New additon to Universal Islands of Adventure. Will it hurt WDW?
Walt Disney World: Universal is building a new section to their Island of adventure. Do youy think it will hurt WDW?
I Fear in the near future - 2010 - Walt Disney World is gonna face a serious hit. Why? you may ask. While i was watching the Trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix i saw a like tho The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I click the link and to my delight - and horror - I see Universal Orlando is building and entire section of Islands of andventure to Harry Potter. I am a Harry Poter fan - Eragon too - but i am also a Disney fan. In 2010 on my Yearly trip to Orlando i plan to stop at Universal to see the addition then move on to Disney. Do you think this addition will hurt Walt Disney World?
May your Swords Stay Sharp!
In terms of popularity, yes I think so.
It will certainly raise attendance at USF/IOA and I think it's a GREAT addition to the parks. But honestly, anytime someone "outshines" Disney, Disney steps up their game 10fold to compete and that is when we get the best new Disney attractions. IOA/USF is not the immersive world that WDW is and it's really only a 2-3 day visit, at most- where a Disney vacation can last 4-7 days and the family STILL miss some things. With that in mind, Disney is always going to be the top dog. Make no mistake, this WILL affect Disney... but attendance-wise, it will be very minor. Remember, competition breeds innovation.
If they make a new attraction i wonder what kind it will be. Thrill, Dark,a kiddie ride? Whatever it is it's got to be good.
Will it hurt Disney? Hell no…. Disney has a large array of parks other than the Magic Kingdom. The water Parks are the Best in the world. Epcot is also very nice. I believe you may go to Universal (my personnel favorite) for a day of two, but you will also visit some of the Disney parks. Most will maybe add an extra day for IOA in addition to Disney. If you want to talk about great parks, look no further than Bush Gardens Tampa.
There is already competition from Sea World, Universal and soon Aquatica..
With the amount of Folks (40 million per year) visiting the Orlando area there is more than enough in the Kitty to pass around to all of the parks.
The state of Florida will be the big winner here. Now if they opened a Casino in the Orlando area, I would be much happier!!
No, I think Disney will be fine. They will keep doing what they have been doing, but it might help Universal since they haven't have a surge like when IOA opened. I do think they deserve it! They have come out with some great stuff lately!
From John Erb
Posted June 26, 2007 at 10:15 AM
I honestly think that when any major Orlando park adds a big new attraction - EVERYONE profits! As most people go there for extended stays, I doubt people will avoid Disney just to go the the new HP Island at IOA. In reality the publicity IOA/USF gets from the new HP island will draw more visitors to the area who otherwise might not have gone at that time, so Disney et al will get more visitors than they would have. As most people at least sample both mega-parks, they both profit when more people are drawn to the area.
I'm wondering why you "fear" Disney is going to take a big hit. Is it an awful thing that Universal is successful and its popularity is likely to increase? Honestly, I think a drop in attendance might be good for Disney. It will force them to start pouring more money into the parks.
well, disney has TONS of money and if they were getting signs of a dramatic loss in guest or something to that nature, im sure they would do something to fix the problem like build a thrill ride or a roller coaster or something thats just awesome!
This may be a bad idea while im typing this im sure its a bad idea but what if Disney does something like this arry potter prak IOA is doing but do it with eargon. Ih Wait nmv better idea A whole Pirate's of the Carribean Park. that doen't sound very good either now that i think about. either way just a few ideas.
This WILL affect disney, and has the on their toes. This is the reason they are allegedly dumping new ideas in favor of revamping old ones, and sticking with names that everyone knows. Hence it is rumored that MGM will be dropped from the name and Pixar will replace it, Toy Story Mania is only the beginning for Pixar related attractions. Indiana Jones will have a new movie out next year, and it is rumored that they will tie in the area around the stunt show to fit a ride and give Indy his own section, or even wider...give George Lucas his own section with the Indy ride, an update to Star Tours (which Anthony Daniels....C-3p0 has confirmed) and a yet unnamed attraction.
All of this is said to be revealed in or around 2010. If this is not indication that disney is afraid of a boy wizard who has raked in BILLIONS in movie tickets, book sales, video games, and other miscellaneous merchandise, then I dont know what is. Disney obviously made a mistake when they passed on doing Harry Potter the way that JK wanted to do it, and shelling out the money they wanted. Instead they hope to capture this same fervor with Narnia, and revamps of old names. If they wanted to make a big statement they would dust off Beastly Kingdom for AK.
If nothing is done but the conversion of a few rides into movies and pixar, then disney WILL suffer the wrath of Potter.
I know Eragon Didnt make as much money as they hoped but What if Disney went to Christopher paolini and did Like IOA and made an Eragon Section they way it's Really suposse to look like
If Disney survived the creation of IOA, then they can survive a new Universal Land.
From Lee Mak
Posted June 27, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Disney needs to keep adding more thrilling rides to compete with IOA. I don't think its an issue of characters having higher brand recognition. Potter is hot right now and the books are making billions for JK Rowling, but will it make billions for IOA? I think it will increase attendance largely for the first few years it is open. Then the hubbub will subside. It is the nature of theme parks to out-do each other. Disney will continue adding more thrilling rides than they ever had and will continue to crush IOA in long run...Universal is big, but disney is bigger. The mouse will always have deeper pockets that the boy wizard can conjure up and the imagineers are planning years into the future with development ideas for a massive amount of property, unlike Universal that has finite space and trendier products. Trends seem to go away, but Mickey is iconic...If Universal really wants to compete, they need to produce better movies and turn them into rides quicker; or tap their best loved movies for more ride ideas....Twister is a disgrace; they can't make stuff like that and keep it open when it gets such little attendance. They sink too much money into ideas that are luke-warm.
Its a good thing comic movies are so hot...or else IOA would have bombed, regardless of its coasters and flair.
Eragon would be huge waste of investment. I know the books are popular right now among young readers. But most critics and adults see them for what they are... A direct rip of the Star Wars storyline (deeper than Star Wars' basic use of the "hero's journey") set in a LOTR environment. The books will never sell or be as popular as Narnia/LOTR/Potter and the movie tanked, so I doubt there is a market for any major Eragon attractions. They'd be better off expanding on their Narnia branding, if anything... though I have a feeling they have a much different setting in mind- so as to not look like they're simply riding HP's coattails.
I agree - Eragon would be a bad idea. And I don't think the solution would be more thrill rides either. If anything, I believe Disney builds too many. When was the last time an E ticket was built in Disney World that wasn't a thrill ride? I don't think they should stop building them but Disney needs to be reminded that E ticket and thrill ride are not equivalent. Disney really was stupid to pass up Harry Potter if they had the opportunity to get it. If they're looking to counteract and out-do Universal's Potter plan (which will be near to impossible in my opinion) their best bet now would be to expand on Indy and Star Wars (and open Beastly Kingdom, of course.)
Eric - right now according to Disney, MGM isn't being renamed Pixar Studios - just Mickey Avenue.
MGM is being dropped and the park will just be Called Disney Studios i think
This has been discussed here and on other Disney watchdog and news sites for close to a year now (if not more). Consensus is that it will be renamed Disney*Pixar Studios.
From Gareth H
Posted June 27, 2007 at 3:57 PM
Either way it will be good for the visitors.
Good luck USF and good luck Disney. Disney won't suffer the slightest and IOA will benefit hugely.
This will be a great boost to the ever expanding Orlando tourist region and all the surounding business's.
Great news for all!
I think its going to be Disney Studios, but this has been around for at least two years so I doubt it will happen anytime soon!
Anyway, what kind of E ticket ride do you want to have that is not a thrill ride. I really can't think of any that aren't for the exception of the Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Carribean. If you want something similar to that, I think Spaceship Earth falls into that. There is also Soarin which seems E ticket to me. I do not know, you are right, but its tough. I too would like to see something made by Disney that is not a kiddie ride or a thrill ride. Universal should follow too. I am still confused about this land because it just seems that they are going to redo the Lost Continent
Hi this is the address for the Harry Potter park http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/
I would be very happy to see more E tickets along the lines of Pirates and Mansion. I guess what I'd really like to see though would be one involving the destruction of a certain bear's playground, a large lagoon, and a giant squid...
Yes David, very good!
Disney really needs to update or expand the Star Tours/Star Wars themed rides. Star Wars has celebrated 30 years and currently in production for a TV series. Also, how about revamping the 'The Peter Pan's Flight' The new DVD just released recently and a "Tinker Bell" DVD movie is on its way. This would make $cense since Peter Pan is timeless and the ride now looks sooo worn.
In my opinion, Disney should open a land based around Hayao Miyazaki's anime films. They have the rights to the movies, and they could make tons of great rides themed around them.
For instance, they could have a Spirited Away roller coaster that looks like the dragon.
Or, they could have a launched tower ride themed to look like the flying pink item in Totoro. This could be about 300-400 feet in the air, and could be placed to offer the best view of the Walt Disney World resort possible. Maybe it could rotate, so everyone can get a great view.
Hey! After recently just coming back from Universal, Islands of Adventure, Six Flags New England, and 3 out of the 4 parks at Disney...I dont think that anything will affect the amount of money that Disney is bringing in. Should Disney expand on some things and build a few new things...?...yes, but in the mean time nothing is going to hurt Disney!
Matt, I love Miyazaki. LOVE....but, the general population has no clue who this guy is. Sure they might know Howls Moving Castle, or Spirited away, but I'm pretty sure they would have no idea who Porko Rosso is, Totoro, or Princess Monoke. And those are some of the latest films....lets go back into the 90's. Not wide enough appeal...they would look out of place.
Yeah, but no one had really heard about Song of the South, but they made Splash Mountain, and it was great.
Kids don't know Song of the South... but anyone over 25 does. And you're marketing to the parents, not the kids... So...
From John Erb
Posted July 16, 2007 at 11:55 AM
I can honestly say That I did not know that Splash Mountain was based on Song of the South (If I did, I forgot), and I barely even know what Song of the South is lol (and I'm 44)
disney doesn't need to fear anything.plus this is a section, not a park so it can't hurt disney at all.
I think this does have the potential to hurt Disney. Unless you've been living under a rock for a while, you know how big Potter is. These aren't fans who are going to easily forget the series either once the final book is out. Harry Potter is by far bigger than anything Disney currently has and probably ever has had. With the announcement, I think many people were woken for the first time to the existence of Islands of Adventure. I can really see this being a big attendance boost for the park and I really hope it is.
A park section based on one of the biggest selling book and movie franchises of all time, and it wont hurt disney? I have read countless people who have said "I am taking two days away from my disney trip to go to Universal in 2009". Add enough of those, and that wont hurt disney? Javion, I know disney ears are permanently implanted onto your head....but come on.
But Song of the South is only unknown because it was banned for having "racial undertones"....which it does....but its based on stories from slaves and how they perceived things and told stories....of course its going to have a few racial undertones....but that doesnt stop it from being a great story.
Back to my point....oh there it is way over here....disney has said (or at least to its employees) that they are going to stick with familiar names and characters for the next few years. They are not going to be making anymore "original" rides...but instead capitilize and expand on what they already have. Hence, more Pixar rides, that long rumored expansion of Star Tours into a whole Star Wars area, and even Indiana Jones who will have a brand new movie out next year. Miyazaki, while he is known, isnt as known as John Lasseter and his line of work. (just in case you guys dont know, John Lasseter he's the director of four of the 8 Pixar films, and two of the most succesful)
Well, if Miyazaki is out of the question, then I like the idea of Pixar based rides. I think that they could turn something from Monters Inc. into a ride.
Something based on Narnia could be really great, if done right. Their current Narnia attraction sucks, and doesnt even deserve to be called an attraction, so they should really replace it with something that is actually a ride.
They should make something based on Kingdom Hearts, that could definately boost attendance. That game has a really big following, plus its awesome, so Disney should put something based on it in.
well it doesn't.. matter to me bc i'm not a fan harry potter anyway.
I was at Universal 3 days ago and I did not see any construction at all on the harry potter section. Even from the lift of dueling dragons I didn't see anything. When on dueling dragons you are usually not looking for construction and are otherwise occupied, but still I did not notice anything.
on a different note my friends uncle or aunt (can't remember which) wrote song of the south.
Jaivion...
I am not a fan of The Mummy movies... but the Mummy coaster at Universal is one of my very favorite rides.
I also am not a fan of Shrek (AT ALL), yet I think the Shrek show is the best 4-D show in the Orlando area.
Point is, as long as something is well themed and the attractions are well designed, you should be able to look beyond the source material and whether you're a fan of it or not.
As for construction on Harry Potter. No, they haven't started yet. At least not in any areas visible to park guests. But being the heart of the busy season, it seems smart to hold off at least until early fall before doing anything that either affects, or is visible to regular park guests.
I agree with chris, however people might be driven away by it. I know my god mother will never go to universal again, because she thinks that it is the spawn of satan or something, but i think that it will benefit more than it will hurt
Yeah, the people that dislike Harry Potter (either for religous reasons or just not being a fan of the stories/ character) are FAR outnumbered by the more rabid and more casual fans. That the books have sold over 400million copies and the movies have grossed almost 4BILLION worldwide is a testament to that.
I have to admit though, that I'm confused by theme park fans who are against HP from a religous standpoint. It seems so shallow. How is HP any more "evil" than an undead Egyptian pharoah? Or a foul mouthed, white haired ghost? Or mythological gods? Or anthropomorphic talking animals? Or Sorcerer Mickey?
It's like people hear from an outspoken religous speaker "this is evil" and fail to look at anything in context or with any objectivity.
My sister teaches fourth grade and she has a student who is not allowed to read Harry Potter. OK, fine, that's his parent's choice. But he comes into class wearing South Park t-shirts and quoting American Pie. What kind of sense does that make?
As a kid Twilight zone scare the Spit out of me. But I love the ride.....so Javion, again, if it is a good ride, people will go. Some people will not, simply because now that Harry Potter is at Universal.....its crap, the books are not that good, and the movies are horrible.....nevermind that when it was rumored to go to disney it was the best thing in the world. Some people are so brainwashed by disney (and some to Universal :cough:) that they will not venture out no matter what. And rather than give into curiosity, they will ignore it and pretend that it never existed.
But the issue at hand....disney is concerned about Harry Potter. They see what Universal has done so far, and though they dont come close to their admission...they see that 6 to 8 million visitors as visitors they will not get. As Harry Potter gets closer, that number will go up....just as that number went up for Animal Kingdom and Everest. I know that everest was THE reason I bought my annual passes.....just to see what it was going to be about. To say that disney is not concerned, is to ignore what disney has announced to be doing, and is ignorant. Of course they arent going to openly panic, but you can bet they are waiting with baited breath to see what Universal comes up with.
i said i didn't like harry, i didn't say i will not see it.
I agree this will affect Disney, but in the long run, it will be a GOOD effect. The imagineers LOVE a challenge and love having the freedom to meet it head-on and seem to do their best work then. With Iger in charge now and with John Lasseter in charge of creative affairs at the theme parks (in addition to the company's theatrical outputs) Disney is actually in a great position right now to make serious steps forward.
The one-two punch of losing out on Harry Potter and the KUKA ride technology was a blow, no doubt... but I think Iger, Lasseter and the Imagineers see it as a welcome challenge. This competition can only be a good thing for BOTH resort complexes ultimately.
I think what people fail to see is that this is great for Universal and great for Disney. Since IOA opened they have done nothing and after a few years of doing nothing Disney has gotten lazy. Hopefully this will wake them up and see that they are not the only game in town. I personally can't wait for HP to open and I have to say after being a Disney nut for years I am leaning toward Universal/IOA now. They have more imagination than Disney. If I see one more Paxar movie made into a ride I am going to puke. Disney has gone form an innovator to dumbing down the the Theme park industry with overlays and retheaming. All that said I will be there when HP opens to take a stroll in Hogsmead. As far as people having a religious problem with Potter, those are the same few people that make a lot of noise about everything. Ignore them and they will go away.
Disney has no imagination? What are you talking about. Every thing about Disney came from the imagineers imaginations. Universal movies are more about real life but so what, Disney and Universal are the two of the best theme park resorts in the world.
Now back to the discussion. Harry Potter will be big because the series has ended so you won't constantly have to make more rides when a new book comes out. Kids, teens, and adults like Harry Potter and is successful in selling its books, and tickets to its movies.
Disney needs to work on keeping teens in the parks. If they keep making attractions ( like the sea with nemo and friends and Laugh Floor Comedy Club ) Teens will get bored. Disney needs more exciting rides.
From Tyler W.
Posted July 17, 2007 at 12:07 PM
Chris the thing about the kid being able to watch South Park but not even read Harry Potter is really stupid. I'm 12 and I love Harry Potter but I can't watch South Park
The living seas with Nemo, Stitchs great escape are just a few examples of Disney's lack of imagination. Yes they USED to have a great imagination, but now its all about renaming and rethemeing, nothing new. They are on top and no they are lazy and its our fault just as much as there's. We get excited about the living seas with Nemo, really, come on. There is a reason that HP went to Universal, the people behind HP didn't want to see the Haunted Mansion renamed Haunted Hogwarts or the Tea Cups becoming Harrys Spin Span. Universal will do it right.
Mike, honestly I don't think teens are Disney's biggest concern. With too many teens comes a bad name for the park (i.e. Six Flags), they're the ones who cause the most trouble (look at the Tigger or Downtown Disney incidents) and they're going to spend a LOT less money than families are going.
All in all, it does have disney paying attention. After all, a park that they didnt think would become anything is now pulling people away from their parks......not a lot, but they are. Disney is still king of the theme parks, but if they keep crap up like MILF and Finding Nemo....they wont be. Instead they need to focus attention on some long wanted updates such as Star Tours, and Space Mountain....or brush off old ideas like Beastly Kingdom or Narnia. A lot of people will go to check out Harry Potter and stay because they will love the whole park.
Universal is going to have to clean up the rest of the park if they want disney people to be dazzled......but thats another story for another time.
This discussion has been archived, and is not accepting additional responses.
