The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood

[Alexshow.]

...It'd be one hell of a way to end off the year i'd say that.

 

[b4ben24]

Wait where is the employment office?????

 

[Allen The Actor]

They're hiring for Potter already...?

I honestly doubt they would start public rides anytime this year at all.....there is still a TON of work to do, despite part of Hogsmeade looking "done". It would be a great early present for us, yes, but let's also be realistic before jumping the gun. Also, running the ride in July also seems extremely soon...

Then again, Universal moves pretty damn fast with its projects recently, with Springfield as proof. But Wizarding World is a lot more complicated and detailed than that, so....*shrug* maybe. I guess if they miraculously finish it all by December, they can still Grand Open in January as a promised "2016" opening date, but again, in my eyes it seems extremely soon.

 

[Brandonshah97]

Yeah.... Althought Hogsmeade looks like it's near completion... Hogwarts still... Well.... Needs work... They have barely started steel framework for the rock and God knows how many Months it is going to take to start molding the rockwork... And then paint it all..... I'm not worried about the castle they can finish that in a month of they really wanted to... I mean, after springfield...

Who knows what they're capable of..

 

[Ryan]

We ran into some people coming out of the employment office. They just got hired for Potter. Said is was "suggested" that they were going to start running the ride in July. I had previously heard USH was considering some unannounced public rides as soon a Nov/Dec.

No... no sorry I don't believe this. The ride may be intact inside that will probably start it's testing phases in a couple months. (thus necessary staff) But the exterior and the rest of the land has a long while to go. I just don't see December. Remember: ALL of Wizarding World has to be ready for it to open, which means less than eight months in this case. I just can't see it. (throws hands up in the air; waits to be proven wrong)

Wait where is the employment office?????

Above Abercrombie and Fitch in CityWalk.

 

[Wesker69]

Employment office is located above A&F in the Citywalk hub... the entrance gate for employees is to the left of A&F..

And yea, I heard they'd be doing Potter recruiting around this time. They have A LOT of training that needs to be taken care of.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

As for Potter... Time for the east coast novice to chime in...

First off... I am not a fan of Potter what-so-ever haha.. Even more so now with Diagon Alley's existence because it replaced one of the greatest rides at Universal Orlando.... The Jaws Ride. So yea.. but whatever.. not the point right now haha.

It still amuses me that this was announced December 2011, but didn't start construction until last year. I still feel like construction is progressing at a snails pace to an extant, but due to its location within the park, its understandable. While I may not care for Potter, I'm excited for it to open next year (eek... can't believe I actually just said that :wacko: ) I'll weigh in on WWOHP more in another post or two later...

This is what I have been told from reliable sources:

- Forbidden Journey is expected to begin cycling ride vehicles July 2015

- Forbidden Journey is rumored to be 3D (which is not as crazy as it might sound because Orlando's FJ was originally supposed to be 3D. Japan's version was also supposed to be 3D, but that obviously didn't happen. So...... "I'll believe it when I see it".)

 

[Aaron]

I doubt Forbidden Journey will be in 3D, there wouldn't be a great way to implement it without changing some design features in the ride. Aside from a few differences we're pretty much getting what Japan got, unless the FJ upgrades HTF mentioned a few years back end up being true.

 

[Allen The Actor]

I know that Orlando's was ORIGINALLY planned to be in 3D, but it was scrapped for multiple reasons, which I'm glad about. The ride already makes people queasy, so being in 3D would make it even worse.

Japan's version was never supposed to be in 3D from the start nor was it planned, I can confirm that for you.

I'm with Zero56, our version will be identical to Japan's version, not including any possible projection upgrades or any HTF-rumored additions.

Anyway, yeah, I'm sorry, I just can't see this ride opening this year. There is a TON to do. Quite literally.

 

[techmaniac16]

That blackout calender is massive proof. It makes a lot of sense. Soft openings during March 2016 and an official opening during Summer 2016. December 2015  is too early and December 2016 just seems really late IMO. 

 

[Aaron]

That blackout calender is massive proof. It makes a lot of sense. Soft openings during March 2016 and an official opening during Summer 2016. December just seems really late IMO. 

December 2015 not 2016 haha. 

 

[JaySalahi]

I remember reading how FJ tested for like 8 months in Orlando. 

July - March is 8 months soooooooo It would make sense 

 

[Allen The Actor]

Yeah, it will take a while to test the ride. And the thing is, despite being the third incarnation, it's still a very complicated ride and will require identical testing, etc.

 

[William]

I still don't believe the 3D rumor. Maybe I'm being stubborn, but can you imagine the amount of glasses littered on the floor of the show building that were thrown off of riders as the KUKA arm whipped them around? Doesn't seem very practical.

 

[Aaron]

Just thinking about HP opening next year has me like... 

 

[Allen The Actor]

Exactly, it's impractical, and would cause people to be even more nauseous.


Also, I'm not even sure if 3D would work properly on such a heavily domed screen.

 

[William]

It still amuses me that this was announced December 2011, but didn't start construction until last year. I still feel like construction is progressing at a snails pace to an extant, but due to its location within the park, its understandable.

They waited to begin construction until after the summer crowds had left, and after the final performance in the Gibson Amphitheater. It wouldn't have been realistic of them to cut off half of the park during Grinchmas and kick out acts that were prepped for Gibson.

On top of that, I think what they've accomplished in the past year is remarkable. This is a massive project, and while it may seem to be progressing at a "snail's pace", there's a lot going on under the hood.

 

[Wesker69]

Exactly... that is the main reason why I'm like "3D? hah.. yea okay. I'll believe that when I see it". The last thing the park needs is ANOTHER 3D ride/attraction anyway. But yea.. imagine if FJ was in 3D & having to work there... ugh, the amount of glasses that'd fall off. haha

As for FJ's wild-n-crazy thrill ride programming... we can only hope. In Orlando, the ride has been neutered so much that it just isn't the same as when it first opened. It has been toned down a lot. Considering USH has a lack of thrill rides as it is, FJ not operating the way it was intended would kinda suck, especially for those of you who haven't gotten the chance to experience it in Orlandon (or Japan).

My biggest gripes with FJ in Orlando are the screens... they look awful. Some are washed out, some have weird color distortion. Its bad. Most people probably wouldn't notice, but when you've ridden it 40+ times since 2010... you tend to notice when things change. Like I said about the ride programming, it has been tweaked so much that I noticed the "benches" line up with the screens differently than before, which sort've affects the experience (ex: Quidditch Pitch 'finale'). Also the end of the ride is not synced up properly either, resulting in hearing, but not seeing Potter vs Dementor...

Oh yea.. speaking of the Dementors. You guys were wondering about the Dementor/Finale of FJ in Orlando thing..  Nothing was ever removed/changed, it is still the same as when it first opened. However, the rumor is, originally the ride had a multiple Dementor attack... not just one or two Dementors, but an entire horde of them. They were supposed to basically surround/hover over you and suck out your soul. According to the rumor, this was deemed "too scary/intense" by WB so that effect was removed. Some people have said that this horde of Dementors are still inside the attraction just all the way up in the rafters of the show building. I have yet to have this confirmed, but since one of my friends just transferred over to FJ, I'll ask him. The only downside Orlando's ride still has are wind effects don't always work, water effects don't always work, and the soul-sucking effect pretty much never works (kinda like how ET in Orlando never says your name at the end of the ride... although I believe they're finally fixing that). So hopefully with the upgrades Japan got & this being the 3rd time around... we won't see as many issues. Although.....  my nickname for FJ for the first 3 years was "Harry Potter's Journey of Multiple Breakdowns"

 

[William]

Scaffolding on Zonko's/Honeydukes is almost completely down, and snow is up on Hogsmeade Station.

 

[Aaron]

Scaffolding on Zonko's/Honeydukes is almost completely down, and snow is up on Hogsmeade Station.

This gif is incredibly appropriate right now. 

 

[William]

Again, I post too soon. Scaffolding is down on Zonko's and Honeydukes. Also, the Viaduct Courtyard is covered in DensGlass, and there is much more metal framing for the rockwork beneath it.