12.21.05
Harry Potterland?
via Cinematical
Rumor has it that Disney may have plans in the works with Warner Bros. for a Harry Potter theme park. Jim Hill, an apparent media insider, received a comment on his blog from a reader who claims a contact with the legal dept. over at WB, which states,
I would appreciate it if you kept this anonymous. But I have a friend who works for the Warner Brother legal department, who actually sees the contracts. And they just sent me the following e-mail:
“You didn’t hear it from me. But there may be a certain wizard visiting the mouse kingdom in the future.”
Of course this is all pretty dubious. But if it happens that would be awesome. I would so be there.
I was actually discussing an idea like this with my sister the other day. My idea was for Warner Bros. to find some drafty old castle in Scotland with extensive grounds, buy it, and make a Potter theme park out of it. The castle would be Hogwart’s of course, and they could build a Hogsmeade and a Diagon Alley on the outer grounds, with the Hogwart’s grounds attractions (Hagrid’s Hut, Whomping Willow, Lake, Dark Forest, etc.) closer to the castle. That’d be pretty awesome.
In reality they would probably not build such a thing in Scotland since it might not have worldwide travel appeal. If Disney is in on the game, it would probably be in the states somewhere.
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weenie said,
December 22, 2005 at 9:51 am
If they ever built it, it should be in the UK. But like you say, with Disney involved, it will be in the states.
This is one themepark that I would visit!
RavenclawWit said,
December 22, 2005 at 1:57 pm
Yeah, even I would want it to be in th UK for authenticity’s sake, and I’m from the states! But I’ll go to it anyways, if it happens. Why? Because I’m completely addicted to Potter, that’s why! Boy, does Warner Bros. have me right where they want me. Slap “Potter” on something and I’ll probably buy it.
Michael said,
December 28, 2005 at 6:15 pm
Getting Potter Land from that statement seems to me a bit of a stretch, but maybe that is because I know how Disney thinks. It simply says a certain wizard may be visiting the mouse kingdom. Having worked for the Mouse at one time and being opening crew at DAK, a new theme park takes a minimum 3 years to build and more likely a minimum of 5 from conception to construction. To the best of my knowledge, Disney is not planning any new US theme parks anytime in the next decade, although there is always rumor of a 5th Orlando Park based on sports or Villians (thrill ride park). I know their big focus is on building parks in Asia (with the 2nd Tokyo park (which is actually licensed) and the Hong Kong Park opening recently and the announced China Park in the next few years).
So what do I think that the rumor is ridiculous… Heck no!!!. I would take the statement to mean not his own theme park, but probably an attraction at one of the disney parks (either MK or more likely the Studios). It makes perfect sense for all parties involved. WB makes money with more licensing. Disney, who owns the TV rights, pushes that with a new ride. This is similiar to the arrangement DIsney has with Lucas and Star Tours, with Indiana Jones and what they had with Henson and the Muppets, before they bought the franchise. They have had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Power Rangers and the goosebumps show… so having a hot toy or character from another company is very probable.
So I am envisioning some kind of ride, based on Hogwarts or some kind of show. I am not sure WHERE at the studios it would go, but rumors on replacing Great Movie Ride and Backlot Tour have been around forever. The easiest retrofit would be Haunted Mansion, but that won’t happen. I would love a ride either like Spiderman at Islands of Adventure or like the Dinosaur (former Countdown to Extinction) or the Indiana Jones ride at Disney Land. A 3d movie or a Star Tours like ride could be cool too.
We could also see a Harry Potter Weekends as well, which fits the kids quota much better than the Star Wars Weekends (which is rumored to be ending in 2006 or 2007 but could work great in conjuction). It would really be awesome.
GryffindorGuy said,
April 29, 2006 at 5:38 pm
I read that Disney’s idea of containing Harry Potter was a 6-7 story building occupying an entire city block in Singapore, with each floor representing another novel or something like that. Truthfully, I’m a bit disappointed.