Orlando Attraction Tickets blog
Orlando attraction tickets news and information
Evening Thrill Seekers,
Check out this brand new video from Universal detailing aspects of the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley!
Some key points I took from the video were;
Smiles included…
Jamie
Evening Thrill Seekers,
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley is easily the most anticipated attraction of 2014. We know the main ride is going to be based in Gringott’s but thats pretty much all we know…. possibly until now…
Check out this video, which we believe could be a little glimpse into the ride.
Before we start screaming with excitement there are a few things we need to ask ourselves. Who are Dynamic Attractions? Well they are a proper company, actually they are quite well known, they’ve worked with both Disney and Universal in the past including work on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
So they are no strangers to the young Wizard and the hype that follows him, so Would they really allow a video to leak? Universal would not be happy to have details of their big project out there before they could announce it.
The details in the video do seem to be pretty spot on to what we’ve heard in the past and do include the 3D style projection parts I’ve been hearing about.
What do you think, real or fake?
Smiles included…
Jamie
Afternoon Thrill Seekers,
With 2013 in its penultimate month most people are turning their 
attention to 2014 and when we think about 2014 in regards to Orlando Theme Parks our first thought is the opening of the expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley.
The expectation and excitement around its opening is set to even dwarf the original frantic scene’s and we for one cannot wait! However there are a few things that even though we’re sure the guys at Universal have thought of if giving us pause to think.
Today’s post we’re going to take a quick look at some of the dilemmas Universal must struggle with when considering phase 2 of Potter Land.
Hogwarts Express
The announcement of the Hogwarts Express and the first photo’s of it being lowered on to the track got the internet talking. The idea of connecting both parks by train is genius and I for one can’t wait to ride it…. but here lies the problem.
Everyone is going to want to ride the Hogwarts Express, so this leads me to my first concern.
How will Universal deal with the queue’s? Islands of Adventure to Universal Studios is at most a 2 minute walk, so they can’t really have too many carriages attached to the main train, granted you can stretch the track further but this leads to a longer wait time between stations. We know there will only ever be 2 trains running at any time (Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley and vice versa) how many people will the train carry? Based on perhaps 2 carriages, each carriage holding 32 people, I estimate they would be able to shift 1920 people per hour one way basing the ride time on 2 minutes. Islands of Adventure at full capacity can take 40k people!!!
Universal are not stupid they’ve encountered queues before but how do you keep everyone happy while queuing?
Multi day tickets
Not really an issue for our customers as our standard Universal 2 Park Bonus Ticket includes 14 days unlimited access to both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios but if you’re looking to purchase tickets on the gate your going to have buy a ticket for both parks costing approx. $200.00 per person.
Living up to expectations
How much are you looking forward to the official opening? Yeah me too… and so is everyone! Are Universal on a hiding to nothing?
How do you keep everyone happy, when the original Wizarding World was opened no one knew what to expect. With this new expansion there is a level of expectation when it comes to the look and feel of the park.
Hogsmeade’s flagship ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey has been met with both critical (continues to win industry awards) and public praise. The ride introduced new technology to theme parks and I would expect the same level of detail at Gringotts Bank. A template for this ride has already been put down both in the Potter books and most recently on screen. Can they produce what we expect?
The rest of the park
A major puzzle for Universal, how do you make sure that the rest of both parks still get some visitor love?
Transformers the Ride has proven to be a very popular draw at Universal Studios this year but in reality 2014 will be ruled by Potter and only after the euphoria has died down can Universal realistically expect to see the parks return to normal patterns…
How Universal deal with these factors will be key to if the new expansion is a long term success… we know in the short term its going to be HUGE!!!
On a massive plus side, if you’re not a fan of Potter the queue times on the other rides will be minimal 🙂
Smiles included…
Jamie
Afternoon Thrill Seekers,
I’m just back from a morning at World Travel Market attending the Universal Orlando Resort press conference I lived blogged about the event on our facebook page here’s a summary.
Hey Thrill Seekers,
Looks like the guys at Universal Orlando may well read our little blog as today I’ve been invited to represent Orlando Attraction Tickets at a press Conference being held at the World Travel Market on Monday.
Here’s the invite;
I will be live blogging from the event via our facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/orlandoattractiontickets
Surely it must be Diagon Alley information!?
Smiles Included…
Jamie,
Afternoon Thrill Seekers,
2014 looks like its set to be dominated by Universal Studio’s and their brand new expansion to the extremely popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The new expansion named The Wizarding World of Harry Potter– Diagon Alley is based around the famous Wizarding marketplace set on the backdrop of London. Exact attractions have yet to be confirmed but strong rumours point towards a Hogwarts Express linking the two lands (Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios) and some kind of indoor rollercoaster matching the one depicted at Gringotts Bank.
There have been many assumptions made about when the expansion will be completed and we believe a good rough guide would be June 2014. Although perhaps is could come quicker than that….
Today we received a copy of Universal’s internal newsletter which has already began advertising posts available at the new land and encouraging staff to apply…
In case you’re having difficulty reading the above image here’s what it states;
Apply NOW to Be Part of the Opening Team at The Wizarding World of Harry
Potter ™– Diagon Alley™!Full Time, Part Time and Seasonal Positions Now Available!
The Universal Orlando Career Network is now accepting Internal
Applications from Team Members interested in transferring to The
Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley!
To express interest in working in Food & Beverage, Merchandise,
or Operations, please complete your Online Internal Application.
The guideline of 180 days in your current role will be waived for this
opportunity.
So not only great opportunities for Universal Staff but a nice sneak peak look at some Diagon Alley imagery… We love this poster…
The more I discover the more excited I become… Roll on 2014…
You can purchase the Universal 2 park Bonus Ticket at Orlando Attraction Tickets which gives 14 days unlimited access in to both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
Smiles included.
Jamie
We’ve been speculated here on Attraction Tickets ever since it was announced Jaws would be closing, what Universal Orlando was planning to do with the space.
In December Universal confirmed it would be expanding the Wizarding World of Harry Potter but revealed little else. However Theme Park Blog, TPI, has managed to get a look at some concept designs that includes the main features, which appears to be Gringotts bank set in the heart of Diagon Alley.
The development appears to occupy the space between the Fear Factor Live theater and the Disaster! show, half the land maybe dedicated to the main feature “the Gringotts ride”.
The Gringotts ride is rumoured to be a similar style ride to Harry Potter and the Forbidden journey, up to 12 people will sit in the ride, which will turn and drop along a track. The Gringotts ride will be housed within 75,000-square-foot show building and will feature a themed queue much like the Forbidden Journey.
Also within the concept drawings are plans for a 8,900-square-foot restaurant, based on the Potter books we must assume it will be the Leaky Cauldron.
Although the plans do not show concrete evidence that the Hogwarts Express will be included their does appear to be room to house it.
Will keep you updated when more information becomes available.
