Wizarding World - Diagon Alley Discussion - Part 2

[Parkscope Joe]

Haven't seen HTF's tweet, but I'm going to guess the 'polarizing' news it the 'polercoaster' announcement.
Not UO related, it's supposed to be on I-Drive.

Just my guess.

Creative, but no.

 

[illumination]

[video=youtube;tdLvGNjtpPs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdLvGNjtpPs[/video]

t4p! everything looks great to me. it must be awkward for them to be filmed as they walk around like that. guess actors are used to it though.

minor question--i thought those were holes drilled in the floor of the entry hall, but the way they were walking over them it appears they are filled now. are they for the magnetic queue poles to be placed on?

 

[Teebin]

t4p! everything looks great to me. it must be awkward for them to be filmed as they walk around like that. guess actors are used to it though.

minor question--i thought those were holes drilled in the floor of the entry hall, but the way they were walking over them it appears they are filled now. are they for the magnetic queue poles to be placed on?

The black discs have little holes in the center for queue rails.

 

[illumination]

This is my favorite picture that the actors took.

 

[DragonSlayer]

? I didn't know they forced guests to ride it now. How inconvenient.

For development, I said nothing about riding it.

This is my favorite picture that the actors took.

Same! The ceiling is amazing.

 

[Nitro_230]

Is anyone else a little disappointed with the "Wall Effect" when you walk into Diagon from the main entrance? It looks a little 'cheap' dare I say!? Also the walkway around the front facade looks kinda tight considering how many will be walking through?

The lack of a real wall effect is for the exact reason you point out, how many people will be walking through.

how has no one said anything reguarding weather or not London walls have come down or not today.... not on twitter or anywhere...

Haven't been but walls should still be up today.

 

[mahnamahna]

Hulk is an icon. DC is an inconvenience.

:thumbs: Dragon Challenge totally clashes with the immersion of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley/London. Not only that, but it gives the park THREE naked to near-naked steel coasters with a 54" height requirement. Hulk is the first thing people notice coming into IOA. The launch is iconic. Plus, it suits the high energy vibe of MSHI. DC looks terrible in the background of the Hogsmeade station for HE. It's becoming an eyesore for one of the most lavish areas ever built in a theme park.

J.K. Rowling might ask Universal to remove DC later on once Fantastic Beasts is released November 2016. I don't get how Universal finally getting a well-themed, mid-level (Everest/Big Thunder, 40"-46") coaster would be perceived as bad. Give DC to Busch Gardens to perhaps replace Gwazi.

I'd take an Everest/Big Thunder-sized coaster, Ford Anglia flat ride, relocated Hippogriff, Great Hall where Hippogriff used to be, and a Shrieking Shack show over a coaster with a great queue, but unthemed ride experience.

Phase 3/4 should go here... not Fear Factor (use for World Expo/MIB-Springfield mystery plot expansion), or Lost Continent (Wonka, Whoville mini-land, or a retooling of the island - pick any one of those).

 

[graspthesun]

I wouldn't be suprised if DC got the axe or was moved to another location.

Steel coasters get sold and moved all the time. I'm sure some other park would be thrilled to get such an awesome coaster. Besides, I've never seen a wait for these coasters that is longer than 20 minutes. Then again, I'lve only been in October.

 

[TheLastAshen]

London walls are still up according to Twitter

 

[JungleSkip]

London walls are still up according to Twitter

Someone on twitter said they'd come down Saturday. We'll see though

 

[ChrisFL]

I wish they'd at least repaint DC...bright (Well faded now) blue and red just doesn't fit the rest of the land area at all.

Black and dark orange would be much better

 

[Mad Dog]

Steel coasters get sold and moved all the time. I'm sure some other park would be thrilled to get such an awesome coaster. Besides, I've never seen a wait for these coasters that is longer than 20 minutes. Then again, I'lve only been in October.

DC is a huge capacity ride, that's the main reason the lines aren't long. With these expansions, and the much larger crowds expected for both parks, it would be tough for Universal to shut down such a large capacity attraction at this time.

 

[Nitro_230]

Your going to want to pay attention to this tweet:

Diagon Alley walls coming down Sunday night. Take it for what it is.
ThrillGeek (@thrillgeek) https://twitter.com/thrillgeek/statuses/474568432806264834

 

[rhino4evr]

LOL..at the folks that want to remove one of the most popular coasters in IOA because it "ruins the theming" of a train station. Really guys? . I'd rather they close FJ then DC personally. The only negative about DC is how they completely destroyed the queue theming, and ended the dueling aspect (but that was some jerks fault).

Considering the available space, and how quickly they pulled it off, I can't understand how ANYONE could be disappointed with this expansion. So the train goes backwards? Big deal. It may look silly, but as someone posted earlier, it's not unusual. I've seen trains travel backwards in me kneck of the woods several times. It's such a non-issue.

Just be happy that Universal has the ambition and drive to even put an expansion this large and this ambitious in the first place.

 

[Nitro_230]

LOL..at the folks that want to remove one of the most popular coasters in IOA because it "ruins the theming" of a train station. Really guys? . I'd rather they close FJ then DC personally. The only negative about DC is how they completely destroyed the queue theming, and ended the dueling aspect (but that was some jerks fault).

Considering the available space, and how quickly they pulled it off, I can't understand how ANYONE could be disappointed with this expansion. So the train goes backwards? Big deal. It may look silly, but as someone posted earlier, it's not unusual. I've seen trains travel backwards in me kneck of the woods several times. It's such a non-issue.

Just be happy that Universal has the ambition and drive to even put an expansion this large and this ambitious in the first place.

A general thing I've noticed is that people don't want to seem to admit that trains do in fact travel backwards.

 

[graspthesun]

DC is a huge capacity ride, that's the main reason the lines aren't long. With these expansions, and the much larger crowds expected for both parks, it would be tough for Universal to shut down such a large capacity attraction at this time.

The high capacity is a fair point. But comparing DC to other B&M coasters like Goliath, Scream, etc., you don't see the same popularity and demand. This may be due to the demographic of the park, which is all the more reason to sell it in my opinion. Move it to a more thrill oriented park where you can maximize it's potential. Maybe a Six Flags park can use it to replace one of their overused Batman: The Ride models.

 

[cheeseheadwi]

On the TP blog, Seth Kubersky posted the following:

"Though we can’t reveal how it will work, every guest entering Diagon Alley will pass through the moving brick wall behind The Leaky Cauldron, just as Harry did in the first book."

I wonder if he stands by the "moving wall" comment after the video released last night.

He also posted that a single-rider line is available for Gringotts, DA Ollivander's is virtually identical to the HM Ollivander's, and that the total combined capacity both ways of HE is equal to a normal e-ticket.

 

[TheLastAshen]

When is there ever a wait longer than 30 minutes for DC? Does it matter if its a high capacity ride if they aren't filling the seats? Tear it down, we could have something soooooo much better.

 

[Nitro_230]

The high capacity is a fair point. But comparing DC to other B&M coasters like Goliath, Scream, etc., you don't see the same popularity and demand. This may be due to the demographic of the park, which is all the more reason to sell it in my opinion. Move it to a more thrill oriented park where you can maximize it's potential. Maybe a Six Flags park can use it to replace one of their overused Batman: The Ride models.

When you say "you don't see the same popularity and demand" do you mean that it doesn't run a 2 hour line?

The first issue there is not keeping an hour wait doesn't mean it's not putting through people. a two hour wait for 6 hours, filling every seat and a 20 minute wait for 6 hours filling every seat is still the same number of riders.

Secondly because it two B&M coasters next to each other it's not really comparable. Despite the fan community knowing they are two different rides the 95%+ of the people who go to the park don't know that and ride it once. Meaning when you look at it as a complete package (not individual sides) it has double the capacity of those single B&M coasters.

 

[rhino4evr]

All I can say is that I've ridden several coasters in my lifetime, and DC is an excellent coaster on both sides. Removing it would be a great loss for coaster fans in Orlando and Florida. I could care less what the themeing purists think. You don't remove a great ride just because folks are sad they are reminded they are actually in a theme park and not in the middle of the London countryside. The tri-wiazrd cup fits just fine into the "overall" Potter universe.