Art for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

There are plenty of reasons why Universal Orlando Resort's Diagon Alley is one of the best single Intellectual Property themed land in any park, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers or anywhere else. The mix of great design detail, unique shopping and dining and those thrilling attractions make it an area a guest can spend hours in. Still it is not the most popular Harry Potter themed attraction to be found.

Perhaps the most popular one is this little coaster named Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. (And you thought Disney was the only one who had claim to ridiculously long attraction names.) In order to get to Hagrid's, you have to leave the Studios park for Islands of Adventure, but it is worth it! Besides, Diagon Alley aside, the Studios park is not nearly as richly themed as the resort's second theme park. 

The concept art from Universal Creative captures the spirit of fun and discovery. It'd be foolish to think that those of you reading this have not been on the ride. But multiple launches, engaging show scenes with real animated characters, an unexpected surprise along the way and multiple ways to ride make this an adventure that is worth repeating. Disney wishes they could pull off something this terrific! 

Universal keeps upping its game with Epic Universe being the next shot at taking up more of those vacation days. What ultra creative, groundbreaking Potter attraction comes next? We'll have to wait and see. 

(Art copyright Universal Creative.)

The Whys of the Disneyland Resort

My recent visit to the Disneyland Resort was a great experience (and a tiring one as I covered 26 major attractions in a very lengthy day. Almost 18 hours actually. Read my Theme Park Commando trip report here), but the experience left me with a surprising number of questions. (Don't worry- I covered the same topic on Walt Disney World just a few days ago.)

Let's start with California Adventure, the park I visited on the first half of my day in July. I have so many "Why? questions about this park, it will be hard to limit it to three. 

• After all the work the Imagineers did to give the park a sense of charm, (accomplished in Buena Vista Street and Cars Land) why are they removing it with cheap looking overlays and removing the cohesiveness they worked so hard to bring into it?  Pixar Pier is- in a word- a mess. The Hollywood area is even worse! I found the new Marvel focused Guardians of the Galaxy attraction fun, but the building does not fit into the land. It looks even worse when the beautiful Red Car Trolley shows up right in front.
• Why did they do what they did to Ariel's Adventure/Under the Sea/The Little Mermaid? Here's a beloved and true First Class Disney Intellectual Property given a treatment so far below what it deserved or should have been. I go on it because I love the characters, the music, and the story - a father gives his life for his daughters- and I sense the potential in the first few rooms. But after the Ursula scene, let's be honest, it falls apart. Do I blame the Imagineers who worked this project? Yes. But I blame the suits who approved it. 
• To pull out the last one, Why did they approve such a half baked job for Marvel Land with an industrial looking "campus" as a super hero placesetting? Stark Industries looked cutting edge. Not at California Adventure. Did they even see the Iron Man film?

Now for Disneyland. Just because its the Granddaddy of them all, it doesn't mean the park is perfect. Consider these questions:

• Why haven't they- suits or Imagineers- figured out something to do with Tomorrowland? It's a disgrace. I went to Space Mountain, and then going into Star Wars Launch Bay, I turned around and left mere minutes later. A waste of space and waste of a land. See those trash cans? It's a good place to start placing the remnants of the demolition that needs to happen. Save the mountain, and scrap the rest. Yes, submarines included.
• Why are they keeping the "new" Pirates of the Caribbean entrance? Here's a company that known for innovation and creative thinking. Figure something out and return the original building to the way it was. They will need all that open land come Memorial Day weekend when Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens. 
• Why is Star Wars being put into Disneyland in the first place? Yes, it will cement the old gal as being the most "E Ticket" packed park in the Disney empire. But honestly, it should have anchored a third theme park. Admittedly, the newly shortened Rivers of America looks great, and the new land will drive attendance, but does it belong in "Walt's Park"? No.

I won't even talk about the Downtown Disney area. After having been in Florida's Disney Springs, Anaheim visitors and residents deserve much better. Go see for yourself.

(Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)

New Resort Announced, More Growth, More People

A "Nature inspired" resort will be opening in 2022 at Walt Disney World on the shores of Bay Lake. Except it looks like another fairly generic resort complex. Ugh.

Disney is in the midst of expansion the likes which hasn't been seen since the Golden Era under Michael Eisner when Disney-MGM Studios, Pleasure Island, Grand Floridian Resort, Caribbean Beach Resort and Typhoon Lagoon all came about. 

What Disney built in Paris would be better!

Placing this between the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Campground makes sense from a Disney executive standpoint, but it also ensures more people, more congestion, more traffic. Will there be any nature left? More details here. They could have followed a similar design to what they just opened at Disneyland Paris, but why bother?

Will the parks be able to handle all the crowds? Will new additions like Guardians of the Galaxy and Mickey and Minnie's Runway Train help absorb the masses of people coming for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge? I doubt it. 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Live from Universal Orlando Resort- Day Four: Details Abound at the Studios

The last two days of a pretty incredible trip to Universal Orlando begins today. The guys are loving it all with Volcano Bay being a blast and the two main theme parks a great place to hang out. 

No disappointments when it comes to the two Harry Potter themed lands and their stellar line up of attractions, shops and restaurants- straight out of the books and movies.

"Dad, pumpkin juice tastes like apple cider."

Time for more adventures in Diagon Alley. 

The details are everywhere. Look up! (see below.)

Looks as if the land of Homer is pretty rich in detail as well. Certainly a place for fans of the Simpsons to enjoy some fun! I love how Universal has not been afraid to reach out to the cynical but fun loving generation of the 90s. They need to be kids again!

More to come as things get wrapped up!

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 Clearly, it's time for a beer...

 Don't lose your head. Previous customers couldn't help it.

 A look at the future?

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Time for ice cream... and some exploration with that magic wand.

 Just waiting for the snot flavored jelly beans next...

 The dragon looks fantastic!

 It would probably help tremendously if I knew the books and movies. But I'm a muggle of the first degree.

I'mm guessing these last two are from inside the ice cream ship.

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(Photos copyright Mark Taft.)

Live from Universal Orlando Resort- Day Three: Volcano Bay

Looks like a perfect day for the Volcano Bay water park! Slightly overcast but warm. More later!

(Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)

Live from Universal Orlando Resort- Day Two: Islands of Adventure

Day Two begins. As you can tell from the photo above, it starts at Islands of Adventure. Home to Hogsmeade and the famous - game changing- Forbidden Journey of Harry Potter.

Amazing attention to detail!

The approach. 

More coming later in the day.

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Breakfast at the Three Broomsticks proceeded by a ride on the soon to disappear Dragon's Challenge. (Which, by the way, my son thought it was terrific and was sad to see it go.)

My question- "So Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley?  
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Rounding out the day with Dragon's Challenge (again).

Jurassic Park River Adventure, the Hulk, and Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man came next. According to him, Spider-Man is not their favorite ("Good but I wouldn't call it the "don't miss" of Islands of Adventure.")  Kong was fun but nothing to write home about.

Live From Universal Orlando Resort- Day One: Universal Studios

Fresh from this morning! A trip to Universal Orlando for 5 days- and not a Disney park on the plan. Why? Two words: Harry Potter. The boy wizard was THE draw for my youngest son and one of his best friends. They'd wanted to do this trip since Harry made his debut at Islands of Adventure years ago. And, good for them, they finally did.

Using an early morning entry, into the park they went... 

The verdict so far? And I quote, "Better than Everest!"

Stay tuned for more as the day- and the week- goes on!

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Guess it's time for something to eat. The guys must be starved.

How about The Leaky Cauldron?

Did they just step into the films? The execution of the story seems incredible! It's making me rethink my visit next year to Orlando- and I haven't even seen more than the first film.

Next up I heard was to buy a wand at some shop around the corner...

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Apparently, there's quite a selection of these. I'm guessing these are a bit more popular than the mini-banshees sold at Disney's Animal Kingdom at Pandora. I would think multiple million-selling books and a blockbuster film series may have something to do with it.

 A bit of a show, I'm told.

The final selection. More to come...

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The Mummy, Duffs, and Butterbeer- what a combination!

"How was The Mummy?", this dad asked. "Insane!" was the reply. I knew it would be a hit with its sequence of shows scenes and tricks up its sleeve. 

Being that The Simpsons was a big favorite for my son, he was sure to get a kick out of Homer's themed land. And he sure did. But the call of Harry Potter brought him back to Gringott's and a stop for Butterbeer.

In the theme park wars, it sounds as if Universal has the young adult market owned with its mix of more edgy and extreme attractions. Now I understand better why the family market is the focus of its advertising. In fact, according to my son, Minions had a 2.5 hour wait about an hour ago. Just goes to show there are less attractions for the younger kids there.

I wonder what's next...

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(Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)