Universal Orlando (Studios/IOA) : General Discussion

[Danny]

Great to see it's almost finished. It's going to be a monumental occasion seeing it move for the first time.

Edit: Universal have posed this video of several actors having a look around Diagon Alley. And for the first time ever, interior shots of the Hogwarts Express

 

[Dave]

Okay that does look epic

 

[Danny]

The preview for Diagon Alley is expected to take place between 17th - 19th June, with Helena Bonham Carter being confirmed as attending by her reps. An expected opening date is likely to be not long after.

 

[TheMan]

Wow!

 

[Scott]

This whole thing is bloody ridiculous. I am so unbelievably excited to experience it in September

 

[AstroDan]

Forbidden Journey is incredible. The standards look set to continue here.

Awesome.

 

[Craig]

They've even put double yellow lines down

 

[Rob]

Oh wow they really are including the finest of details; that photo looks like it was taken in London rather than in a theme park in Orlando! Now they just need to include some potholes in the road!

 

[Nick]

So the only complaints about this expansion are that they've included another Ollivanders to allow for a higher throughput and they've included an incredible dragon? I never knew including more things makes it worse, considering this is a theme park and it's meant to be a fantasy world.

 

[Danny]

I don't see what the problem is with the Ollivanders installation. The newest addition in Diagon Alley is obviously going to be much truer to the books which will keep the purists happy. The reason it was originally installed in Hogsmede was to give visitors the experience of the concept, and look how popular it turned out to be. Universal would have been stupid not to include that experience in some form or another, and seeing as JK Rowling agreed to it, it's hardly doing any harm.

The dragon sitting atop Gringotts make sense when you come off the ride, whereas it would seem far too normal if you came off and everything outside was untouched as if nothing had happened. Not to mention the dragon itself is such a technical achievement that when in operation, there will be no denying how astonishing it is through innovation and the immaculate details.

 

[James]

Still not fussed on Ollivanders as a brand and the dragon... but I can see the decisions with both and there's no arguing both things will compliment the areas and amaze many guests.

Can't wait to see the dragon in action, it's a mammoth of a piece of theming and I'd dread to think the amount of headaches they had to go through to make it technically possible.

Ooooo and double yellow lines, what ever replica London street needs.

 

[CoasterCrazyChris]

Who cares about there being two Ollivanders?

The scale of this development is stunning, although I must admit from that video Diagon Alley looks far too wide to really capture the essence of the narrow streets and the crooked buildings that we saw in the films which you can see in this still from the first film.

I know it needs to be wide to accommodate the HUGE volumes of guests that will pour through it but it seems a little too much in my opinion.

I assume that a lot more props and streets actors will appear before the area fully opens to the public because that is what will truly make it an immersive experience.

 

[Alastair]

They will have wanted it wider than the original Hogsmeade was, which was slightly too narrow in places for the numbers of guests passing through it. Nothing worse than a bottleneck in a high throughput area.

 

[nemesis1994]

I'm fine with diagonal alley being wider than the film which is much better than ramming thousands of people down a more realistic but very claustrophobic version. It looks brilliant and I would like to dump that massive lake in the real centre of London, not at universal! It's weird seeing a copy of parts of London in America. (Well not an exact copy as sadly ollivanders and flying dragons aren't real shops with proper wands in London. I wish they were though )

 

[Danny]

Exciting times ahead for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights as the confirmation that The Walking Dead attraction will return for a third year in a row, and it's set to be twice the size of any maze Universal have created before:

Fears over the zombie apocalypse just got much worse.

Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort are bringing back The Walking Dead toHalloween Horror Nights for an unprecedented third year in a row.

Hundreds of zombies will be featured in elaborate horror mazes and throughout the theme parks for the popular Halloween-season attraction in Hollywood, California and Orlando, Florida.

"The Walking Dead is a once in a lifetime horror property," says John Murdy, creative director of Universal Studios Hollywood. "It transcends the typical boundaries of traditional movies or television shows. It appeals to everyone. The show keeps zombies in the zeitgeist of American pop culture."

Michael Aiello, the creative development director for Universal Orlando Resort, said the decision to bring the AMC program back for a third year was not taken lightly.

"I'll put it into context -- we have never brought back any property for Horror Nights. But this is the third year for Walking Dead," says Aiello. "It's huge."

The 2014 Halloween Horror Night activities will be based on the completed fourth season of The Walking Dead, which follows a band of survivors who must contend with predatory zombies. Both parks have worked closely with representatives of the show, including the show's executive producer and special effects supervisor Greg Nicotero.

In a release about the new horror season, Nicotero called it an "incredible collaboration." Murdy says that last year, Nicotero personally looked over 2,500 prosthetic special effects used by zombies in the parks.

In Hollywood this year, the zombies will be in a horror maze set in the prison featured in season four. There will be more zombies overflowing through a "scare zone" throughout the park. And predatory zombies will also be wandering in the Universal backlot where the studio tram tour will be renamed "Terror Tram: Invaded by The Walking Dead."

"What's different about about horror nights is that you're no longer safe watching the show on your couch," says Murdy. "You're in the world."

Universal Orlando Resort will feature the largest maze built in the park's Halloween history, twice the size of any done in the past. The horror scenes will include the prison and also a dilapidated country club which will be overrun by zombie walkers.

"We have an uber maze and more," says Aiello. "We really had to examine -- How are going this like we have never done it before? And we have."

I really do envy anyone who is visiting this year around HHN.

 

[Rob]

I don't envy anyone who has to queue up to two hours to go through what admitedly will be a very well themed maze in a conga line with 'generic' staff standing in obvious places along the route rendering the whole experience boring and pointless. Least that's what the two mazes I did at HHN were like, I can only assume it is the same for them all.

 

[Danny]

All I've heard about them is rave reviews, so they seem worth it especially if you have enough time. The amount of effort that Universal will likely put into this 'mega maze' is likely going to be mindblowing.

On the Potter side of things, the construction walls are down allowing unobscured views of the area:

Images courtesy of MagicCityMayhem on Instagram.

 

[Jonathan]

Even with each new photo that I see of this, I'm still astounded by the attention to detail and realism of this entire project. I seriously cannot wait to go to Florida!

 

[Andrew]

The walls are down allowing for superb photos (Just a few more to add to Danny's)

All below pictures are from Theme Park Collective but I do not know the original photographer:

Nothing less than stunning!

 

[Rob]

Ok that really is just utterly ridiculous! I am so excited to see this for myself hopefully next year!