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Universal Orlando (Studios/IOA/Epic Universe) : General Discussion

Please excuse me for one moment. My jaw seems to have dropped by at least ten feet due to the sheer stunning nature of those photos, and I need to somehow put it back on.
 
Danny said:
Pfft, nothing compared to Merlin's efforts. They are of course, second only to Disney!
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I know you are aiming for sarcasm but I really wish people would stop using this against Merlin. They are the second largest themed attraction operator in the World, but that is mainly because they have a lot of Sea Life centres. In terms of a movie themed attraction then obviously Universal is second to Disney, for quantity of thrill rides then probably Six Flags is top in the world but for quality of themed thrill rides then it could be Busch, Phantasialand or Merlin really.

From reading their annual report I think Merlin is going to continue to focusing on midway attractions (New Orlando Tussaud's and Eye plus San Fran Dungeon) as it is easier to get a quick return on their investment.
 
jon81uk said:
I know you are aiming for sarcasm but I really wish people would stop using this against Merlin. They are the second largest themed attraction operator in the World, but that is mainly because they have a lot of Sea Life centres.
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Then they should stop using it in their marketing. If you claim to be second to Disney, a brand unanimously connected with amazing experiences and outstanding theming, then you better be able to back that up with some tangible, comparable products and Merlin are nowhere near competing yet. They aren't even in the same league as Efteling, Phantasialand or Europa-Park, let alone anywhere near Disney.

Back on topic, this looks phenomenal and I can't wait to finally get over there to experience it. The attention to detail is mind-boggling. Hopefully it won't be long until some more pictures of the Gringotts coaster and the Hogwarts Express are released.

:)
 
Dar said:
Then they should stop using it in their marketing. If you claim to be second to Disney, a brand unanimously connected with amazing experiences and outstanding theming, then you better be able to back that up with some tangible, comparable products and Merlin are nowhere near competing yet. They aren't even in the same league as Efteling, Phantasialand or Europa-Park, let alone anywhere near Disney.
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I haven't seen Merlin use the phrase in their marketing, I think a small number of press releases used it when Merlin first merged with Tussaud's. But the phrase on the about page of their website is now "Merlin Entertainments is the largest European entertainments company operating in Europe".

Back on topic I do think that some of the Harry spotter theming is better than Disney even, in fact the Simpsons area is also very good. Unfortunately they also built Rip Ride Rocket.
 
So plenty of sneak peeks to wake up to this morning, all from officialmugglesnet on Instagram.

Great to see the obvious as to how the transition onto Platform 9 and 3/4 would work, and the Gringotts bank lift for Sub terra fans :)

Edit: @screencrushnews have tweeted that when full (including the colossal outside extension queue line), Escape from Gringotts' queue line is over 2.5 miles long. :kissing:
 
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Yes.
http://instagram.com/p/paUAmAOLP4/

here's the walking through the brick wall illusion that will be visible from the queue line.

(Fans of GHOST The Musical have seen this illusion before. It's very clever)

22ghost2-custom2.jpg
 
jon81uk said:
I haven't seen Merlin use the phrase in their marketing, I think a small number of press releases used it when Merlin first merged with Tussaud's. But the phrase on the about page of their website is now "Merlin Entertainments is the largest European entertainments company operating in Europe".
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They've certainly used it a lot since they gained the Tussaud's attractions. It's fine using the phrase in their annual reports when they are talking about worldwide visitor numbers. However it is often used in either press releases or newspaper reports and even if they say "second largest" they are naturally encouraging a comparision between the two. The fact is that there is no comparision. Also they have 100 attractions across the world, I'm sure pretty sure that if you spit each attraction operators visitor numbers and divied them by the number of attractions owned Merlin would not come out second! With 100 attractions they average 598,000 visitors per attraction.

Danny said:
Edit: @screencrushnews have tweeted that when full (including the colossal outside extension queue line), Escape from Gringotts' queue line is over 2.5 miles long. :kissing:
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Whoa! That is crazy, however good it may be 2.5 miles of queue must be absolute hell. I dread to think how many hours that is.

:)
 
So the ride had a few issues on some of the runs yesterday with some people saying a few things weren't working, but still a couple of weeks to iron things out. Apparently if there's any downtime, it takes 18 minutes to full reset the ride, just goes to show how advanced it is, but does worry me in terms of queues off the back off just a couple of issues!

The Q+A has been happening this afternoon, and unsurprisingly it would seem they already have an idea on what attraction they'd like to see next. I reckon most likely it'll be Ministry of Magic related, considering the grandeur of the building. Wonder if we'll eventually see the whole Harry Potter area segregated into it's own third park?
 
Craig said:
The Q+A has been happening this afternoon, and unsurprisingly it would seem they already have an idea on what attraction they'd like to see next. I reckon most likely it'll be Ministry of Magic related, considering the grandeur of the building. Wonder if we'll eventually see the whole Harry Potter area segregated into it's own third park?
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There's some space to install Ministry of Magic at the current Diagon Alley setup. It'll be two parks as long as it exists; it's double the cash, especially with the Express running between the two.

Absolutely fascinated with this development, truly seems to raise the bar in terms of detail and ambition.
 
Theme Park Tourist have stated that the official opening date for Diagon Alley is July 8th.
 
nickhutson said:
Here's a POV of London to Hogsmede.



I love the queue to the platform - it really feels quite British.
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This is just beyond compare. Nothing and no one in the world can touch Universal right now. I love how they've integrated the silhouettes and voices as well as the screens. Also love how they've reworked the music to showcase all of John Williams' themes (completely disregarding the awful music from every film after the first three :p)
 
Ah some of doyle's music was lovely.

I think the music removes the immersion. Train journeys don't have music... - but I completely understand why it's there.
 
I think the Hollywood London layout ruins the immersion more so... Where's the Emirates Stadium for example? Why can you see the Gherkin? Etc.
 
nickhutson said:
Ah some of doyle's music was lovely.

I think the music removes the immersion. Train journeys don't have music... - but I completely understand why it's there.
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Doyle's music was good, however it was standalone and the only recognisable theme from it was the "Hogwarts Hymn" which wouldn't really have suited the train journey. Also, I disagree - the music only makes you feel more like you're IN the film. I wouldn't say that if it weren't very good music, however it is and I think it suits the feel of the ride really well.
 
I can only repeat what I've said before... Wow.

It's all just simply jaw dropping. Didn't watch the actual train journey as I'm resisting spoilers until I go but the walk through the queue to the platform is wonderful. It might be a hell of a lot of switchbacks but it's just captured the essence of Britain perfectly.
 
Have to agree with my right honourable friend above. When watching the POV the music was really getting the heckles on my neck standing up - and I am not even a Potter fan!!

Music is a uniquely powerful tool, that train is a sensory overload in immersion - it is BREATHTAKING.

And those shadows inside the train - WOW. I mean WOW. When the shadow thing came along on put it's hand on the screen I thought - I'd actually crap it at that point lol!!

Really absolutely stunning - and in this case, I really think any criticism smacks of utter and total nit picking. Respect everyone's opinions, but really, the EMIRATES stadium LOL!

Of course I've never watched the films, but feel free to correct me if it features in any of the films.

Oh look!!! It's Mesut Ozil on a broomstick!!
 
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