Later on this summer or early fall, I don’t know cuz I can’t really remember, I am going to an Orlando wedding. One of the things that we are gonna do while down there is attend the new Harry Potter world. I am a huge fan, she isn’t really but is going anyway. Has anyone here gone to it? Thoughts? Opinions?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I’ll be in Orlando next summer, and I’d love to go, except for one thing:
Muggles.
Imagine Diagon Alley or Hogwarts. All the sights and sounds you pictured in your mind when you read the books, and the marvelous sets from the movies. And the wizards… dozens of kids, and some adults, all decked out in robes, eagerly discussing spells and Quiddich.
Now, imagine the same scenes with Muggles, dressed in loud capri pants and designer-knock-off tops, or tie-dyed Phish t-shirts and ripped cut-offs, or khaki pants and ::shudder:: golf shirts.
Add lots of videotaping and digital cameras and iPods. And cell phones (“But, Daaaaad, I just have to like tell Kelsey all the like details an stuff. I so like prommmmmised!”).
And don’t forget the yelling and whining and screaming.
Now, IF they confiscated all electronics at the gate, and enforced wearing nothing but robes, AND had Hagrids to eject any Muggle who deigned to raise their voice, maybe I would go…
I think I’d be confused by the multiple Hagrids, digs.
I’ve seen lots of previews/reviews of it and I’m kind of disappointed that they really went shameless route of going with the merchandising angle to suck even more $$ out of your pocket even after you spent $10 for parking and $70 to get inside the park.
Of all the hundreds of locations they could pick from in the Harry Potter universe to recreate they picked Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley to be the main focus. Why? So they could sell massive amounts of overpriced trinkets and food. Wands, butterbeer, chocolate frogs, etc. etc.
They created one new attraction/ride (Harry Potters Forbidden Journey) and recycled two others by retheming them into this area (Dueling Dragons coasters and unicorn rollercoaster).
I was in Universal over Memorial Day and it wasn’t open yet but you could see some activity going on in there. At least some guests were inside for some sort of preview. Dueling dragons has been partially rebadged (the dragons are now a Chinese Fireball and something else) but not much else had changed yet. But the roofs looked good, that’s all we could see. It was odd seeing fake snow on the roofs in 90 temps.
This is my precise beef. I was hoping they would have tried to build a huge recreation of Hogwarts so that we could tour the classrooms and maybe even “attend classes” (performances/rides/whatever).
Can you go in Hogwarts and look at it?
I think a lot of the queing area for Forbidden Journey ride is inside Hogwarts. A classroom with Harry/Ron/Hermoine talking on screens, Dumbledore’s office, the greenhouse, etc.
My daughter was down there with her youth group the Sunday just prior to the ‘official’ opening. They were having a ‘soft’ opening that day and her group got to go.
She’s 18, and has grown up with the Harry Potter books. She loved it, and apparently so did all her friends. Yes, there’s a lot of shopping, which she enjoyed. At least some of the shopping has had a great deal of thought put into it - Ollivander’s really is a wand shop and apparently the want really does chose you, just like in the books. She said the food was good, British-themed, and not too amusement park overpriced. She loved her butterbeer and fish and chips and also had praise for the ‘pumpkin juice’. She brought a chocolate frog home for her father - it comes packaged in a nifty box and with a wizard card. We ate it all up (it was a good-sized chunk of solid chocolate, of a good grade. I’d love to know what company is making them for Universal.) She liked the rides.
Unfortunately, that’s all the detail I can get out of her, besides things like details of which of her friends threw up on the rides, etc. She gave it a big ‘thumbs up’ and had a great time.
Relieved to hear a good report. Even if I never go, I’m glad that they didn’t desecrate the “Mistah Pottah” books too badly.
Love that they have chocolate frogs with wizard cards (I wonder if the pictures move around, and then leave the frame for a bit, then return). ANd I’d go to Florida just for butterbeer!*
*But may not (nay, can’t) be as good as the batch I whipped up with my then-small kids…
Sasparilla, apple cider, Dr. Pepper, cinnamon sticks, ground nutmeg, vanilla, lots of other decadently-sweet ingredients, and a Butter Rum Lifesaver at the bottom of each frothy, steaming mug (we made it on a Snow Day in a January blizzard).
Haven’t been to Universal Orlando since last year when they were still building that part in Islands of Adventure, but so far the theme park review sites say that the new ride (the Forbidden Journey) and attention to detail in the area sets a new bar for state of the art attractions.
I showed my son a picture of it in the paper, and he asked me “Can you go into Hogwarts?” I told him “Well, in the ‘real’ Hogwarts, you can, but I don’t know about the one you see in the paper.” Then I had to stop and ask myself - which is the ‘real’ Hogwarts?
What does the pumpkin juice taste like?
I’ve read reviews, and though I would love to see it, those 2, 3, or 4 hour waits in line :eek: ? Don’t love it that much! I think the fact they designed and built the place at all is a good thing. So many elaborate ideas were floated and shot down for being too expensive. And I’m not at all surprised they’re selling crap. They’re in the business of making money. Maybe the tourists who would have otherwise been spending time on the Florida beaches will say, well, this sucks, might as well check out Harry Potter before we go home…
She brought home the pumpkin juice bottle, which is nifty - big pumpkin shaped cap on it! The label describes it as ‘pumpkin flavored juice cocktail’. The ingredients list includes apple juice, pumpkin puree, and apricot puree, as well as the usual sugar, water, flavors etc. The empty bottle smells, well, like a nice piece of pumpkin pie. She’s not available to ask right now, but from the aroma I’d guess the taste at spiced cider, with a pumpkin note. She liked it. (Probably wouldn’t be hard to duplicate it at home).
She described the Butterbeer as similar in taste to creme soda with a heavy butterscotch note in a thick layer of foam on top, served very cold. It came with a special mug they got to keep - she thought the souvenir mug might have been special just for opening and won’t be a regular thing, but she wasn’t sure.
it sounds like people are going to be dropping from heat problems all summer. all accounts are the lines are unbelievable and to keep it looking british all the shops are small and can only handle small amounts of people at a time.
one person reported a 3 hour wait to get into ollivander’s not a ride, a shop, 3 hours. it is also reported that firebolts and pigmy puffs are sold out.
i’m still hoping to go (my plan is for late september) i’m also hoping the lines will be down as muggle children will be back at school.
My 14-year-old daughter was in Tampa visiting her grandma (her plane lands in like 15 minutes to get home!) and they went a few days after it opened. She said it was super-crowded, but SO much fun. She said butter beer was delicious but pumpkin juice was only okay, but the atmosphere and the rides were really fun. She took a lot of photos we’re anxious to see, too.
I bet it would be more fun to go at winter time when the weather is at least a LITTLE more like the traditional Harry Potter weather, but come on, it’s Florida, you’re never going to get fog and rain and cool weather…
From what I read in an article on Wired Ollivander’s shop is supposed to be the same as in the book. Small private tours where the wand chooses the wizard. Plus it said that there were animatronic games/experiences inside of it. So it kind of is a “ride”.
My 14 year old daughter went last week with her friend. She said it was fun, the lines were huge*, and she wasn’t sure it would be worth it to wait in the huge lines. Her favorite part was one of the roller coaster rides. Remember, this time of year is just really, really hot down here. I’m sure it would be a lot nicer in October - March, especially if you’re going to play dress up.
*She and her friend stayed at one of the Universal hotels, which lets you skip the long queues to get in the park. Note I didn’t really ask her for notes on this - I didn’t even know they’d gone to that park until a day or two ago.
I know someone whose husband designed the Chocolate Frog boxes. I may be able to get an answer on who made the chocolate itself.
From what I understand (I saw a couple of YouTube videos showing the experience), they take small groups of about 20 people at a time into the shop and the shopkeeper puts on a show–but they only pick one person from the group to have a wand “choose” him/her. They get to try out three wands (the first two don’t work–cool things happen when they wave them around–and then the third one does something really cool and that’s the one that’s “yours”). Speculation is that the person chosen is almost always a little kid, which is kind of annoying for the teenage and older fans who grew up with the books and would love to have the Ollivander’s treatment. After the show everybody is ushered into the “real” shop, where everyone can buy wands (the person “chosen” can keep the one that chose him or buy a different one–I’m almost certain you still have to pay for the chosen one, though.) Wands cost $30 each and are made of some sort of tough plastic resin.
Although I’d love to do the experience (I wonder if they have special groups–like your friends could set up a special group for your birthday or something), I prefer my wands from Alivan’s and Whirlwood. They’re a little pricier but made out of real wood and very nicely done.