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No Ricky, they’re not building an entire Harry Potter theme park. This new land will be built inside Islands of Adventure, replacing a large chunk of the Lost Continent. From what I understand, they’ll be keeping Mythos and Poseidon’s Fury in a tiny Lost Continent, but everything else will either be re-built or Harry Potter-fied. So, Dueling Dragons will most likely be rethemed, which is interesting.

Well that makes a whole lot more sense, though the article makes no indication of it being a land instead of a theme park.

I’m disappointed to hear that Dueling Dragons will be themed, as it’s one of the gems of the park as-is.

Where are you getting your information?

I’m getting my information from Universal’s official site. Check out the FAQs section:

http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/index.html

Plus, from what I understand, Disney will no longer be making a KUKA RoboCoaster-based Incredibles ride. They lost out on exclusive use of the technology to Universal. There goes Tony Baxter’s secret project. So now the technology will be used in a new ride inside this Harry Potter land at Islands of Adventure, to make a Ford Anglia fly.

Looks pretty official to me. Thanks for the link. I’ll correct my comments above.

I’m still disappointed, but I suppose there will be thousands of excited Harry Potter fans.

It’s a “theme park within a theme park”, which is where the above article got confused, I guess.

So I’m curious Ricky. You’ve never read a page of the books, nor seen the movies, and yet you know you hate it? Why the animosity? You seemed to like Kingdom Keepers, so you’re not opposed to fantasy, the movies were wayy better than the Narnia one, and right up there with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Why the unwillingness to try? I do agree however that I hope they don’t take too much away from Dueling Dragons 2nd best cue at a theme park (1st is Indiana Jones at Disneyland.)

Looking at the high-res concept art, it seems that Dueling Dragons will be given a Quidditch theme, and that the Hogwarts castle will be built south of The Flying Unicorn, on that unused section of land in Jurassic Park. I presume the Hogwarts casle will either house or conceal the Flying Ford Anglia ride.

Ricky, you really ought to watch the Harry Potter movies. If you like Spider-Man and Star Wars, I’m sure you’ll love them. Lots of fantasy, action, unforgettable characters, and English humour.

I didn’t say I hated it. Not by any means. I said I have no interest in it. I really have no desire to see the movies or read the books… and likewise, I have no desire to visit a land devoted to a topic that I have no interest in.

It’s the same reason I didn’t see Cars in the theater and would not want to see any Cars attractions pop up in the parks (oops, too late). I watched the movie, I enjoyed it, but it’s not a favorite by any means. It’s just a subject that I have no interest in. In fact, I wouldn’t own the DVD if I hadn’t gotten it for free.

I agree with Alan. You should at least give the 1st movie a shot. At worst 2 hours of your life will have been wasted (more than enough time to make more Dole Whips!). But I think the concept art lead more to Dueling Dragons being themed to the Dragon Contest form the 4th book/movie and the Flying Unicorn to be more the one rethemed to Quiddich. IOA needed something big, I hope this is it for their sake and the sake of Disney stepping up to compete.

Yes Ricky, you should definately check them out.

And here’s a thing; I have no interest at all in Animals, I actually quite dis-like them. But I still go to Animal Kingdom. Your dis-interest shouldn’t stop you from going to the area.

I will check out the new Harry Potter land when it’s done. That doesn’t mean I’ll be watching the movie in preparation for going there. Who knows, maybe the land will make me want to see the films.

The concept art looks very nice, and it seems they managed to follow JK Rowling’s wishes that all guests enter through Diagon Alley.

And Louie, it’s just my opinion, of course, but I don’t think you can get any bigger than Marvel, and the Spider-Man attraction alone is reason enough to visit IoA.

Ricky, I think your comment “I couldn’t care less” is a bit closed minded and really short sighted. I am not a big Harry Potter fan either, but look at the big picture and realize what a world wide phenomenon the franchise is. This is going to be a HUGE draw for Universal, and a much needed shot in the arm for Islands of Adventure which has not seen a major new attaction since the day it openend nearly 9 years ago. Further, this will in the long run benefit Disney World because it is going to increase the competition between the parks, and Disney will be forced to continue to build new rides to draw people back.
As for closing BTF and putting Simpsons there, well I have no problem being bitter with you over that one! ;-)

Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, and The Incredible Hulk are the ONLY reasons I go to IoA. I used to like Seuss Landing, but it got old, as did the rest of the park.

Let me amend my “couldn’t care less” statement:
I couldn’t care less about Harry Potter. I do care about the new land’s impact on tourism, Disney’s reaction to it, and the fact that Orlando may be getting a very cool new ride, even if it’s Harry Potter-themed. That much I care about. What I don’t care about is the Harry Potter theme itself. I understand that it’s a huge phenomenon but you can’t force me to like something. I’ll go check out the land, I’ll probably enjoy the ride and the scenery, but it still doesn’t mean I’ll care about Harry Potter.

There are many properties that I would have (and have had) the same reaction to. Stitch’s Great Escape is one of them. Stitch is HUGELY popular yet I refuse to ever enter that attraction again. I tried it once, as I will do with the Harry Potter land.

Ricky, I think where we are all confused is [i][u]why[/u][/i] Harry Potter doesn’t interest you in the slightest? If I remember from a podcast you liked Narnia, or am I wrong about that. Is it just the fantasy genre, or is there something about Harry Potter that rubbed you the wrong way early on? (Ex-girlfriend’s favorite book, don’t like English authors, a Wizard ran over your puppy as a kid….etc).

Roddy….I agree whole heartedly with you. Marvel Island is awsome and Spider-Man is still the best theme park ride anywhere in my opinion. But it has been almost 10 years since any major improvements in the park. It’s like Disneyland from 94-04, no major improvements=attendance drops. IOA has been declining steadly (which breaks my heart) so they need a shot in the arm. Or Island as the case may be. I hope this is it.

INSIDE THE MAGIC HOST HATES HARRY POTTER!

Ah, I can just see the headlines :-) Only joking Ricky. True, nobody wants to be forced to like something. But Harry Potter isn’t an annoying blue alien cartoon character. Harry Potter is really cool. The music alone, by John Williams, is magical. And the environments, the characters, the effects, the magic, the humour, it’s all first class. Plus it’s all very English, which is a good thing! Not seeing the Harry Potter movies is like missing out on Star Wars or Back to the Future. You really ought to watch them.

I really don’t have an answer to your questions. It’s just a matter of preference I suppose. Ever since I first saw Harry Potter madness, I just didn’t have any interest. It has blown up into a worldwide phenomenon… and I still have no interest. In fact, the more I hear about it, the less interested I am. ;)

It’s like asking me why I don’t like seafood. I have no idea why… it’s just how it goes.

I get you ricky. I can relate by saying I have zero interest in Star Trek. Wildly popular, though I’ve never had the slightest interest to watch a movie or tv show.
I think most of us share your reasons for going to IoA, because Spiderman, and the 2 coasters are really the only things worth going for. Jurassic Park sucks. That should have been a jeep ride that simulates the T rex scene from the first movie, including being flipped over. I sort of have an idea on how to build a ride vehicle that would do that.

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