The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle (IOA)

[Parkscope Joe]

Starts during Celebration then runs intermittently till later this spring.

The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle coming to Universal Orlando | Inside Universal

 

[Brian G.]

Here's our article

The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle coming to Universal Orlando | Inside Universal

 

[JungleSkip]

If it's the same exact show as USH...meh. I think it pales pretty poorly in comparison to the holiday show

 

[Scott W.]

If it's the same exact show as USH...meh. I think it pales pretty poorly in comparison to the holiday show

It’s better than nothing from now until November.

 

[UNIrd]

Does it have any pyro like the holiday show?

 

[Andysol]

I'm a fan and I'm not a fan of these shows. They are well done, but short. And it makes Hogsmeade unbearable at night.

I'd much rather it be a longer, 20+ min. show once per night (or even twice). But that would require a significantly larger viewing area- i.e.- moving/reconstructing FotH. I also don't know if a single IP - even one as magnificent as HP- could support a show so long. I'd sure like to see them try though

So they are making the best out of what they have, but it isn't that enjoyable IMO.

 

[Nick]

I'm a fan and I'm not a fan of these shows. They are well done, but short. And it makes Hogsmeade unbearable at night.

I'd much rather it be a longer, 20+ min. show once per night (or even twice). But that would require a significantly larger viewing area- i.e.- moving/reconstructing FotH. I also don't know if a single IP - even one as magnificent as HP- could support a show so long. I'd sure like to see them try though

So they are making the best out of what they have, but it isn't that enjoyable IMO.

DHS does a ~12 minute Star Wars fireworks/projection show every night. I think Potter could do the same.

Anyway, this will be nice - I enjoyed the Holiday show. It would be nice if there was a main nighttime show over the lagoon too though, it would help keep Hogsmeade from becoming such a cluster.

 

[Andysol]

DHS does a ~12 minute Star Wars fireworks/projection show every night. I think Potter could do the same.

Ya- but the fireworks w/ neighborhood makes complications, right?

And DHS, as much as a cluster F as it is- is still in significantly better shape for viewing that Hogsmeade is related to crowds.

 

[JungleSkip]

It’s better than nothing from now until November.

I'd rather have something better than "better than nothing". Cinespec was "better than nothing" and it wasn't worth seeing more than once.

 

[fryoj]

I'm a fan and I'm not a fan of these shows. They are well done, but short. And it makes Hogsmeade unbearable at night.

I'd much rather it be a longer, 20+ min. show once per night (or even twice). But that would require a significantly larger viewing area- i.e.- moving/reconstructing FotH. I also don't know if a single IP - even one as magnificent as HP- could support a show so long. I'd sure like to see them try though

So they are making the best out of what they have, but it isn't that enjoyable IMO.

Theres a lot of good music in the series that would be recognizable to the fan base. And they have 16+ hours of film footage they could take scenes from. Make it a highlight of the whole series. Could easily get to 20 minutes that way. Not sure it would be a good show at that point though.

 

[UNIrd]

Yeah, I don't think anyone wants to stand waiting and then another 20 minutes of the show for film footage projected on the castle. This needs to become the Tree of Life Awakenings of IOA. Enjoyable, adds a lot to the atmosphere, but needs to happen enough that ultimately most people just see it while passing through.

 

[Yabbadabba Doh]

Yeah, I don't think anyone wants to stand waiting and then another 20 minutes of the show for film footage projected on the castle. This needs to become the Tree of Life Awakenings of IOA. Enjoyable, adds a lot to the atmosphere, but needs to happen enough that ultimately most people just see it while passing through.

The good thing is that it runs continuously after dusk so it will essentially be like the ToL Awakenings and Seasons on Sunset at DHS. I think it will be a nice addition, although I agree that the limited viewing area does create a logjam in certain sections of Hogsmeade.

 

[Mad Dog]

I'm looking forward to the show during my upcoming May vacation at Portofino.Like UNIrd, I prefer it being a short show. Leave the long shows for the lagoons in either park..... The big plus is that now Universal is keeping IOA open until 10:00 PM on most May evenings. I've always wanted to spend more night hours in IOA, but, in the past, it's only been open evenings during peak times of year. The few minutes that I was able to spend in a dark IOA, the park looked absolutely beautiful. Can't wait to ride JPRA in the dark, explore a fog shrouded Camp Jurassic , spend more than a few minutes in a night lit Hogsmeade, and ride the outside portion of Kong in the dark. For me, this is a significant turning point for IOA during the non peak season. Thumbs up to Universal :thumbsup:.

 

[GAcoaster]

I'd rather have something better than "better than nothing". Cinespec was "better than nothing" and it wasn't worth seeing more than once.

True, but just remember most guests only get to see these things once.

 

[JungleSkip]

True, but just remember most guests only get to see these things once.

Sure, but if no guests are going around talking about how you just HAVE to stick around and see the nighttime show, it's not going to build a reputation and do its job. Now, I expect this to do that because it's Potter, but it's time Universal drops the half measures.

 

[JoeCamel]

I'm looking forward to the show during my upcoming May vacation at Portofino.Like UNIrd, I prefer it being a short show. Leave the long shows for the lagoons in either park..... The big plus is that now Universal is keeping IOA open until 10:00 PM on most May evenings. I've always wanted to spend more night hours in IOA, but, in the past, it's only been open evenings during peak times of year. The few minutes that I was able to spend in a dark IOA, the park looked absolutely beautiful. Can't wait to ride JPRA in the dark, explore a fog shrouded Camp Jurassic , spend more than a few minutes in a night lit Hogsmeade, and ride the outside portion of Kong in the dark. For me, this is a significant turning point for IOA during the non peak season. Thumbs up to Universal :thumbsup:.

If you have never seen Trevor's stuff you should. He spent a lot of night time in the parks. Search: @orlandobrothas | Flickr
Trevor Allen (@orlandobrothasT) | Twitter

 

[shiekra38]

I'm a fan and I'm not a fan of these shows. They are well done, but short. And it makes Hogsmeade unbearable at night.

I'd much rather it be a longer, 20+ min. show once per night (or even twice). But that would require a significantly larger viewing area- i.e.- moving/reconstructing FotH. I also don't know if a single IP - even one as magnificent as HP- could support a show so long. I'd sure like to see them try though

So they are making the best out of what they have, but it isn't that enjoyable IMO.

Hopefully when the new ride opens we will see more viewing spots....I think the fact that this isn't something that only comes once a year may help...Plus there was a huge marketing push for the Christmas show

 

[Kmac]

Not sure how much confidence we put in the travel agents on the universal orlando site, but I happened to ask about the nighttime lights show during my HHN visit (Sept. 23-30) and she told me that "The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle will be going each night throughout the year".

 

[bob albert]

I would expect we see hours finally extended for a bunch of nights if this proves popular for the park.

 

[Mad Dog]

I would expect we see hours finally extended for a bunch of nights if this proves popular for the park.

It's already happened for April after the holidays and most every night in May, except for Grad nights.