After months of anticipation, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley is finally open at Universal Studios Florida. It becomes the second Harry Potter-themed land at the Universal Orlando Resort, joining the original Wizarding World over at Islands of Adventure (literally, as the two are connected by the Hogwarts Express ride).
Universal Orlando is experiencing unprecedented success – and owner Comcast plans to invest hundreds of millions to keep improving the resort. Here’s a round-up of the changes we can expect as Universal continues to bask in the success of its Wizarding Worlds.
3. A new island for Islands of Adventure
Status: Under construction
Before the construction walls had even come down over at Diagon Alley, Universal Orlando had already begun building its next major attraction. This time, it’ll be located over at Islands of Adventure – and it’s expected to see the return of a long-lost favorite icon of Universal theme parks.
The new addition will sit between the existing Jurassic Park and Toon Lagoon areas of Islands of Adventure, with the entire project area covering around 4.5 acres.
The bulk of action is set to take place inside an enormous ride building, itself spanning around 2.5 acres:
What will actually sit inside that building? Early rumors had suggested an attraction based on either Jurassic World (the fourth film in the Jurassic Park series, due for release in 2015) or King Kong.
Most observers now believe that Kong is more-or-less nailed-on, marking a return for the iconic beast who has a long history at Universal theme parks. Rather than being a simple addition to one of the two existing lands, Kong is expected to be handed an “island” all of his own – a recreation of Skull Island, his mysterious home.
Screamscape suggests that the headline ride will not be a simple recreation of King Kong 360 3-D at Universal Studios Hollywood. Instead, it could be a major dark ride with outdoor sections featuring high-capacity, safari-style vehicles.
King Kong was the star of Kongfrontation, one of Universal Studios Florida’s original headline rides. It closed in September 2002, being replaced by the Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster.
2. New hotels
Status: In planning
Universal Orlando will seek to bolster its status as a multi-day resort destination by constructing a lot of new hotel rooms. In September 2013, NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke claimed that it could fill 10,000-15,000 hotel rooms, and the company plans to do just that. “We need to get those hotel rooms open and build out the resort,” said Burke.
The first was the opening of the 1,800-room, moderately-priced Cabana Bay Beach Resort. The resort opened earlier this summer, and has become the first Universal Orlando hotel not to be aimed at the luxury end of the market.
It won’t end there, though. Rumors have been swirling about a fifth hotel, and thanks to the sleuths over at Parkscope it now appears that sixth and seventh properties are also in the pipeline.
Parkscope’s analysis of plans submitted by Universal to the Orange County Comptroller suggests that the fifth hotel will sit along the Royal Pacific Resort, and will become a sister resort to the existing property. It is expected to host around 1,000 rooms.
The sixth and seventh hotels are earlier in the planning stages, and are expected to be smaller at around 400 rooms each. However, plans to expand the Cabana Bay Beach Resort could see at least some of these ideas being shelved.
1. MORE Harry Potter attractions
Status: Rumored
Think Diagon Alley marks the end of Universal’s Harry Potter construction blitz? Think again!
One of the key factors in securing the rights to the Harry Potter books and movies in negotations with creator J.K. Rowling was Universal’s commitment to multiple phases – and it doesn’t intend to end with the London-themed land at Universal Studios Florida.
The opening of the original Wizarding World at Islands of Adventure led to an enormous attendance and revenue boost for Universal, so was no surprise to see the resort installing more Potter attractions at Universal Studios Florida. The debut of Diagon Alley is likely to lead to booming attendance once again in 2014.
Image © Warner Bros.
Rumors persist that both Wizarding Worlds are due for a further expansion, although nothing has been confirmed as yet. Hogsmeade could swallow up what remains of the Lost Continent, with rumored attractions including a Chamber of Secrets-themed replacement for Poseidon’s Fury. Next to Diagon Alley, a large-scale recreation of the Ministry of Magic could replace Fear Factor Live, although that would leave Universal short of show capacity for its Halloween Horror Nights events.
Will Universal really install yet more attractions based on Harry Potter’s universe? In our view, the answer is almost certainly “yes”. Diagon Alley is about as close to a nailed-on success as you can get: it’s going to make Universal a fortune in ticket sales and merchandise revenue. Universal will be keen to repeat the trick once more with a further round of Potter attractions.
For non-Potter fans who fear that resort is being taken over by wizards and witches, this isn’t necessarily bad news. All that revenue from Harry Potter is what’s triggered the other investments at Universal Orlando, such as the addition of Transformers: The Ride – 3D and the likely spending on a King Kong attraction.
Plus a lot more…
Back in the late 1990s, Universal was determined to take on Walt Disney World by installing third and even fourth theme parks. It even bought the land to do just that from Lockheed Martin. However, financial problems at then-parent company Vivendi and the disappointing initial performance of Islands of Adventure put paid to those plans, and the land was sold off.
With the enormous success of the Wizarding World, though, it was inevitable that rumors would soon spring up about a third gate for Universal Orlando. And, if you believe those rumors (and there’s evidence to support them), a water park and a new theme park could be in the pipeline. We took a detailed look at these whisperings in this recent article.
