Six years ago, when Universal Parks & Resorts opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida, the initial experience was less than magical. It was a sweltering June day. The main attraction, a simulated broom ride, proved a little too rambunctious, leaving entire families with motion sickness. At one point, the line to get into Hogsmeade village was nine hours long.
Nine.
Now comes the cross-country expansion. Universal Studios Hollywood will unveil its own Wizarding World on April 7. Although the Potter movie series ended in 2011, calling into question continuing interest in the boy wizard, analysts expect the Hollywood park’s overall attendance to increase immediately by more than 20 percent. The addition may give Universal Parks & Resorts an earnings lift of as much as $100 million in 2017.
The good news for visitors: Universal seems determined to make this introduction smoother. It chose a quieter time of year for the unveiling (spring instead of summer). Management started letting in small numbers of people in February for what it has called “technical rehearsals.” Universal introduced a demand-based ticket pricing system aimed at preventing overcrowding. And it tweaked the Hogsmeade blueprints to add capacity.
That broom ride — this time in 3-D — is still making some people vomit, though.
Categories: Entertainment
