Universal Studios - Wizarding World Opening

Dear Mr. Theme Park,

Universal Studios Hollywood opens their version of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on Thursday this week.  What kind of impact do you think this will have on the park and how do you think it will impact Orlando?

-       Steve

Steve,

If the reception by the West Coast audience is close to what Florida experienced when they opened Harry Potter in 2010, then “Katie bar the door!”

We expect the opening to be really strong.  I remember going to the opening of Harry Potter in 2010.  John McReynolds, current IAAPA Chair and Senior Vice President of Universal, invited me to the opening event.  It was wall to wall people.  The lines during the first several weeks were 8 hours long – not to get into the park, but to enter the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section!  People did not seem to mind the long lines.  They were heavily into Harry Potter, and those in line were having a good time savoring all the fun of meeting other Harry Potter enthusiasts.

I anticipate a huge attendance from the local population and the secondary market, followed soon thereafter by people from the tertiary markets.  You can bet that merchandise and food/beverage sales will be strong, particularly the butterbeer, which sold over 1 million we were told during the introductory season.

So, Steve, the impact on California’s park will be enormous.  We at ITPS believe this impact could be well into the 20+% range as it relates to the gate, possibly 25% or more.  Revenues will trail with high per caps for the in-park spend.

One of the biggest issues with which Universal will have to cope is crowd management and capacity issues.  California, as you may know, is a smaller park spatially than Orlando.  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in California is about one-half the size of the Orlando attraction.  This means bigger crowds in tighter space.  So, I am sure Universal Studios in California has crowd management at the top of their priority list when it opens.

What a great time to be part of our exciting industry.  We have so many good things happening, not just in the USA but globally.  Not too long from now, we will be focusing on Disney’s Shanghai opening.  What an opening that will be!