Grumpy
12-22-2009, 08:15 PM
Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort have announced ambitious projects at their Orlando facilities, which will be major expansions for the parks.
The plans, a trade publication reports, will pit Harry Potter and his flying broomsticks and magic wands against Disney princesses' flying carpets and poisoned apples in a battle for visitors.
Disney World's plans will nearly double the size of Fantasyland, marking the largest expansion ever of its Magic Kingdom theme park, while the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" will be an entirely new theme park at Universal Orlando. Cost estimates were not given, but the expenditures will total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Both of the announcements, which were days apart, come at a time when the nation's recession is still evident and when attendance at theme parks has been flat. Trade magazines estimate Disney's Magic Kingdom remained flat at 17.06 million visitors in 2007 and 2008, while Universal's attendance slipped from 5.43 million in 2007 to 5.29 million last year. The projects are expected to lift attendance significantly in the future, say Orlando tourism-watchers.
Disney says the Fantasyland project will be completed by 2013 and will include a major renovation of the facility, plus a new Little Mermaid ride. Fantasyland changes will feature themes based on its popular princesses and fairies franchises, which include Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Ariel, Tinker Bell and others. Changes will include a Beauty and the Beast castle, complete with a themed restaurant and interactive fairytale lands for Disney princesses.
The additions will take over the current Toontown World, and include an underwater ride based on Disney's The Little Mermaid where the "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" ride used to be, plus a revamp of the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride, which will include an interactive three-ring circus tent.
The new theme park at Universal Orlando will come sooner than Disney's revamp, since it is scheduled to open next year. Its marquee attraction will feature a high-tech ride, "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey," which will take guests through scenes and rooms from the Potter blockbuster movies inside a richly detailed remake of Hogwarts Castle made to look 700 feet tall.
Guests will enter the "Wizarding World" through a station archway named for Hogsmeade, the magical village near Hogwarts. A plume of steam and a train whistle will sound the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. The goal is to make the experience immersive, so nothing outside is visible after guests pass the Hogsmeade station archway.
The theme park will feature other rides, the Associated Press notes. They include the "Dragon Challenge," a twin high-speed roller coaster theme after the "Triwizard Tournament" and the family roller coaster, "Flight of the Hippogriff," named for a creature with an eagle's head and horse's body.
The Potter area will be Universal's third big-ticket addition in three years. SEC flings from the company estimate the combined cost of The Simpsons Ride, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and Wizarding World at between $275 million and $310 million.
Orlando tourism interests, including the convention and visitors bureau, are delighted with the announcements.
"These brands -- Disney and Universal -- are huge throughout the world, and the only place you can get these experiences is at Orlando," a spokesperson said.
Bob Retzlaff is travel editor of the Post-Bulletin. He can be reached by phone at (507) 285-7704.
The plans, a trade publication reports, will pit Harry Potter and his flying broomsticks and magic wands against Disney princesses' flying carpets and poisoned apples in a battle for visitors.
Disney World's plans will nearly double the size of Fantasyland, marking the largest expansion ever of its Magic Kingdom theme park, while the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" will be an entirely new theme park at Universal Orlando. Cost estimates were not given, but the expenditures will total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Both of the announcements, which were days apart, come at a time when the nation's recession is still evident and when attendance at theme parks has been flat. Trade magazines estimate Disney's Magic Kingdom remained flat at 17.06 million visitors in 2007 and 2008, while Universal's attendance slipped from 5.43 million in 2007 to 5.29 million last year. The projects are expected to lift attendance significantly in the future, say Orlando tourism-watchers.
Disney says the Fantasyland project will be completed by 2013 and will include a major renovation of the facility, plus a new Little Mermaid ride. Fantasyland changes will feature themes based on its popular princesses and fairies franchises, which include Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Ariel, Tinker Bell and others. Changes will include a Beauty and the Beast castle, complete with a themed restaurant and interactive fairytale lands for Disney princesses.
The additions will take over the current Toontown World, and include an underwater ride based on Disney's The Little Mermaid where the "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" ride used to be, plus a revamp of the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride, which will include an interactive three-ring circus tent.
The new theme park at Universal Orlando will come sooner than Disney's revamp, since it is scheduled to open next year. Its marquee attraction will feature a high-tech ride, "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey," which will take guests through scenes and rooms from the Potter blockbuster movies inside a richly detailed remake of Hogwarts Castle made to look 700 feet tall.
Guests will enter the "Wizarding World" through a station archway named for Hogsmeade, the magical village near Hogwarts. A plume of steam and a train whistle will sound the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. The goal is to make the experience immersive, so nothing outside is visible after guests pass the Hogsmeade station archway.
The theme park will feature other rides, the Associated Press notes. They include the "Dragon Challenge," a twin high-speed roller coaster theme after the "Triwizard Tournament" and the family roller coaster, "Flight of the Hippogriff," named for a creature with an eagle's head and horse's body.
The Potter area will be Universal's third big-ticket addition in three years. SEC flings from the company estimate the combined cost of The Simpsons Ride, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and Wizarding World at between $275 million and $310 million.
Orlando tourism interests, including the convention and visitors bureau, are delighted with the announcements.
"These brands -- Disney and Universal -- are huge throughout the world, and the only place you can get these experiences is at Orlando," a spokesperson said.
Bob Retzlaff is travel editor of the Post-Bulletin. He can be reached by phone at (507) 285-7704.