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Diagon Alley

jjuttp

By jjuttp,
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DaptoFunlandGuy Veteran

DaptoFunlandGuy

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I opened this on saturday, and loaded the page, but never got around to reading it until last night.

This is a perfect example of what a park needs to do when they bring in a new ride. They've built an entire world around just one ride, based on it's position within a fictional world.

A ride isn't "x" themed because you plonk it down, call it that, paint it the right colour and put a few props in the queue. Every aspect of the ride has to be suited to the theme.

While Orlando has always been on the to do list (and WWOHP wasn't enough to bump it up the list) this just ensured it is number 2 on my 'next to do' list.

(Japan holds #1 simply because the wife has always wanted to go there, and our last two trips already postponed it).

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joz Experienced

joz

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It looks very impressive, lots of good detail. But something's been bothering me...

Will everyone be praising Disney if when they open their new Star Wars themed land if it only has 1 ride in it? People are already moaning that apparently Avatarland will only have 1 ride in it, so why is this OK? Again, what if Disney spread out it's Star Wars land between 2 (or more) parks? I can already hear the people calling it a cynical money grab if Disney were to do it, so, where are those people now?

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GoGoBoy Experienced

GoGoBoy

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It looks very impressive, lots of good detail. But something's been bothering me...

Will everyone be praising Disney if when they open their new Star Wars themed land if it only has 1 ride in it? People are already moaning that apparently Avatarland will only have 1 ride in it, so why is this OK? Again, what if Disney spread out it's Star Wars land between 2 (or more) parks? I can already hear the people calling it a cynical money grab if Disney were to do it, so, where are those people now?

I totally agree with you joz. I can't believe this new area only has one new ride. I thought they'd at least have a couple of smaller attractions similar to the Wizarding World, like a minor roller coaster etc. Top marks for incredible and immersive theming. Marks taken off for a serious lack of rides!

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tipsy_bella Explorer

tipsy_bella

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I've been to the Hogsmeade side of the WWOHP at Islands of Adventure and they have four rides in that area. (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge - red & blue and flight of the Hippogriff)

But it's so much more than rides. It's an experience and the intricate detail is AMAZING. Moaning Myrtle's voice in the bathroom, the animated windows, tasting butter beer and visiting all of the shops. Then you have the shows - ollivanders, students choir etc.

Diagon Alley even though it only has two rides will be an area you'll be able to spend a couple of hours in. I'm excited for my visit next year.

Universal are leading the way in immersive, interactive experiences and can be so much more than rides. It's about that feeling you'll get when you walk through the hole on the wall.

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Reanimated35 Experienced

Reanimated35

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This was already on my plan for next year, but the more I look at this, even though I never got around to finishing the books or watching all the movies, the more I want to visit to check it out. They're really out-done themselves and I would have expected to see this kind of approach from Disney over Universal

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joz Experienced

joz

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Wouldn't it be 2 rides given you take the train to get there?

And wasn't Diagon Alley just a shopping area in the book? How do you propose they theme a coaster to a shop?

If you upgrade to a park hopper. Hogwarts express is basically a well themed up charge.

How do they theme a coaster to a shop? Well they've themed one to a bank so it can clearly be done.

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rac2703 Contributor

rac2703

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It looks very impressive, lots of good detail. But something's been bothering me...

Will everyone be praising Disney if when they open their new Star Wars themed land if it only has 1 ride in it? People are already moaning that apparently Avatarland will only have 1 ride in it, so why is this OK? Again, what if Disney spread out it's Star Wars land between 2 (or more) parks? I can already hear the people calling it a cynical money grab if Disney were to do it, so, where are those people now?

Considering that the entire new land replaced 1 single ride (Jaws Ride) I think this is a huge improvement!

* It now has a signature new ride (Gringotts Coaster)

* The train ride going between the 2 parks

* A range of highly themed shops (7 shops + a market area with stalls) (A huge range of theme-park exclusive merchandise)

* Ollivanders Wand shop is basically an attraction/show in itself.

* A Restaurant (Leaky Cauldron) and other food options

* A stage with 2 different live shows performed throughout the day

* An interactive wand experience (you purchased wands can be used to interactive with theme elements in both Harry Potter worlds)

Edited by rac2703
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DaptoFunlandGuy Veteran

DaptoFunlandGuy

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^let's remember that Ollivander's was originally in the WWOHP - they've opened it up in Diagon Alley as a bigger version of its former self as it proved so popular in the original release, so that isn't really 'new' - just a relocation upgrade on an existing 'attractionshow'.

The interactive wand experience is also just an upgrade of the former Ollivander's site... but yes, it is much more than just 'a ride'

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rac2703 Contributor

rac2703

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Yes Ollivander's is still at Hogsmede, although they did close the joke shop (Zonko's) and expanded the candy store (Honeydukes) into its space.

Ollivanders at Hogsmede was one of the major diversions the park made from the books (with permission from J.K Rowling), as Ollivanders in the books and films is only found in Diagon Alley, so they made the Hogsmede Ollivanders to be a sort of of local branch off the original location.

And the interactive wand is not an upgrade of the Ollivanders experience its all new - When you buy a RFID chipped wand you can walk around the area and cast spells with the wand and see things happen all around Diagon Alley and Hogsmede.

See Here >>

Edited by rac2703
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DaptoFunlandGuy Veteran

DaptoFunlandGuy

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And the interactive wand is not an upgrade of the Ollivanders experience its all new - When you buy a RFID chipped wand you can walk around the area and cast spells with the wand and see things happen all around Diagon Alley and Hogsmede.

Ok - I wasn't sure if Ollivander's remained in Hogsmeade, but the show experience is an upgrade, in a new location - so really they've done the equivalent of 'adding a second train' so to speak - they've just improved the capacity of the attraction (although split across two different park locations.)

As for the interactive wand, AFAIK, the original ollivander's gave guests the opportunity to have a wand 'choose them' and they could buy a (non-RFID) wand. The ability to now buy an RFID enabled wand that interacts with you within the park is certainly a step up, but it is certainly an UPGRADE to an existing experience.

I'm not knocking it - i think everything they've done here is fantastic, and a lot of work has gone into it - but to look at it objectively and switch off the HP fanboy inside me - It would have been nice to see them fit in more than one ride.

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rappa Experienced

rappa

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I think the differentiating factor here is just being Diagon Alley is an attraction in itself. Well if you're a potter fan, if you're not then it's just like any other single attraction land.

Problem is there aren't the die hard fans of avatar and there also isn't a single location to re create from Star Wars.

If I draw a comparison, I recon everyone still would have thought radiator springs was amazing if it only had the e ticket.

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