Will Harry Potter Parklett make an Impact on Disney?

[NJGIRL]

Universal numbers have been consistently down over the past few years, but they have been able to do very well because guest spending is up (making for a nice profit). Universal must be drooling over the idea of increased guest spending + additional attendance due to Potter.

It's funny that you mentioned this because I just heard on a pod cast last week that they are doing very well and their profits are up. They don't even have any hotel deals going on like Disney. I think that City Walk must do very well. It is always crowded when we are there. I agree with you on the spending too. My son who is only 11 doesn't want to buy any disney character stuff but take him to Universal and there is the Simsons, MIB, Jurassic Park, Dueling Dragons, The Mummy. Now these are all things that he will buy into.

[lockedoutlogic]

hmmm....let me think about this:


No.....that about covers it

[Ian]

I love the idea of immersing msyelf in the "Land of Potter," but once I have my picture at Hogwart's, played around in my robe & wand, and ate lunch at the Three Broomsticks, U.S. will have to try and convince me that I need to visit over and over again!

I think you'll be surprised. Unless you're just a hardcore Disney fan and refuse to embrace other theme parks I bet you'll find yourself liking what US has to offer.

Which version did you see though?

I saw the original.

[TiggeRia]

I, for one, am a complete Harry Potter addict and am absolutely thrilled about the opening of Harry Potter in US. My HP addiction is actually right up there with my Disney addiction, which I must say started well after I became hooked on Harry.

I will be making the trek down to see it when it opens, probably around the usual time I make a week long trip to WDW. I will most likely cut my visit to Disney parks by two days and would seriously consider staying in a US resort for those two days.

And I think that this "attraction" will have appeal for a long time to come. I still reread all the books several times a year, watch the movies frequently, and have tons of collectors items (and I am a young adult, hopefully with lots of years to travel in the future!) I don't see my love of HP dying down, much like my love of DW has not abated since I will have visited almost ten times in four years--having visited the same attractions, over and over. Also, I believe under the contract US has to include bits from the last two movies, which will be coming out after this section of the park opens so there will be updates. If they handle this right, it could be a goldmine.

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

What's the comparison at Disney? Just curious, I can't think of anything similar at Disney that's better. Kali?

I'd say Dinosaur but only because the theme is the same, despite the fact that the ride systems are different. However, JP is better because it is a much more recognizable property and the ride itself is actually very well thought-through.

Dinosaur is a loud, mostly dark, poorly put-together attraction that shames the original ride its ride system was taken from, Indiana Jones. I would never consider Dinosaur to be better than Jurassic Park, OR Indiana Jones. In fact, it seems like when they were building Dinosaur they just ran out of money halfway through and instead turned off the lights.

[Queen Stephanie]

Disney is where the magic is...the real magic. I am not concerned about HP, Universal or the tooth fairy! I'm hard-core Disney all the way!

[Marceline]

Disney is where the magic is...the real magic. I am not concerned about HP, Universal or the tooth fairy! I'm hard-core Disney all the way!

Yup yup yup! Couldn't agree more.

Disney isn't even about rides for me. It's about the foundation, the intention, the vision behind it all. I am only interested in Orlando for Walt's Wonderful World.

[gueli]

But isn't the question - will it have an impact on disney?

While there are many people who say "not me, I love disney"- there are a great number of people who are saying
"yes it will have an impact. I Love Disney, but I will want to check it out"

[Toad_Passenger]

I think you'll be surprised. Unless you're just a hardcore Disney fan and refuse to embrace other theme parks I bet you'll find yourself liking what US has to offer.

I love all sorts of theme parks, Busch Gardens (Williamsburg) is one of my all-time favorites. I have been to U.S. on multiple occasions, and I was left less than impressed.

It just doesn't have the "flow" that other parks have. And, while the individual themes seem to work, there is no "overall" theme to U.S. that brings the park together. WDW & Busch Gardens have a main theme that is then represented through all of their "lands." U.S. just feels like a bunch of small theme parks thrown on the same land.

[Ian]

Disney is where the magic is...the real magic. I am not concerned about HP, Universal or the tooth fairy! I'm hard-core Disney all the way!

Yup yup yup! Couldn't agree more.

Disney isn't even about rides for me. It's about the foundation, the intention, the vision behind it all. I am only interested in Orlando for Walt's Wonderful World.

Right, but in fairness neither one of you appear to like Harry Potter at all, so your attendance at Disney isn't going to be affected by the creation of a land at a rival theme park in which you have no interest.

The folks Disney is concerned about losing are the 10 million or so folks who are hardcore Harry Potter fans.

[TheVBs]

I love Harry Potter and would definitely want to check out what US does. However, I would not cut a WDW visit short to do it. I wouldn't make a special trip down for it either, but maybe plan a visit when we're visiting family.

I've heard a lot of people say that US is nice, but if you expect WDW standards, you're going to be disappointed. I would go there with an open mind though and try to enjoy it for what it is. I agree with a PP though, for me, Disney is not about just rides, it's about a whole experience.

[antngoof89]

Ya know, I saw the Harry Potter movie recently and although I love the books, I am not impressed with the movies. I feel like the more HP is mass produced, the more it's watered down. Harry Potter enthusiasts usually are disgusted by the movies as well, at least those I know. I feel like the magic of Harry Potter won't be enough to bring "magic" to US like Disney would've been able to do with it. Some people may be glad that the movies weren't Disneyfied, but I sure would've liked to see the parklett made by Disney.

I just don't know if this park will sparkle like US thinks it will.

[Kathy Jetson]

I am a hardcore disney fan and wanted to put off going to IOA for as long as possible I think ds will like their rides better and want to spend more time there and get bored with disney. But with the addition of HP we will be taking a day from our 2010 vacation to go to IOA and probably stay 1 night at one of there hotels to get front of the access and I suspect we will go there at least 1 day from every disney vacation from then on.

[antngoof89]

I am a hardcore disney fan and wanted to put off going to IOA for as long as possible I think ds will like their rides better and want to spend more time there and get bored with disney. But with the addition of HP we will be taking a day from our 2010 vacation to go to IOA and probably stay 1 night at one of there hotels to get front of the access and I suspect we will go there at least 1 day from every disney vacation from then on.

As was said earlier, this is only a couple of hardcore Disney fans wanteing to try a new vacation place, not everyone will be won over... Disney has the magic and everyone craves it at least once in their life

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

Harry Potter enthusiasts usually are disgusted by the movies as well, at least those I know.

Maybe the purists with unrealistic expectations. They go in expecting to see a verbatim adaptation and are always disappointed. You can't ever expect a book to translate perfectly to film because things that work in literature don't always work on screen. Not to mention if they included EVERYTHING, especially with the increasing length of the books as they progress through the series, the films could easily be upwards of four hours.

I, personally, enjoyed the 6th film, and considering how 3, 4, and 5 were not as faithful (again, thanks to the length of those books), I thought they did a fantastic job including as much as they possibly could.

The 7th film, being a 2 part film, will undoubtedly be the most faithful adaptation.

[Polynesian Dweller]

After reading the posts, I think people need to remember the word parklette. That's what it will be. We are not talking something the size of MK or DHS but a small parkette that will be on the same scale of the other IOA parklettes, some food places, perhaps a couple of lesser attractions and 1 main ride. The pictures I've seen show the area to be fairly small. So we are not talking a half day area much less a full day.

So, yes initially a lot of HP fans will go there and there will be an initial impact from curiosity etc, But long term is what counts and the area just isn't big enough to have the kind of long term impact that would hurt Disney. Besides, Disney is truly a destination and all of U.S. simply isn't big enough for that.

[gueli]

After reading the posts, I think people need to remember the word parklette. That's what it will be. We are not talking something the size of MK or DHS but a small parkette that will be on the same scale of the other IOA parklettes, some food places, perhaps a couple of lesser attractions and 1 main ride. The pictures I've seen show the area to be fairly small. So we are not talking a half day area much less a full day.

So, yes initially a lot of HP fans will go there and there will be an initial impact from curiosity etc, But long term is what counts and the area just isn't big enough to have the kind of long term impact that would hurt Disney. Besides, Disney is truly a destination and all of U.S. simply isn't big enough for that.

So is your answer yes it will have an impact ?

I agree about it not being an entire destination. And many here will choose not to go. But I think it will have an impact, even if it makes disney build/ refurbish a number of things.

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

The pictures I've seen show the area to be fairly small.

The pictures you've seen are concept art, they're not indicative of the actual area. Universal has stated multiple times that the Harry Potter section will not only be considered it's own portion of the park (instead of part of an existing island), but it will be on par in size with the other current islands in the park, which are quite large.

This is akin to adding a whole new full-blown land to Magic Kingdom.

[Polynesian Dweller]

The pictures you've seen are concept art, they're not indicative of the actual area. Universal has stated multiple times that the Harry Potter section will not only be considered it's own portion of the park (instead of part of an existing island), but it will be on par in size with the other current islands in the park, which are quite large.

This is akin to adding a whole new full-blown land to Magic Kingdom.

Actually, real construction pictures not concept art is what I've seen. The islands really aren't very large and if all you had was tomorrowland would that be the equivalent of MK, not really.

[Ian]

The question really is ... will it be good enough and enough of a draw to bring people back. That's what's going to determine the impact it has on Disney.

If people go and the response is, "Gee, that was cool. I'll come back in five years and see what they've added on to it." then Disney has nothing to worry about.

But if it's well done, and people love it, and the response is more like, "WOW!! I gotta come back and do this again!!!" then Disney may have something to worry about.

Parklette/full park, Disney magic/no Disney magic ... those are basically irrelevant issues. The bottom line is there are tens of millions of Harry Potter fans, some number of whom are also Disney fans, and if the HP area at US is well executed and highly entertaining there's no way it can't have an impact on Disney World attendance.