Thursday, April 07, 2016
Tickets sell out for grand opening of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Las Vegas Review-Journal: If you were starting to feel a case of “Harry Potter” fever coming on — and were strongly considering calling in sick from work tomorrow to attend the grand opening celebration of Universal Studios Hollywood’s new Wizarding World of Harry Potter — you may not want to throw on your invisibility cloak just yet
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
As someone who did not know there was going to be a Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the west coast until this past week, this is very exciting to read. However I can not imagine how unbelievably crowded that park must have been to actually have sold out the park. That means that amusement park was actually at maxiumum capacity. Obviously, if you are passionate enough about Harry Potter, basically not being able to breathe for a day is a small price to pay. However, it seems like you could so easily just go a month or so after the park's grand opening and achieve the same exciting experience, just with much less stress and frustration, and much more breathing and space. I could understand it if the park was only open for a weekend, but this park is open indefinitely. I guess it is all for the excitement of being the first people to experience the park, but good lord. I do not think I would be able to handle those crowds, no matter how much I love Harry Potter.
Having been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, I can totally imagine how hyped the opening on the west coast must have been huge. Claire has a point, the fact that the park was sold out meant that there were TOO many people all in one enclosed park. Of course, there are so many Harry Potter die hard fans who wouldn't miss the opening for the world so maybe that explains the capacity. On a side note from the crowdedness, having the Wizarding World in Orlando is incredible and I am so glad that one has finally opened on California. It literally feels like you're in the world of the movie and all the attractions are so much fun. I definitely think the best part is the butter beer. But good luck waiting in line for that. Everyone wants some butter beer. OMG, I can't imagine how long the lines must have been in California for a cup of butter beer. Anyway, I'm certain that with the opening of the Wizarding World, more and more families and individuals will be attracted to experience this great world created by Universal Studios.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone. This franchise has had such staggering popularity and longevity, something like this was bound to be an immediate and immense success. The few times I have visited the Harry Potter attractions at Islands of Adventure, in Florida, I have been staggered by the level of attention to detail, and wholistic world building that has been executed on these sites. I am sure this new site will be no different.
At first thought, I was almost wary of a second version of the Wizarding World being built; with one already in existence, how lucrative or sustainable would it be? However, I think catering to different coasts will certainly help avoid any sense of over-saturation. In all of this, I can not help but wonder where J. K. Rowling is in all of this. I am sure the success of Harry Potter has surpassed all her expectations, and there seems to have been a resurgence of interest in Harry Potter lately. I can only hope the series' integrity is maintained, and that it avoids the pitfalls of too much popularity.
This has been a long-awaited and very exciting opening week for Universal. The other night, I tuned into the live broadcast of the opening ceremony, and it was absolutely beautiful. It featured a live symphony, a huge projection mapping show on the castle, and fireworks. The whole thing was completely beautiful and a genuine celebration of the Harry Potter series. I think that is my favorite part of each Harry Potter world, that the company's talent and attention to detail goes into making the most genuine replication possible. When I first visited in Florida several years ago, I was completely overcome with emotion. Harry Potter has been an important part of my life since I was a child, and to walk into the pages of Rowling's books was beyond beautiful. I am extremely glad that the West Coast is now able to experience this same magic, and hope that I can be there as well this summer.
Last year I went on a field trip with my choir to both Disney World and Universal in Orlando, and I've got to say that visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the highlight of my trip. It felt like I was actually walking through the places that I had only read or watched movies about. Harry Potter was a huge part of my childhood, and even at eighteen I found that visiting the theme part brought back the magic. I know that countless other people feel this way so I'm honestly not surprised that the West Coast event sold out. Hopefully their experience was ruined by the sheer amount of people there, but they could always go back at a later date when the park isn't as overloaded. It's just great to know that now there are twice as many people who will get the opportunity to experience this magic.
Big surprised here. If you haven't had the chance to visit Harry Potter world, at either locations, you would see that it is a complete madhouse. The lines are so packed that they often have to close that portion of the park and not even allow you to walk around inside the themed area. I had never seen anything like that in my entire life, and I grew up in Florida where visiting theme parks was a very common occurrence. The thing about it is that I'm really not surprised. When you actually see the interior of the world, it's absolutely insane. The attention to detail is magnificent, and the level of innovation and creativity in the design and layout is quite inspiring. Yes, at the end of the day, it's just Harry Potter, however, not even being that big of a Harry Potter fan wouldn't stop anyone from marveling about just how magical the design of this area is.
Post a Comment