PirateLover
07-10-2010, 02:02 PM
By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel
July 10, 2010
Universal Orlando's newest addition is proving so popular this summer that the resort has begun advising guests to avoid it — at least until after 3 p.m. each day.
The resort's "Plan Your Day" brochures, which are being distributed alongside customary theme-park maps, are among the many steps Universal is taking this summer as it tries to manage the hordes of tourists flocking to its new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the hugely hyped addition to Islands of Adventure that opened last month.
The crowd-control moves, many of which have an improvised quality to them, range from issuing rafflelike paper tickets to prevent people from cutting into the long queue that appears many mornings at the entrance to Wizarding World, to halting indefinitely the sale of liquor inside the Hog's Head tavern so the bar can more quickly move mugs of butterbeer, the sugary concoction based on a popular drink in the Harry Potter books and movies.
Of course, it's a nice problem to have for Universal. After an extended slump in which attendance slid 23 percent over five years — to 9.3 million visitors last year — the two-park resort is enjoying a renaissance with Wizarding World.
Although it has been officially open for less than a month, more than a half-million rides have been taken on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the headline attraction inside Wizarding World, Universal says.
"We're thrilled with what we are seeing," Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said.
Built at the rear of Islands of Adventure, Wizarding World's effect is immediately apparent at the entrance to the theme park, which only last year was the slowest of Orlando's seven major parks with 4.6 million visitors. On one morning this week, the throngs streaming through Islands' gates were quickly met by a Universal employee brandishing a bullhorn: "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! If you would like to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, you must head to your left! It is the only entrance, to your left!"
Farther inside the park, workers applied long strips of masking tape to the ground and erected temporary barriers to guide the line that some mornings extends from Wizarding World's entrance back through the Jurassic Park and Toon Lagoon sections of Islands of Adventure. To prevent people from cutting ahead in that line, employees have been passing out small paper tickets — the small, perforated "admit one" tickets commonly used in raffles — that guests must present before they are allowed into the Potter-themed area.
On particularly busy mornings, the resort has also been distributing receipts with specific return times — similar to attractions' "fast passes" — for guests who don't want to wait in the main queue. Schroder said that extra step has helped reduce the wait times in the main queue to about an hour.
Universal has also stationed counters at the entrance and exit to Wizarding World to monitor the number of people coming and going — and so ensure the area is not completely overrun with crowds.
Other adjustments have been made inside Wizarding World, where waits of 90 minutes for Forbidden Journey and of two hours or more for the Ollivanders magic-wand show are routine.
For example, guests are at times steered to the back entrance of some shops — the Hog's Head tavern, a prime sales spot for butterbeer, and Dervish and Banges, a souvenir shop peddling everything from wands to school robes — to prevent lines from spilling out into the area's main thoroughfare.
Meanwhile, Universal says that to ease congestion inside the shops, it has added an extra outdoor merchandise cart and a half-dozen beverage stands. And it has halted sales of liquor inside Hog's Head to accommodate what Universal calls "tremendous interest" in butterbeer, though alcoholic beer and wine are still for sale in the tavern.
Schroder said the halt in selling liquor is only temporary, though it is unclear when it will start again.
The maneuvering underscores the tightrope Universal is walking this summer as it attempts to navigate the early crush of visits from Harry Potter fans. Though the long lines are evidence of Wizarding World's popularity, the resort must be careful that they do not spoil guests' experience — and deter repeat visits, which will be vital if the resort is to recoup its more than $200 million investment in the project.
And though the crowds are large now, industry experts say Universal — and other theme parks building new attractions — must always plan with an eye toward what the demand will be after the initial excitement wears off.
"You don't want to build something that takes care of 3,000 people an hour and, in a year, you're only getting 1,500 people an hour," said Lee Cockerell, a former executive vice president of operations at Walt Disney World. "If you make it too big, you've got more operating expenses."
Robert Niles, publisher of ThemeParkInsider.com, a website devoted to theme-park news, said the reviews of Universal's handling of the crowds so far have been generally positive.
"I think almost everyone understands that this is a hugely popular thing and there's going to be a lot of waiting involved, and there's going to be some kinds of weird or unusual logistics involved in getting into this," Niles said. "People are used to the fact that the really popular things are going to have lines, and you're going to have to wait for them."
July 10, 2010
Universal Orlando's newest addition is proving so popular this summer that the resort has begun advising guests to avoid it — at least until after 3 p.m. each day.
The resort's "Plan Your Day" brochures, which are being distributed alongside customary theme-park maps, are among the many steps Universal is taking this summer as it tries to manage the hordes of tourists flocking to its new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the hugely hyped addition to Islands of Adventure that opened last month.
The crowd-control moves, many of which have an improvised quality to them, range from issuing rafflelike paper tickets to prevent people from cutting into the long queue that appears many mornings at the entrance to Wizarding World, to halting indefinitely the sale of liquor inside the Hog's Head tavern so the bar can more quickly move mugs of butterbeer, the sugary concoction based on a popular drink in the Harry Potter books and movies.
Of course, it's a nice problem to have for Universal. After an extended slump in which attendance slid 23 percent over five years — to 9.3 million visitors last year — the two-park resort is enjoying a renaissance with Wizarding World.
Although it has been officially open for less than a month, more than a half-million rides have been taken on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the headline attraction inside Wizarding World, Universal says.
"We're thrilled with what we are seeing," Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said.
Built at the rear of Islands of Adventure, Wizarding World's effect is immediately apparent at the entrance to the theme park, which only last year was the slowest of Orlando's seven major parks with 4.6 million visitors. On one morning this week, the throngs streaming through Islands' gates were quickly met by a Universal employee brandishing a bullhorn: "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! If you would like to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, you must head to your left! It is the only entrance, to your left!"
Farther inside the park, workers applied long strips of masking tape to the ground and erected temporary barriers to guide the line that some mornings extends from Wizarding World's entrance back through the Jurassic Park and Toon Lagoon sections of Islands of Adventure. To prevent people from cutting ahead in that line, employees have been passing out small paper tickets — the small, perforated "admit one" tickets commonly used in raffles — that guests must present before they are allowed into the Potter-themed area.
On particularly busy mornings, the resort has also been distributing receipts with specific return times — similar to attractions' "fast passes" — for guests who don't want to wait in the main queue. Schroder said that extra step has helped reduce the wait times in the main queue to about an hour.
Universal has also stationed counters at the entrance and exit to Wizarding World to monitor the number of people coming and going — and so ensure the area is not completely overrun with crowds.
Other adjustments have been made inside Wizarding World, where waits of 90 minutes for Forbidden Journey and of two hours or more for the Ollivanders magic-wand show are routine.
For example, guests are at times steered to the back entrance of some shops — the Hog's Head tavern, a prime sales spot for butterbeer, and Dervish and Banges, a souvenir shop peddling everything from wands to school robes — to prevent lines from spilling out into the area's main thoroughfare.
Meanwhile, Universal says that to ease congestion inside the shops, it has added an extra outdoor merchandise cart and a half-dozen beverage stands. And it has halted sales of liquor inside Hog's Head to accommodate what Universal calls "tremendous interest" in butterbeer, though alcoholic beer and wine are still for sale in the tavern.
Schroder said the halt in selling liquor is only temporary, though it is unclear when it will start again.
The maneuvering underscores the tightrope Universal is walking this summer as it attempts to navigate the early crush of visits from Harry Potter fans. Though the long lines are evidence of Wizarding World's popularity, the resort must be careful that they do not spoil guests' experience — and deter repeat visits, which will be vital if the resort is to recoup its more than $200 million investment in the project.
And though the crowds are large now, industry experts say Universal — and other theme parks building new attractions — must always plan with an eye toward what the demand will be after the initial excitement wears off.
"You don't want to build something that takes care of 3,000 people an hour and, in a year, you're only getting 1,500 people an hour," said Lee Cockerell, a former executive vice president of operations at Walt Disney World. "If you make it too big, you've got more operating expenses."
Robert Niles, publisher of ThemeParkInsider.com, a website devoted to theme-park news, said the reviews of Universal's handling of the crowds so far have been generally positive.
"I think almost everyone understands that this is a hugely popular thing and there's going to be a lot of waiting involved, and there's going to be some kinds of weird or unusual logistics involved in getting into this," Niles said. "People are used to the fact that the really popular things are going to have lines, and you're going to have to wait for them."