Sources say Harry Potter attraction coming to Universal Studios Hollywood

Employee parking can be moved or reduced as well.

eightdotthree said:
Employee parking can be moved or reduced as well.

I don't know how much more reduction it can handle if they keep adding things that need staffing. I've seen it decently full on plenty of occasions, and not only during the busy seasons. I think the employee lot is as small as it will get unless they do a parking structure back there as well.

What you guys are calling 5th Ave is a very busy backstage pedestrian walkway and bus road for employees. It includes the employee store, the employee eatery, wardrobe, park operations offices, Dave School, a lot of maintenance buildings, and the many veins and walkways employees use to get to the different areas of the two parks. If I recall correctly, it also includes access to the entertainment offices, the hiring/personnel building, and a few other places that I had no idea what they were used for.

I'm not saying that it couldn't be done, but I am saying that I can't imagine how it could be done without extensive redo of the way the entire area works. I will reiterate, it is a very busy employee area.

That is, unless the entire tram was tunneled and ran over everything else. That might be possible.

If only tunneling was as cheap as it was in RCT; 1 dig down, 2 digs down, good to go.

You mean elevated, as in the Chicago El.

There was mention of the Gibson Amphitheatre being removed for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so that would seem to be the portion of the Upper Lot that will be impacted.

Oh! How about that! From an AP story that I just found at CBS News:

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said he was told that a live concert venue, Gibson Amphitheatre, would be scrapped to make way for the attraction. He said it would open around 2014, but officials did not give a date.

Cool! Just remember you read it here, then here first! :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Shame, I liked the venue and it has a decent history. But money talks.

And it's active for 11 of the next 62 days. It sits on a big chunk of ground on a convenient edge of a really crowded theme park property. I think it's probably hard to say that it is the highest and best use for the spot. It is isolated from the park so they could do major construction there without disturbing normal operation, and if they really want a concert venue, they could build one elsewhere on the property, maybe on the other side of the parking area or down on the lot. In any case, away from the theme park.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.