Universal Orlando attendance up 46% in 4Q

Jeff said:
Well at least the "secret codes" for music make it a little more interesting. I listened to Blue Man Group on my ride.

Thanks for the tip! I can't stand most of the songs they stuck on there, but after googling the secret tracks, there are some good ones. I may have to actually ride it again.

rollergator said:
Not even the slightest bit surprised by ^that^ in regards to the merchandise. Seriously, there is *never* a time when you can simply walk in and buy stuff...you have to wait in a pretty significant line until you're permitted to go in and spend money on Potterabilia. Can't wait until they begin VQ'ing for the gift shops! ;)

Other than the wand shop, there wasn't a wait for the shops for much of the fall, and there wasn't last Sunday when I was there either. Right after Christmas though the Harry Potter merch was essentially sold out.

The whole Harry Potter success at Universal has me wondering... Depending on the success of Cars Land at DCA (and I can't imagine it even remotely being a flop), Disney could offer serious competition in a few years if it added an identical area in one of the Orlando parks.

I often wondered if a Star Wars area would be succesful, rather than just an attraction. Or is that genre just played out.

^^Cars is a nice franchise, and moves a lot of product. But it's no Harry Potter. In particular, it's pretty boy-centric, and it doesn't reach up much past the early grade school years. But, those boys do buy a lot of lunchboxes.

I didn't like the Cars movie at all. Talking cartoon cars living in a cartoon world, auto races, and a tow truck with gappy teeth and a God-awful, overdone southern accent does not appeal to me.

Boys age 2-5 seem to like it for some reason though. Heck, little kids will consume anything handed to them as long as it stimulates the senses.

HP appeals to almost anyone who enjoys fantasy, while Cars does not appeal to almost anyone who enjoys cartoons.

Edit - I should add, though, that the new Cars land in Ca intrigues me, especially the Test Track style ride.

I think Star Wars has proven to be fairly timeless. The recent success of the Family Guy shows, and the undoubted forthcoming bazillion selling Blu-Ray versions of the movies illustrate that. Why Lucas didn't work with Disney 20 years ago to build out a proper theme park homage to the series is beyond me.

I don't think it's even remotely too late. A Star Wars themed park area, or even a whole freaking stand-alone park, would bring in bazillions.

Your Republic credits are no good here.

Does Lego Models count as a themed area?

As for Cars...I'm sure the land will be great. However, Toy Story is where they are missing the boat. Yes they have Mania and Buzz...but an entire themed Toys Land would appeal to EVERYBODY. Kids and adults love those movies and rides. I think that might parallel Potter.

Now I admit I'm not into Potter. In fact if you show me Potter and Lord of the Rings I'm not certain I can tell you which is which. That said, Potterland and the ride are unreal. I think it MAY be the best attraction in Orlando??

I still think Toy Story Village, etc could prove a mighty rival!

You mean something like... this?

realjd said:
Other than the wand shop, there wasn't a wait for the shops for much of the fall, and there wasn't last Sunday when I was there either. Right after Christmas though the Harry Potter merch was essentially sold out.

Wow, when I was there with Homey G, mid-week a couple weeks back, there were LINES to get into those gift shops...pretty sure I mentioned that somewhere... ;)

...though the Harry Potter merch was essentially sold out.

Mayhaps thats why there weren't any lines? Just a thought...

;)

Inspector Tekno solves the mystery yet again. lol

Star Wars would definitely work as a stand alone area like HP is. The Hollywood Studios could really use a new attraction and a new area. There is just not much to do there now. I believe an area dedicated to Star Wars would do wonders for this park.

My friend down here just went to that park for the first time the other day and left after about two hours because there was "nothing much to do."

As for the HP stuff at IOA. I'm at the park almost everyday because I go to school on the Universal backlot and that park is crowded every single day. Almost to the point where you cannot move when you get in. It has also led to an increase at the studios. I for one can attest that there is no off-season down here anymore. There are just times when the parks are less busy than other times.

I've never been bored at DHS, and I don't understand how people think there's "nothing to do" there. It's even better during the holidays.

There is still an off-season, or more specifically, off-peak times, as there always has been. I was there last week, and it was not that busy. I had walk-ons to Forbidden Journey. The same rules still apply... look at the operating hours and the hotel rates. The shorter and lower they are, respectively, the less busy it's going to be.

Jeff said:
I've never been bored at DHS, and I don't understand how people think there's "nothing to do" there.

A lot of people seem to say that. Not sure how much is true and how much is just repeated reputation at this point. (like the "Six Flags sucks" stuff)

On our last visit we left an open day at the end to go back and revisit favorites or things we'd missed. The family unanimously decided to spend that extra day at the Studios park. I dare say it just might be our favorite at WDW.

There is one thing that is for sure is that The Great Movie Ride needs to be updated in some capacity. I still love it just for nostalgia but for younger kids do they even know half of the movies that are featured in there?

I think the whole point of the ride is that is runs through some of the most classic movies of all time.

Is that thing even still running? I thought there was talk about them closing or retheming it when they dropped the MGM tie-in.

It's still running. I really do enjoy it but it just seems really dated. All the movies featured are classics and I would hate to see it go. At the same time I think it may need some updating. It's just my opinion though.