Wizarding World - Diagon Alley Discussion - Part 2

[Nick]

Ok, time for me to exit this thread until I visit. Getting a little too spoiler-y for my tastes.

 

[Teebin]

It just hit me that there is no "engineer" running this train. I haven't seen a picture yet of the empty engineer's cabin.

 

[Quint]

What is the themed bus marked Camp LKO parked next to KC mean? There is a base camp at Everest called Camp Lucknow and abbreviated to LKO. It is a themed rusty bag of bolts and and very run down.

Luckow family private event. Custom vinyl wrap on Fort Wilderness bus. The family has spent near $8M at Disney alone this visit. I wonder what a private DA event costs?

 

[Skubersky]

Once the "Seven Minute Ride time" Universal originally claimed was deemed false, the capacity picture got much better. They seemed to be hitting 7 minute cycle time regularly yesterday, which comes out to about 1400 people per side per hour. Not great, but better than the 1000 or so we could have expected with a seven minute ride time.

I don't recall anyone from Uni claiming the ride portion was 7 minutes. The entire cycle (including load/unload) is about 7 min.

 

[JungleSkip]

I don't recall anyone from Uni claiming the ride portion was 7 minutes. The entire cycle (including load/unload) is about 7 min.

When they first released more details on the HE, they said the trip from start to finish would last 7 minutes. I don't know if something got lost in translation from interviews and what the press released, but that's definitely what was released to the public initially.

Here are the quotes from Inside the Magic, NY Daily News, and Snitch Seeker. There are more, but I just wanted to show where I got that:

"The Hogwarts Express trains will seat roughly 200 passengers and the ride will last around 7 minutes"

"The Hogwarts Express will take passengers on a seven-minute trip from Diagon Alley to Hogwarts."

"The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will connect both Hogsmeade village with Diagon Alley via a running Hogwarts Express, which should seat around 200 people per ride, and run an average of 7 minutes from the start of the ride to the very end, stated Universal Orlando Resort's Michael DoQui, senior producer for Universal Creative, at a press event on Thursday evening in New York City."

 

[illumination]

Ok, time for me to exit this thread until I visit. Getting a little too spoiler-y for my tastes.

Someone really ought to make a HE thread...

 

[darkridelover]

It's 3:20 from station to station. With a 1 and a half minutes to unload/load this should be quick 5 mins turn around when they get it just right! 168 total per train.

 

[s8film40]

Here are a couple of videos I took, I really liked the steam effects and the sounds!
[video=youtube;Bbxi_jzRqqw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbxi_jzRqqw[/video]
[video=youtube;s0rBXeSjVrQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0rBXeSjVrQ[/video]

 

[Viator]

Something I never realized but, Theres a tardis on the ride. Kinda cool of a little treat and its odd on that they have had the tardis at Universal Orlando twice now...

 

[UK-Trigg]

Wow that station looks as long as a football field :thumbs:

 

[retroeric]

It's 3:20 from station to station. With a 1 and a half minutes to unload/load this should be quick 5 mins turn around when they get it just right! 168 total per train.

Weird. I timed both directions and they were both 4:05, from the moment the train starts moving to the moment it stops.

 

[Brian G.]

Someone really ought to make a HE thread...

We are working on something. You'll see soon!

 

[Mad Dog]

Weird. I timed both directions and they were both 4:05, from the moment the train starts moving to the moment it stops.

Seth Kubersky timed it and agrees with your time. Another poster was basing a shorter time on seeing it from the employee lot from one station to the next. They evidently are not taking into factor the time moving within the train station, therefore coming up with a time shorter than the actual.

 

[GAcoaster]

It just hit me that there is no "engineer" running this train. I haven't seen a picture yet of the empty engineer's cabin.

I was struck by that last night when we rode and watched it pull into the station. Surprised they don't have a costumed person up there for show, but I guess it's run by "magic"?

I really enjoyed the HE and liked the experience overall but (aside from Hermione's voice) there were two nit picky things that stood out for me.

First was the brick work in Kings Cross looks like really poor sponge painting. A least at eye level they need to plus it a bit to make it look more realistic.

Second was on the carriage being pulled by a thestral in Hogsmeade, the wiring for the lights was held onto one of the wheels with cable ties, and it was put in a spot where it was visible (instead of being behind the luggage like it looks like it was supposed to be).

Aside from that I thought it was all very well done. The details of the train are fantastic (and I grew up around live steam engines), and I was really impressed with how well they did the "track" in the stations to make it look like the wheels actually work and are on the rails.

Also REALLY impressed with how much queue they have built and setup in each station and how well they manage the lines. They are really ready for the onslaught. And, the Hogsmeade Station area was very well done, with the trees and the cosmetic changes to the Sinbad theater really doing a great job of hiding it.

 

[Teebin]

BTW, how did Gringotts perform for the package people last night?

I was struck by that last night when we rode and watched it pull into the station. Surprised they don't have a costumed person up there for show, but I guess it's run by "magic"?

Perhaps you can only see him or her if someone close to you has died...

 

[darkridelover]

The brickwork is beautiful. Its not a painting!!! It amazingly sculpted to look just like the real kings cross station. Then meticulously painted to look worn and old! I don't know what you're seeing but you're absolutely wrong!!!

 

[GAcoaster]

The bricks themselves are fine, it's the painting ON them that is lousy. Looks very much like an amateur theater set.

 

[darkridelover]

Its not lousy at all!!! You're wrong

 

[novawildcat18]

So is this real or no? Tweeted by OI about 3 hours ago. No one's mentioned it on here.

 

[dandan]

For those suggesting there is a Tardis in the Hogwarts Express scenes; there really isn't. It's a UK motorway road sign, which are blue. People really do see what they want to see!