Harry potter Ask The Disney Experts Discuss Harry potter in the Ask The Experts forums; I am not a HP fan,but what happen with Disney? I thought at one time they were making a deal to bring HP to Disney? What implications,if any do you ...

[garryz]

I am not a HP fan,but what happen with Disney? I thought at one time they were making a deal to bring HP to Disney?

What implications,if any do you think Disney will feel with this loss

[Carolla]

They were outbid by Universal...

There will be "implications" More fans will go spend some of thier money at Universal, but I think that's a good thing. Competetion will make Disney realize "we have to be innovative" (And sorry, "innovative" is not "put the same ride at every park we own" IMHO)

[Chrissy&Tayen]

im totally on edge on the opening day.. they just keeps saying spring... it makes me wanna scream... because i cant wait to see hogwarts... you better believe when i get there in a couple days.... i will be trying to sneek a few peeks

[doconeill]

Word on the street was that Disney wanted to do a single attraction, but Rowling wanted much more and Universal was willing to commit to a much bigger vision.

How much impact will it have? Remains to be seen - but we're already seeing a major expansion of Fantasyland, a long awaited re-do of Star Tours...and rumors of lots of new technology, some hints of which we've already seen...

[CarinaBelle]

From what I have heard about the Harry Potter "world" at Universal, it seems that they have just re-purposed existing rides, and will build one new one. The Flying Unicorn will be the same ride, but the unicorns will change to hippogriffs, and Dueling Dragons will be re-themed to reflect the Harry Potter dragon fight scene. Since Universal already had appropriately themed rides, it makes more sense for them to build it rather than Disney.

[WDW4Ever]

Personally, I'm glad Harry Potter didn't make it to WDW or DL or anywhere. I'm not a big fan of Harry in the first place, but even before that, I don't even see it fitting in anywhere except a small part in DHS.

I don't think Disney has/had the capacity to make it all that it could/should be without making a complete new land.

[LivLuvsTink]

Yeah, i think i wouldn't like Harry Potter at Disney either....

[DAR]

Personally I'm looking forward to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I absolutely loved the books and the movies.

[TheLionKing]

I'm not a fan of H.P either, we haven't been to Universal since our first trip and have no plans to go in the near future.
I did read somewhere that Imagineers weren't particularly looking forward to working with J.K Rowling who is supposed to be very difficult to work with when it comes to her beloved Harry.
For me the Fantasyland expansion is much more exciting than Harry Potter World, I also wonder about the longevity of it, will Harry Potter still be big in 10-20 years time or will Universal just end up with an out of date land that cost a fortune?

[mritty]

Well for me the impact is that in July I'll be making my 18th WDW/DL trip, and for the very first time I'm going to go to a non-Disney park. I'm taking my 15 year old sister, and we're going to spend 2 of our 9 days at Universal. We're both big HP fans, and if it wasn't for HP-ville opening at IOA, we wouldn't be going to the competition. Of course, the fact that HP-ville is opening is a large part of the reason for the trip itself, so it's also equally true that if it wasn't for it opening, we might not be spending 7 days at Disney this July either.

So I think it's going to somewhat balance out. I think there will be some people who spend less of their vacation at Disney, but there will also be those who make the extra trip to the Orlando area - and visit both Disney and the competition - specifically because of Harry Potter. I happen to fall into both categories.

[Veritas]

Nothing is better for Disney than good competition. Harry Potter at IOA will spur more action from Disney. doconeill hit the big points. I hope this makes the Suits take a hard look at plussing up the parks further

[Chrissy&Tayen]

i got a thing in the mail the other days saying we could get ressies and special grand opening tickets.. and it said starting in may.. so im thinking may is the opening month.. looking around the other day.. it still looks like alot of work to be done

[RuddyWDW]

Dont think i'd want to be visiting IOA in the first few months of it opening it will be crazy I would imagine. Hopefully it will draw some people away from Disney and make them realise we need some new attractions!

[Chrissy&Tayen]

im waiting til october hopefully by then it will be good.. but in they thing they sent.. you can do breakfast there too.. and i can book it until dec of this year.. so i figure i will book that way for the breakfast and the special tickets

[thegoz85]

I'm glad Universal got Harry Potter. I like visiting their parks, and I'm excited to see what they've done with the franchise.

Plus, like a previous poster said, competition is only a good thing for Disney. Competition breeds innovation. I always root to see a healthy Universal - not only because I enjoy Universal, but also because that means Disney can't rest on their laurels.

Oh, and I've heard that Rowling is a pain to deal with. So perhaps it's best that Disney didn't get that franchise.