Anyhoo, it's been one year since Harry Potter Land opened which Universal did not let pass without a celebration!
(Trivia: The one millionth butterbeer was sold back in January.
Our local news reader said that attendance at Universal Orlando is up 30+% for the last year. And that attendance at WDW declined.
So why didn't you-know-who (and I do NOT mean Voldemort) create HPL?
Rumoredly, the reason:
J.K. Rowling was very specific about how she wanted the park built; the Powers-that-be at Disney did not think her ideas would work; the Imagineers were rumoredly 'relieved' to not have to work with her. (Universal pretty much said: whatever you want!)
The more-or-less 'official' reason: the Powers-that-be at Disney thought that the Harry Potter craze would dwindle quickly after the last movie was released.
Had I been a Disney Imagineer, I could imagine a whole park, not just a section of one, dedicated to Wizards and wizardly stuff. How about a resort hotel done up like Hogwarts with 4 sections (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin) decorated accordingly? Every kid in the world would want to stay there. And more than a few adults, too. There could have been a Diagon Alley as well as a Hogsmeade. More rides. More wizardstuff to buy. More everything.
I am in no way denigrating the incredible job Universal has done.
But it is too bad that apparently it's okay for Walt to protect his 'dreams' and creations, but not J.K. Rowling. How ironic.
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