The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade (Orlando): Part 2

[AK-Jake]

From what I've heard read from several sources--one of which is regularly slammed on here (no, not KingEric)--according to a clause in the contract with Hasbro/Dreamworks/Paramount, there was a limited window of time for Universal to open as many versions of Transformers as they wanted. When they saw how popular the ride was in Hollywood, a last-minute decision to fast-track the ride was made to allow for increased ride capacity (a hard-hitting E-ticket opening a year before Potter 2.0) at USF, as well as to slip it in the soon-closing window of time to build it. The ride was done, all they had to do essentially was file permits, hire construction companies, and pull the trigger. (They probably had to design the building, too.) According to one source, the time between the decision to build the ride and the beginning of construction was only 6 weeks. I honestly don't know if that's true or not, but it would sure make sense if it is.

I get to ride Transformers (and see all the other new attractions of the past 2 years) this coming Thursday night for the first time. Sadly, it'll be during HHN (instead of a day trip), but I'm looking forward to it!

 

[Andy]

Shorter than 6 weeks :thumbs:

 

[Disneyhead]

I heard the tax bill they avoided was in the ballpark of $150 Million. I have also heard that Cabana Bay was part of the tax avoidance plan.

 

[Cupcakes]

There's also the fact that Transformers would help make it so the other end of the park won't be as much of a giant mess of crowds when London opens up, and let's not forget that Transformers is a big merchandise seller. Considering all those factors, cloning it to USF made perfect sense.

 

[Andy]

Major Reasons Transformers was brought to USF

1. Taxes - by reinvesting Capital the tax penalty was greatly reduced
2. Cost Effective - This attractions most expensive aspects like R&D and animation were already complete
3. Time line and attendance - again all the R&D was done so it was pretty much a plug and play attraction in order to give USF an E ticket before Diagon. They wanted this major E ticket to avoid the severe decrease in attendance that happened to IOA in 2009 once everyone knew Potter was coming.
4. Major success of the attraction - The ride has already proven to be a huge win for both Singapore and Hollywood. Both parks saw major increases in attendance as well as increase in per guest spending.

 

[JungleSkip]

And USF has seen a 20% increase already from the attraction. I'd call it a complete home run.

 

[natespf]

Major Reasons Transformers was brought to USF

1. Taxes - by reinvesting Capital the tax penalty was greatly reduced
2. Cost Effective - This attractions most expensive aspects like R&D and animation were already complete
3. Time line and attendance - again all the R&D was done so it was pretty much a plug and play attraction in order to give USF an E ticket before Diagon. They wanted this major E ticket to avoid the severe decrease in attendance that happened to IOA in 2009 once everyone knew Potter was coming.
4. Major success of the attraction - The ride has already proven to be a huge win for both Singapore and Hollywood. Both parks saw major increases in attendance as well as increase in per guest spending.

1. = When.
2. & 4. = What.
3. = Where.

The Why is always to make their property more valuable :rofl:

 

[JungleSkip]

New Forbidden Journey ride profile is fantastic. Love it even more than I used to.

 

[Themeparkvigilante]

I didnt notice any difference in how the ride felt. Still seems the same way since the first time I rode it 2 years ago. Lets just hope they fix the low contrast issue on those screens though.

 

[Teebin]

There are 4 projectors per screen? Why? I would think they would have had custom lenses created just for the domes. Regardless, this is the first time I have heard of there being 4 projectors. Interesting that they only show one unit per on the master ENGINEERING PLANS.

 

[Accio Butterbeer]

New Forbidden Journey ride profile is fantastic. Love it even more than I used to.

Really? What's new about it?!

 

[Marni1971]

Really? What's new about it?!

The rough edges have gone. Still a thrilling ride but smoother and just as enjoyable.

 

[JungleSkip]

The rough edges have gone. Still a thrilling ride but smoother and just as enjoyable.

More enjoyable, IMO.

 

[Andy]

More enjoyable, IMO.

Me too

 

[Enbee]

Me too

Me three.

 

[Mad Dog]

We rode it on five occasions on five different days. It was much improved with the better lighted screens. But I have a question. On some of the days the ride was noticebly smoother than when we went in 2011 & 2012. But on two of the days the ride seemed rougher to us. Is this just our imagination, or are they still experimenting with different ride scenarios, as was discussed the past few months?

 

[Andy]

We rode it on five occasions on five different days. It was much improved with the better lighted screens. But I have a question. On some of the days the ride was noticebly smoother than when we went in 2011 & 2012. But on two of the days the ride seemed rougher to us. Is this just our imagination, or are they still experimenting with different ride scenarios, as was discussed the past few months?

Only thing I can think of is possibly an RV needing service but I doubt it. Might just be your perspective of the ride that day. :shrug:

 

[Claymax]

Only thing I can think of is possibly an RV needing service but I doubt it. Might just be your perspective of the ride that day. :shrug:

Does seating position affect the ride quality like it does on say, Dinosaur at AK?

 

[Hockeyman55]

Does seating position affect the ride quality like it does on say, Dinosaur at AK?

You might get a little more action on the ends, especially when it turns pretty quick but dont think it really is noticeable

 

[AK-Jake]

I rode it 2 weeks ago for the first time in 2 years and I also noticed that the ride was much smoother and it was incredibly better lit. The dementors at the end are MUCH more in your face and creepy. I forgot to bring my flashlight to see if the hordes of Dementors that were "cut" from the ride are still up in the ceiling area. I also noticed that the screens were brighter as well...they still don't seem very "sharp" in image clarity though.

As for seating position, because I'm usually a single rider, I don't ride in the middle very often; I'm usually on the ends. However, this last trip, I marathoned on FJ near closing one night and was often riding by myself, so I sat in all the different seats. I really didn't notice much if any difference in the intensity of the ride experience. The only difference I really noticed was where you were in relation to the dragon. On one end, he's RIGHT IN YOUR FACE, whereas on the other end, he doesn't even come close to you.

Great ride! Can't wait to see how Gringotts is next year...I predict it's gonna blow FJ right out of the water.