Universal Orlando attendance up 46% in 4Q

kpjb said:
You mean something like... this?

Some pretty solid rumors floating around down there that the Pixar Studios area will be taking its final form before too long. Buzz seems to indicate that the Monsters Inc. coaster is all green-lighted, and the past several times I was playing in that park, there were constantly Imagineers and various other creative/construction execs floating around in the general area. Supposedly there has been some uptick in activities in some of the lot buildings as well, like the old Animation building. Speaking of which, a lot of people are of the mindset to just put the current pathetic version of the Backlot Tour to rest.

But back on-topic; Potter has been a unanimous success for Universal. I showed several friends the area when they were down for vacations, and they were all blown away by the level of detail and the immersive nature of the area. My girlfriend, who knows practically nothing about the books or movies, agrees that it is amazing, and that it beats anything at Disney, no questions asked. The merchandise sales are astounding, but I also understand that they gross upwards of $10,000 per day on average at at least one of those outdoor Butter Beer stands. The unparalleled popularity of the entire area is ridiculous, although Dragons still manages to have almost no wait at all. I still think its because unless they are running horrendously slow, they can push people through almost as fast or faster than people can walk from the entrance to the station. However, the Forbidden Journey crew has taken the nod from Hulk for the ride crew with the most hustle in Orlando in my view. Having worked on a continuous load/unload attraction myself, avoiding stops can be a real challenge.