Archive - Park Journey

Published on

April 8, 2016

Wizarding World Hollywood Opening Day

2016 Attractions Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey Hogwarts Universal Studios Hollywood Wizarding World

Here we are, the day after the grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood. It's been a long strange epic journey and one that we will certainly never forget.

So today we bring you what will probably be our last Universal Studios Hollywood update for awhile as we hope we haven't over saturated you with all things Potter. =)

Written by Gregg Condon

Back at Wizarding World for the grand opening!!

Lots of excited fans waiting to get in and be the first

Wands at the ready!!

Video of the opening, a walk-through of Hogsmeade and an exclusive interview with Arthur Weasley and Luna Lovegood. =)

(Note: as a fan of the movies and books I'm ashamed that I couldn't think of Luna's name during the interview ... a testament to how tired I was as she is one of my favorite characters from the series)

And they're off!!

All of the talent from the films were amazing all week

Some of the creative team with the Phelps brothers

Inside Hogsmeade on opening day

They were filming stuff all morning with Warwick Davis, he is such a cool guy. After he passed us for about the 5th time I asked if he was stalking us. ;)

Shortly after opening the line for Forbidden Journey jumped to 3 hours

Luna Lovegood and Arthur Weasley Cosplayers. Absolutely perfect.

Potter is definitely a family affair ...

Wait times in the park at about 9:30am

The timed entry program worked to perfection

So a few notes about opening day as there was a LOT of online chatter about the crowds, or later in the day, the lack of them.

We have to remember that unlike Florida the main audience for Universal Studios Hollywood is locals. This means AP's. This is the same problem that Disneyland has and has had to come to grips with. First issue, only the highest 2 tiers of AP's were available yesterday.

Secondly, on Tuesday the park sent out releases to all media outlets (us included) saying that Online Tickets were sold out for the day. What that number was is anybody's guess. But we think the park severely underestimated the amount of people who would show up to buy day-of tickets.

The world has changed, most people like to buy things online before they go to a theme park, the movies, etc. The age range of people who would go to Potter on the first day are these people.

Third, it was a Thursday, in April, just after Spring Break.

Lastly, it's one day. The park is fine, the addition is fine, it's still going to be popular and there are crazy days coming.

This is all a learning process for Universal Studios Hollywood. They have NEVER had anything even remotely close to this. And after all the issues with crowds on the first day of Fast and Furious last year it's hard to blame them for playing opening day of Wizarding World a bit conservatively.

At the end of the day everybody had an amazing day and it turned into a nice opening for hard-core fans of Potter.

We anticipate crowds coming, the timed entry works, they proved that yesterday. So if you do go expect it to be busy.

Since we aren't planning on being at the park for awhile we figured we'd take a look around the rest of the park on opening day.

The Studio Cafe is now open, looks great. Interesting to note, even though the park opened at 6:30 for many guests, many of the other restaurants in the park had their normal opening times of 10:30 and even 11:00. Again, learning process.

Not much going on where Stage 28 was.

Ratchet and Clank movie?

"You're a Wizard Norman"

(H/T to GreatAmericanCoasters on Instagram for that awesome comment)

Pretty sure F&F wasn't always green ... right?

And one last look at Wizarding World on opening day. Good times.

And there it is, with that our coverage of Wizarding World Hollywood's construction and opening has come to an end. Wow. It's been an amazing 2 1/2 years of coverage for us.

So many people to thank but we'd be totally remiss if we didn't send a HUGE thanks to Universal Studios Hollywood and their INCREDIBLE PR staff who have earned a few days off after a crazy week of premieres.

Thank you all for reading, we hope you've enjoyed all the coverage.

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Published on

April 5, 2016
Live Red Carpet updates from Wizarding World Hollywood Premiere

2016 Attractions Harry Potter Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey Hogwarts Universal Studios Hollywood Wizarding World
Last night was the red carpet premiere for Wizarding World Hollywood at Universal Studios. We were there live on the red carpet and posted updates all night on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Periscope.

In case you weren't following along we have a recap of the coverage as well as a LOTS more pictures we didn't post last night.

On the red carpet.

Ready for our close up!!! ‪#‎WizardingWorldHollywood‬ ‪#‎RedCarpet‬

Lots of great spots for photo ops

Some celebs were in a rush to get in and didn't stop for us. :(

Thandie Newton

Blur of Vanessa Hudgens who was literally sprinting.

But who cares, because Warwick Davis was there and was awesome!!!

The awesome Chris Hardwick who actually took the time to face-time Kristi and talk to her about The Walking Dead Season 3.

Photo: David Yeh/Endor Express

Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti who always takes the time to talk to even the far end of the media line.

James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley)

Once we got into Hogsmeade it was time to play "Spot the Celebrity".

Oh, just hanging out with my new BFF. =)

Photo: David Yeh/Endor Express

A nice ceremony kicked off the festivities. Sorry for the bluriness, the lighting was weird (this was actually the only decent picture we got of this)

John Williams getting ready to conduct the LA Philharmonic

Full video of the performance last night. It was truly amaazing.

Below some pictures of the performance. Click any of the pictures below to see a larger version.

Thanks again to Universal Studios for having us to the event. It was truly amazing and we can't wait for everybody to see Wizarding World!!

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Published on

April 5, 2016

4/5/2016 - Walt Disney World Disney Springs update

Disney Parks Disney Springs Downtown Disney Walt Disney World

We've got a Walt Disney World two-fer this week as Renée made her way out to Disney Springs yesterday to take another look at all of the amazing changes going on.

If you missed Renée's update from the L ast Day of Streets of America yesterday be sure to click that link.

Written by Renée Girard

(click any of the pictures below to see a larger version)

Taking a walk around Disney Springs to see the progress on their remodeling. This appears to be a bus stop.

The @CocaCola store is looking awesome.

Planet Hollywood is definitely in need of a makeover.

STK is still behind a wall but now the sign is up. @eatSTK

Peeking over the wall at the "springs" of Disney Springs. It looks amazing!

B.B. Wolf's Sausage Co. will be another unique addition to Disney Springs.

Twenty Eight & Main at the Co-Op at Disney Springs offers only the finest Disney nerd shirts. I need them all.

Tag has fun Disney themed travel gear. I wouldn't object to anyone buying me a Haunted Mansion neck pillow & mask.

Took a walk across one of the pedestrian walkways at Disney Springs for the first time.

Looks like another Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique will be moving in to Once Upon a Toy at Disney Springs.

AristoCrepes! This looks adorable and delicious.

That's all from Disney Springs . It's looking better and better, and can't wait to see when it's done!

Thanks again to Renée for another amazing update from Walt Disney World. Disney Springs certainly looks amazing and lots of things we want to try when it opens.

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Published on

April 4, 2016

A look back at Universal Studios Hollywood's "EPIC Transformation"

2014 Attractions 2015 Attractions 2016 Attractions Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem Fast And Furious: Supercharged Harry Potter Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey Hogwarts Lunar New Year Simpsons Springfield Studio Tour Transformers: The Ride Universal Studios Hollywood Wizarding World

It's finally here!!! It's Potter Week!!

As you all know the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens at Universal Studios Hollywood this Thursday (April 7) and the star studded premiere is tomorrow night (April 5). We will of course be there on the red carpet so be sure you are following us for all of that fun.

So while we're celebrating all things Wizarding World this week we thought it would be a good time to stop and take a look backwards a bit, to take a look at where the park was just a few short years ago and at the "Epic Transformation" they've made. Because it truly is EPIC.

From a park that just a few years ago was giving a full year away for the price of one day to where today is commanding multiple visits for tourists and has definitely swayed the attendance habits of local fans who now have a choice between incredible theme parks to attend each weekend.

It truly is an AMAZING time time to be a theme park fan in Southern California.

(keep in mind, we don't have all the older pictures we would have liked, but at the time we weren't thinking of taking them for posterity ... oh hindsight)

We'll start off at the front of the park since that's the first thing everybody sees when they enter. Remember when this was the new thing in the park?

Of course, the iconic entry to the park hasn't changed much over the years.

The rest of the entrance area has sure changed over the years though.

Sure looks different today

All new Starbucks!!

And they aren't even done yet, coming this Summer!!

The Wild West Theater

Now ...

Universal Plaza decked out for Lunar New Year earlier this year.

Let's take a left turn from Universal Plaza where we now have the amazing Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Super Silly Funland.

T2:3D.

Now ...
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Super Silly Funland

Did You Know: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem was one of the first projects we started covering as a website?

Continuing on through the upper lot of the park, who remembers when Marvel had a presence at the park? It really wasn't that long ago.

Once Marvel left it was just "Comic Heroes"

Photo Credit David Yeh/EndorExpress

Or when this was actually a thing?

Even the Studio Tour entrance has undergone some pretty significant changes over the years:

The tour itself has had some changes, some forced and two totally different Fast and Furious attractions.

June 2, 2008 - The latest Backlot fire.

Have a tramtastic day ...

But all of the changes weren't exclusive to the upper lot, the lower lot has received it's share of love recently.

Then ... Special Effects Stages (now on the upper lot)

Now ...
Transformers The Ride 3D

Even small changes to make the guest experience better.

Then...

Now ...

But of course, none of that compares to the changes made to the upper lot in just the last few years. The thing that has finally made Universal Studios into a full fledged "Theme Park" and not just a "Studios" park.

Then ...

Did you know: The Universal Amphitheater closed in September 2013? Not even 3 years ago.

Photo Credit David Yeh/EndorExpress

Photo Credit David Yeh/EndorExpress

Anybody know what is in this spot now? Certainly looks much different today.

Photo Credit David Yeh/EndorExpress

No Epic Transformation could be done without a LOT of Epic Construction.

Now ... we'll start off with the amazing Springfield addition that was made last year.

And of course, none of that compares to what is opening in just a few days.

So now it's finally here ... just a few short days away. Wizarding World opens for the world to see.

And we all have heard the rumors, we know they aren't done yet. When the new additions will be announced is anybody's guess. Will they take the advantage of the world looking at the park this week to make another big announcement? We'll find out tomorrow night.

We hope you enjoyed this look back at the park over the past few years. We of course had a lot more pictures that we could have shared, but we figured this was more than enough. It's still amazing how much work has been done in just a few years and we can't wait to see what the future holds.

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Published on

April 3, 2016

Last day for Streets of America at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney Hollywood Studios Disney Parks Star Wars Land Toy Story Land Walt Disney World

Today we have a special Sunday update for you as Renée headed out to Disney's Hollywood Studios yesterday to say one final goodbye to the Streets of America and a few other things that are closing to make way for the parks massive overhaul.

Written by Renée Girard

Today we're visiting Disney's Hollywood Studios for the final day of Streets of America. #DHS

The stage is ready for the all-new Star Wars show that's opening this month.

The already abandoned Coke snack stand and the remains of the Backlot Tour entrance.

Studio Catering Co. served their final meal and cast members gather for a photo.

The High Octane bar is drawing a large crowd for their last call.

Mike and Sulley have packed their bags and have gone back to Monstropolis.

Sad to see some cool hidden gems at DHS go, like the Splash fountain.

Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground has now closed its gates

Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show played its final performance yesterday.

This popular photo spot from Singing in the Rain will be no more.

The sign for the Osborne Family Lights is still up for those to remember the lights throughout the years.

Pizza Planet quick service food has already closed their doors

San Francisco in the Streets of America.

Construction walls are already up behind Muppets 3-D too.

A nice little tribute to Once Upon a Time on the Streets of America.

A handful of people are wandering the Streets of America one last time.

(Editors Note: Interesting that when Disneyland closed the Rivers of America (which is coming back) there were enough people on hand to sink all the boats yet the Streets of America (which is not coming back) gets no fan attention, even on a busy Spring Break Saturday).

New York City on the Streets of America.

The Writer's Stop is also closing, to make way for a lounge as an extension of the Sci-Fi Dine In

Thankfully, Muppet Vision 3D will still remain in the park.

Much of this sign will be changing, to a galaxy far, far away.

And that's a wrap! The Streets of America has given us many great memories throughout the years.

Thanks again to Renée for another great update from Florida. We appreciate you taking the time out of your "goodbye's" to much of DHS to send us some great pics and memories.

What is your favorite memory of Streets of America? Share with us below.

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

If you have any comments, please share them below
Published on

March 31, 2016

The world of Nintendo at WonderCon

Nintendo Video Games WonderCon

Today we have a special treat from Joshua who has a look at all of the great Nintendo stuff at WonderCon from last weekend.

Our resident Video Game Expert takes a look at two upcoming games as well as the panel for the all new "Hyrule Warriors" game.

Written by Joshua Condon

As you can see, the Nintendo Booth was quite popular.

Star Fox Zero

I played for one reason and one reason only: to see how the controls work.

Let me start by saying that the graphics are amazing and the music and sound effects are also great. The voice acting is very well done and sounds like the classic Star Fox 64, which is what they were going for. The controls are...weird.

To start off with a small nitpick because I'm sure you can change it in the game, but the demo didn't have inverted flight controls for the Arwing, so up was up and down was down. It took some getting used to honestly and when I did get used to it, I was done with the level I did, which was Corneria.

Checking out the all new Star Fox Zero. It certainly looks cool.

And now for the actual controls. You move the Arwing with the left control stick, and aim your shots by using the gyroscope on the Gamepad. You also shoot with the ZR button, re position the aiming with Y, and oddly enough, do all the acrobatics with the right stick.

So for example, to do a Barrel Roll, you have to tap it left or right twice. The controls are very awkward honestly and it'll take a lot to get used to if I get the game.

New Metroid Prime for the 3DS

Metroid Prime Federation Force

Before I played it I was not looking forward to it. From what Nintendo had shown beforehand, it didn't look like Metroid and it just didn't look interesting. I played an entire mission and I have to say, I had a lot of fun with it. It really felt like a Metroid Prime game.

The controls were extremely easy to get into if you've ever played a Prime game, and there was the key point of Metroid: Exploration. There were very few enemies from what I could see in the mission I played, and it was awesome.

(Editors Note: I hadn't played any of the Metroid Prime games but did do the demo and within a few minutes I was able to pick up the controls fairly easily)

Oh, now we see why he wanted to play the game. ;)

Before the mission, I equipped modules of sorts for Super Missiles and a Fire Shot thing because the level was ice. So I did a lot of damage to the second boss in it. The first boss took a while which I was fine with because it was very involving and then I started using charge shots and it became way quicker. Also, there's two stages of the charge shot and the fully charged seems to always do 200 damage because it shows the amount of damage you do.

All in all, I really enjoyed the demo of it and I can't actually wait for it to come out now. Also, I didn't play the multiplayer, I played the single player. This just shows to not judge a game before you play it.

They also had a demo for the all new Hyrule Warriors Legends

Fun panel with the games designers

*Developers Panel*

The highlight of WonderCon for me was the Nintendo panel where the Producer and director of the game that came out a day before that, Hyrule Warriors Legends, would be talking about the game. This made me extremely excited as I'm a huge fan of Zelda and really enjoyed Hyrule Warriors.

In the Panel, they started off with some concept art of Link to make him look more like a character from Dynasty Warriors with a mix of the classic Green Tunic from the Zelda franchise. It's always interesting to see how different developers put their own spin on a character that is very well known, but also staying true to the characters roots.

Josh with an awesome Linkle cosplayer before the panel.

They then went into the new character Linkle and how she was thought of. There was this one piece of concept art in the Japanese art book that showed a female Link and people got really excited about that, so they made her a character. I think Linkle is really cool from her story which I won't spoil because the character isn't even a week old. Her weapons are Crossbows which were based off of Links Crossbow Training, a game that was basically a tech demo for the Wii Zapper, but the Wii Zapper in and of itself didn't really have many other games. She's very acrobatic with them and her attacks cover a lot of range. She's very fun to play as.

Lots of announcements were made during the panel which made everybody ooooh and aaaaah

Next they went into new character Skull Kid, Toon Link, Tetra, and King Daphnes aka King of Red Lions. The first being from Zelda: Majora's Mask and the last three being from Wind Waker. They detailed the weapons each use and just from what weapon they use I could tell that these characters had a lot of time and effort into them.

Finally they announced another new character Medli, also from Wind Waker, as a playable character. She was announced a little earlier but that still doesn't change the fact that she looks really cool. They stated that Medli is free DLC which is always nice.

The games designers speaking through translators. They had a lot of fun during the panel.

Which led into the announcement that the next few DLC packs will be focusing on handheld Zelda games, like Links Awakening and Link Between Worlds for example. This made me super excited because I love the handheld games just as much as the ones on home consoles. After that, they announced that the character Marin from Links Awakening will also be playable in the game. Even though there wasn't any gameplay shown because it's still early in development for her, I'm always happy to see Links Awakening get some love because it's one that was overlooked because it was between Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time games and those games are fantastic in their own right and considered the best Zelda games.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Panel. The people in the Panel had fun with it, which in terms of games, nobody does that like Nintendo. If it was Sony or Microsoft, sure there would be a few jokes, but the tone would be more serious. Which is one big reason why I love Nintendo and their series, especially Zelda.

They were cool enough to stick around after the panel to sign some posters and take pictures.

Thanks again to Josh for taking the time out of his "busy" Spring Break to write about his experiences at WonderCon. We'll have much more from WonderCon next week.

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If you have any comments, please share them below

Wizarding World Hollywood Opening Day

Live Red Carpet updates from Wizarding World Hollywood Premiere

4/5/2016 - Walt Disney World Disney Springs update

A look back at Universal Studios Hollywood's "EPIC Transformation"

Last day for Streets of America at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The world of Nintendo at WonderCon