Honestly, I see no downside to this expansion....everything looks like it will be amazing. And yes, there will be some long lines and major waits, but that is the kind of problem Universal has needed for a long time. And long lines in Potterville mean short lines everywhere else, so look on the bright side! Still, the crowds will be huge this year (the on-site resorts are pretty much sold out in May already), which is all the more reason to be patient and give it a few months before planning an extensive vacation.
Besides, in a year or two, the crowds will even out a bit and standard touring strategies will still work: arrive early, hit the headliners first, take a midday break, and come back for the high capacity stuff later in the day.
Universal has really stepped up to the plate with this expansion and is poised to hit a monster fly ball...we'll just have to wait and see if that fly ball makes it out of the park or not...
Fired up!
Its real value lies in that Brian's killed 20 minutes playing with it so far and shows no sign of giving me the map back soon. That's interactive marketing, folks. This is designed to get the techie kids involved and it's hitting its market.
By the way, despite what was shown in the instructional video, you don't need some old-school webcam to see this. Brian used the built-in webcam on my wife's HP laptop and didn't need to fiddle with that software at all. Just click the button on the harrypotter3d.com site and hold the map up to the camera.
The big question I have is... capacity? How long will the wait be to do the Ollivander's experience this first summer, given that this can't be a very high-capacity experience? Will you need a reservation?