character, Oswald the Rabbit, when he demanded more mony from the distributer, Universal Studios. When Universal wouldn't budge, Walt walked away and lost his licensed rights altogether. So in a sense, Disney's competitor spirred Walt to create Mickey. along with a company that would kick Universal's butt.

Apparently someone has forgotten that theme parks are not Universal's core business. Mickey hasn't been kicking anything.

[Ride Warrior]

Originally Posted by JtnOrl

You know this is old news.... right?



Apparently someone has forgotten that theme parks are not Universal's core business. Mickey hasn't been kicking anything.

While of course it is old news, it's not commonly known. The current economy is hard on both the Mouse and Universal. I'm crazy about both companies and there parks. Debates as to the core business of each company has rambled on at length in many forums - with no clear cut conclusions.

Nevertheless, Universal has suffered with declining attendance for a number of years. It's individual theme parks have never out prtformed Disbey. Yet, Disney's Buzz Lightyear interactive rides came on the heals of Universal's Men In Black: Alien Attack. The water squrting effect on the Aladdin spinner came on the heals of One Fish, Two Fish. The list plays on.

[TDR_Fan]

I have every hope that the new Harry Potter land will be a smash hit. Universal has proven they can come up with creative works that sometimes rivals, if not surpasses what Disney has done. The Harry Potter land will be amazing and will most definitely blow anything Walt Disney World has done in the last decade out of the water in terms of scale and thematic detail (with the possible exception of Expedition Everest). Universal is setting out to create a work of quality that will, based on the budget given, be on the scale of some of the best environments ever created in Walt Disney World. I have no doubt that it will be magical and detailed, with fantastical touches everywhere to immerse guests in the wonder of the Harry Potter world.

[briano]

Originally Posted by Ride Warrior

Universal's attendance and fiscal stability has been sliding downhill in recent years.

Both profit and attendance are up this year.

Who wrote this article?

[TDR_Fan]

Originally Posted by briano

Both profit and attendance are up this year.

Who wrote this article?

Not true. According to TEA/ERA, attendance at both parks dropped down to 6 million for Universal Studios Florida and 5.3 million for Islands of Adventure. Compare this to last year, with 6.1 million and 5.76 million respectively.

[Ride Warrior]

Originally Posted by briano

Both profit and attendance are up this year.

Who wrote this article?

Alrighty. Here's the attendance stats according to sources such as TEA/ERA, About.com, Theme Park Insider, and Coaster Grotto.

2006 Universal Studios Orlando - IOA - Both Combined
......................6M................. 5.3 M..... 11.3M

2005
......................6.1M............... 5.76M..... 11.86M

2004
......................6.7M................ 6.3M...... 12.1M

The math speaks for itself. Attendance is clearly on the decline. The stats for 2007 will not be released until this coming Spring, 2008. I hope Universal/IOA attendance stats for 2007 show an improvement. If not, I'm sure that the Harry Potter theme park within a theme park will make a huge difference in attendance and profit in 2009.

[Ride Warrior]

Originally Posted by TDR_Fan

Not true. According to TEA/ERA, attendance at both parks dropped down to 6 million for Universal Studios Florida and 5.3 million for Islands of Adventure. Compare this to last year, with 6.1 million and 5.76 million respectively.

Thanks for backing me up here, TDR_Fan. My avatar train is happily chuga chug chugging along.

[upov]

Profit and attendance are now both ahead of last year for the same time periods, after the 3rd quarter figures were filed last month.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busin...,3757764.story

One thing to remember is that the 3rd quarter ended Sep 30, so it didn't include the huge numbers from Halloween Horror Nights.

Ripsaw Falls should be done with it's rehab now, and Disaster(formerly Earthquake) should be opening soon as well, so both parks will be operating with all of their rides up through the holidays and the crowds they bring. Plus with both Grinchmas, and the Macy's Day Parade starting this Friday, it's doubtful things will slow down until Jan.

Then they could get another shot in the arm depending on what acts they bring in for Mardi Gras and how it goes when it starts sometime in Feb and goes til April (if it has a sim schedule to last year,) even though it starts techincally after the 4th quarter, if it goes well, it could be a good start for the first quarter of 2008

Simpsons will open Spring/ or Summer of 2008, it should help them increase their numbers during that time period as well.

[briano]

Originally Posted by briano

Both profit and attendance are up this year.

Originally Posted by TDR_Fan

Not true.

Originally Posted by Baghira

Profit and attendance are now both ahead of last year for the same time periods, after the 3rd quarter figures were filed last month.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busin...,3757764.story

[TDR_Fan]

Originally Posted by briano

Sorry, I was basing my response on last year's results and not this year's. After last year's dramatic decline, I guess an increase could be possible this year.

[k_peek_2000]

Originally Posted by Ride Warrior

Nevertheless, Universal has suffered with declining attendance for a number of years. It's individual theme parks have never out prtformed Disbey. Yet, Disney's Buzz Lightyear interactive rides came on the heals of Universal's Men In Black: Alien Attack. Dinosaur came on the heals of Spiderman. The water squrting effect on the Aladdin spinner came on the heals of One Fish, Two Fish. The list plays on.

Actually. Spider-Man which opened in 1999 came out of the heals of Disney's Indiana Jones Adventure, which opened in 1995 at Disneyland. Dinosaur was pretty much a clone of Indiana Jones Adventure, just with different scenery. Also Dinosaur opened in 1998. Spider-Man opened in 1999. Please get your fact's straight. Both Dinosaur and Indy opened before Spider-man.

[Ride Warrior]

Originally Posted by briano

Both profit and attendance are up this year.

Who wrote this article?

Originally Posted by briano

Thanks for your posts briano, as they definitly contribute to this thread in terms of making it more interesting.

My statement was that Universal's profit and attendance have been declining in recent years, and the stats that I showed prove this to be true - where the years 2004 thru 2006 are concerned. I said that I wan't certain about 2007, but hope that the company is doing better this year.

Universal is doing much better thiis year, and this is a good thing. There are many factors which are going to positively affect Universal's popularity and profitability - the Simpsons simulator ride will be a big one.

Nevertheless, the main point of this thread is that the Harry Potter franchise is far from dead. The Wizarding Wrld of Harry Potter is destined to be a winner all the ay around, and my prediction is that the new island will significantly bolster park interest, attendance and profits.

[Ride Warrior]

Originally Posted by Baghira

Profit and attendance are now both ahead of last year for the same time periods, after the 3rd quarter figures were filed last month.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busin...,3757764.story

One thing to remember is that the 3rd quarter ended Sep 30, so it didn't include the huge numbers from Halloween Horror Nights.

Ripsaw Falls should be done with it's rehab now, and Disaster(formerly Earthquake) should be opening soon as well, so both parks will be operating with all of their rides up through the holidays and the crowds they bring. Plus with both Grinchmas, and the Macy's Day Parade starting this Friday, it's doubtful things will slow down until Jan.

Then they could get another shot in the arm depending on what acts they bring in for Mardi Gras and how it goes when it starts sometime in Feb and goes til April (if it has a sim schedule to last year,) even though it starts techincally after the 4th quarter, if it goes well, it could be a good start for the first quarter of 2008

Simpsons will open Spring/ or Summer of 2008, it should help them increase their numbers during that time period as well.

Thanks for the stats for this year. It's good to know that Universal is starting to come out of their financial downturn this year. Hope the trend continues in 2008. I'm sur that 2009 will be a big and explosive year for the company.

[Ride Warrior]

Originally Posted by k_peek_2000

Actually. Spider-Man which opened in 1999 came out of the heals of Disney's Indiana Jones Adventure, which opened in 1995 at Disneyland. Dinosaur was pretty much a clone of Indiana Jones Adventure, just with different scenery. Also Dinosaur opened in 1998. Spider-Man opened in 1999. Please get your fact's straight. Both Dinosaur and Indy opened before Spider-man.

Whoops.. I was wrong about that one. My point still stands, however, about Disney copying Men In Black: Alien Attack and Red Fish Blue Fish. It would imitate the technology of Spiderman if it could - but cannot as of yet.