Yes but people had a bit more time to plan for it during phase 1... With no sure plans for an opening, the general public isn't going to risk going if they don't believe it's open... So while it'll probably be crazy, it probably won't be quite as bad as the first day of phase 1...
Agree 100%! The rumored webcast on the 16th is when I think they might announce the grand opening (if it happens). The webcast would make sense for them to do for a few reasons:
1) Talk about all the stuff they have going on the rest of the week. Between tons of press events, The Tonight Show, and the E! TV special, they have a lot of hype to talk about.
2) If they announce the opening date for June 21st (or 20th), that will not give the locals any time to request off work. Come Monday, most employers have the schedule set in stone for the rest of the week. If a local wants to visit on opening day, they will either need to get somebody to cover their shift or call in sick.
I think Universal's main goal this time around is to avoid another picture like that. SO many people took their once a year (or maybe once every few year) vacation on that date. Some did it by choice not knowing any better and some just happened to book the same day as opening day not knowing or a year in advance. Then, since all the locals knew the opening day well enough in advance, they requested off work to show up. Can you imagine all the complaints they had to deal with that day? Why would Universal want to have to put up with this madness again? There have no reason too.
Universal knows that once they open, it will be packed for well over a year. They are also going to want to have a date public before they start showing off the land daily on The Tonight Show. So, doing a webcast announcing the land opening in 5 days is the best thing they could do.
It will still be crazy busy, but not nearly this bad. For phase 1, the vacation package started opening day and the date was known well in advance. This time, local people won't have such an easy time showing up on opening day and out of towners that booked the current package won't arrive for roughly 10 days. This gives the land time for the locals to check it out before the 2nd wave swarms the land. I think how they are handling this opening is great. A nightmare for people that want to visit right after it opens, but still the best overall way to do it.