I feel like if the Harry Potter land didn’t exist, Disney wouldn’t be inspired to make lands such as Pandora and Galaxy’s Edge. The ripple effects of Potter not being built would go much farther than just Universal not building the lands.
Man I typed out a comment, hit the 'post' button, and then realized you said it before me! lol I totally agree, Universal changed the theme park landscape around the world with the addition of Potter at IOA.
As a former worker at UO. While the Harry Potter stuff is really cool, it went so over budget that a lot of plans were canceled. For example, the Simpsons area was originally larger with a second indoor ride.
@@michaelpye2754 especially after the profits from Harry Potter, especially when considering that to fully experience it you spend more on a park to park ticket.
Interesting thought experiment. "What would Universal Orlando look like without the land that put them on the map?" It's like imagining what Nickelodeon would be if they never made SpongeBob, or Burger King if they never made the Whopper, or Universal, themselves, if they never made Frankenstein. Oddly enough, though, I think Universal not having Harry Potter would affect Disney more than Universal. Without Harry to draw in the crowds, Disney wouldn't have needed to take Universal seriously as a major theme park competitor, and wouldn't have endeavored to up their game. They would have just made slight improvements to their parks, and just coast by on the Disney name until Universal just sold the Marvel theme park rights to them, wholesale, out of desperation.
@@AttractionIdeas Will you be doing more "What If" videos like this? This was quite fascinating. I have a few ideas. "What if Disney bought Marvel before Universal could build Superhero Island?" "What if Nicktoon Blast was updated rather than replaced?" "What If Fast And Furious replaced Back To The Future The Ride instead of The Simpsons?"
@@googamp32 "What if Nicktoon Blast was updated?" First of all, the focus would now be on Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy. That is obvious. However, as for the other shows they travel in, Avatar: The Last Airbender is probably the only one I can definitely see happening if we're talking early 2010s Nick.
Universal wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for Harry Potter... Not only that but it changed the world of theme parks forever and to this date it has some of the best attractions with one of the most popular franchises.
Even though Disney will deny it, Harry and Hermione changed how Universal competes and it's working. How do I know? Well, I wouldn't have taken my vacation at Universal two years ago if that wasn't true...
They had the nostalgia, (jaws, et, back to the future etc.) they had the theming, (islands of adventure) but even with that, they needed that FRANCHISE, and they got it too. Pretty much as successful as Disney is, just a modern iteration of how Disney was in the prime days.
Does anyone know when the Dr Seuss theme park rights end because I have a feeling that seuess enterprise will be ashamed by the way the cat in hat ride and pull out and most likely go to Disney
@@conory9282 honestly, your right, but maybe one day universal might fix cat in the hat or add something that would the crowd. Also I think suess landing not going anywhere
If Harry Potter never happened than for a couple of decades universal wouldn’t see any new parks like Volcano Bay and the upcoming Epic Universe. So I’m happy that universal stuck with putting Harry Potter in their parks 👍🏻👏
the main reason I prefer our current reality is because of Epic Universe. our massive Super Nintendo World, the classic monsters land, the galactic hub?? a necessity. also i absolutely love sapphire falls and cabana bay and would hate to see them off the docket. plus, with less of a park budget, what would Halloween Horror Nights look like?? would we still HAVE it? i just prefer what we have right now.
@@AttractionIdeas HHN was a big deal before Harry Potter, so I can see the still investing in the event (specially in this timeline, it would really benefit them the big attendance in fall season). However, due to budget, I also think they may just keep it as an Orlando thing since I don't think the have the money to replicate the quality in other parks.
Cabana bay? Why do you like it? It's one of the worst hotels I've EVER stayed at (not just Universal Orlando). Never stayed at sapphire falls. I find Portofino (top pick) and royal pacific the best. Hard rock is close to the parks, but the theming is boring unlike the two former hotels.
I can't believe there are no plans to build Luigi's haunted house. Crazy, they NEED to build it. The Mouse will cry because now Universal will have a true rival to the Haunted Mansion.
i feel like with fast and furious being such a big ip, they would have done something a lot bigger than the crappy ride we have now, with the extra money they would have from not getting potter. maybe something like a test track ride
Certainly possible. I can equally see them going the opposite direction and really cheaping out, but it would make sense to invest more since it's such a big IP
I am still confused as to why they haven't redone F&F into a fast moving tracked ride. Makes no sense to leave it untouched when the technology has gone up so significantly over the last few years.
Time. Space. Reality. It’s more than a linear path…it’s a prism of endless possibility. Where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities, creating alternate worlds from the ones you know. I am The Watcher, I am your guide through these vast new realities. Follow me, and ponder the question, What If…? With so many universes to observe, the changes in one can be more apparent when compared to another. In one universe, a plot of land in Central Florida was used to create an immersive experience unlike any other, but in another universe…
I love both Universal and Disney but the one thing I’ve noticed about Disney is that they always tease the fans with all this blue sky art concepts for new lands or expansions but in the end it never happens they just say “oh we could do this” but in the end, it doesn’t happen because of the money etc
Universal should have kept the jaws ride open and just upgraded it. The Harry Potter expansion could have taken the space where the Fear Factor stage is at.
Nah it took up too much space and was so expensive to maintain. I'm kinda glad in hindsight that it was closed. Though I bet it was a great attraction.
No question, let me be the variant that’s in the Wizarding World reality every time. A world without wands or Butterbeer is too depressing to imagine. Omg, the WB-Six Flags partnership would be just blasphemous. Of course, I do want my reality to get The Grinch coaster at Islands!
As a Person that never got to see Terminator or Jaws. Seeing I went to Universal for the First Time back in December 2020, this would be cool. While yes I like the Two Harry Potter Lands at Universal, I would’ve loved Jaws or Terminator.
It makes no sense! The Grinch and the Lorax are still popular with kids at character meet and greets in Universal. They should have at least built one Lorax themed ride for kids ages 4-11.
What's odd is I had the opposite experience: if I had not read all the books and seen the movies just to find out why they were so popular, I would never have come back to Universal after nearly 11 years!
I really like the what if scenario of this video. A “What if Euro DisneyLand was successful” video in the same vein as this one would be really interesting and fun. I’d love to see more vids like these in the future
My crazy idea? You and Poseidon Entertainment should team up and do a colab video. You guys both give really good and very honest reviews and incite on Disney and Universal and everyone else.
@@AttractionIdeas I would be SO HYPE for that!!! 😁😁😁😁😁 It could be like an episode where you both could do a "What we would like to see come to or leave....." episode!
@@greatone33j I admit that the opening of two Harry Potter parks as well as the much lower admission price deeply influenced my decision to switch my vacation from Disney to Universal in early 2020. I always wonder how many others did the same...
In my mind Harry Potter does take about 80% of the blame for Jaws being shut down however in actuality no Harry Potter would have only delayed the inevitable
So if the "Cat in the Hat" ride remained a secondary anchoring attraction of Seuss Landing in this alternate reality, does it receive any refurbishments and/or upgrades (the animatronic models, especially)?
It's definitely possible, especially since in this universe they'd be more likely to brand a refurbishment as a "new ride." With them having less money to play with, refurbishing something makes much more sense than building something new.
@@AttractionIdeas I can absolutely agree with you there. In addition to closing “Shrek 4D” and retheming “Dueling Dragons” to “How to Train Your Dragon,” a boost in DreamWorks representation would be much welcomed by swapping “Shrek 4D” for the “Kung Fu Panda” show that originated at Universal Hollywood’s DreamWorks Theatre. As lucrative as Illumination IPs like “Despicable Me,” “The Secret Life of Pets,” and “Sing” have been for the parks, Comcast would still have the rights to DreamWorks’s catalogue secured.
The craziest thing I've ever seen at island of adventure was a fire work malfunction that injured a shit ton of people. It happened like the first couple of years it was open.
If that happens, I would still see Disney built lands based on movies like Cars land was still going to happen. For sure Disney will be having more people to come to their park and universal would have less as people views Disney the superior park while universal is the cheap alternative, until the Nintendo world land opens
Yeah more than likely Universal would no longer be a park people travel to visit, but would instead just be the park people tack on at the end of their Disney trips
Hmmm. One other idea for hypothetical if Universal wants to get another IP in the park. Kind of curious if they could integrate Halo. Just to spark the comment section to see what happens, but would be nice to see some interesting takes.
Halo is absolutely a possibility. I think even in this reality it could happen. You could even bundle it up with another Microsoft property in Minecraft. There's certainly plenty to work with thanks to all the world building. The only thing holding it back could be Nintendo not allowing Universal to use other video game properties in their parks as a part of their deal
How about Demon Slayer (or any other anime property)? I think it could be very possible to have a ride of it in both America and Japan, seeing how much of a success it is with its movie back in Japan.
A video game theme park would be killed. I thought about that years and years ago. Multiple Nintendo lands, Halo land, Minecraft land, World of Warcraft land, Sonic the Hedgehog coaster and Green Hills land, Metal Gear Solid live stunt show, and Mortal Kombat stunt show and dueling coasters (Scorpion vs Sub-Zero). Or you could do what Universal does and spread these worlds around their existing parks.
Kind of off-topic, but this is about the Lost Continet in this (or both) realities. Rather than replacing it all with Zelda, I was thinking they could replace Poseidon's with a Kid Icarus Uprising attraction? Possibly a flying theater simulator like Soarin' or Flight of Passage? Because that game needs some love ASAP. Too bad it probably would not happen tho
Probably not in our universe, but in this alternate reality I could see it happening. With Nintendo taking over the parks, I could see smaller Nintendo IPs getting their own attractions.
You have to remember, all major roller coasters at Universal got mandatory lockers. Meaning that you couldn't have anything in your pockets. So it's likely that if Potter never came in, they would bring back the dueling aspect of the ride now that this is in play. Plus, the ride would keep its popularity since it is dueling and JK Rowling wouldn't be JK Rowling and say "BYE BYE." So it would be much more worth it for Universal to give it the Hulk treatment.
I just wanted to point out a possible point of divergence for your hypothetical alternate Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World had Harry Potter never came to Universal, and the POD I would place for it would be sometime between June of 2003 and Fall, 2004 where in our timeline, J.K. Rowling signed a letter of intent with Disney to bring a Harry Potter land in the Magic Kingdom, however because of her strict list of demands and specifications for the land meaning that Disney wouldn't be allowed to do whatever they wanted with the Harry Potter land and their extremely lackluster plans for a Harry Potter microland that would've been placed in the back of Fantasyland (i.e. a cheap cutout of Hogwarts Castle posted to the entrance of the main attraction, the Leaky Cauldron Pub just being an outdoor quick service cart, a Buzz Lightyear-style attraction with wands instead of guns, a petting zoo with animatronic Hippogriffs and the most embarassing-sounding one, a tea cup-type of ride called the Dumble-dore) which resulted in J.K. Rowling being so enraged and disgusted by their lackluster plans that she even reportedly threw the plans off the table and stormed out of Disney's headquarters, then a few months later Universal stepped in and offered her their own plans for a Harry Potter land which, of course, was WAAAY better than anything Disney ever offered her and were MUCH more willing to comply with Rowling's demands and specifications for it, hence is why we soon got The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando and Hollywood. In this alternate timeline, even though it's very unlikely we'll just say that Disney had come up with plans that were on similar, if not better scale than OTL's Universal and were willing to completely comply with Rowling's strict demands and specifications, therefore she never had any reason to leave the Disney deal and so Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter would never exist.
Your response is a tad underdeveloped. Bob Iger had little interest in the Harry Potter franchise and this REALLY hurt business relations with JK Rowling. He kept stalling and saying that he'd consider her proposals but never got back to her. By the time he realized his huge mistake, Rowling had given up and done the thing he feared the most: she ran to longtime rival Universal.
The World of Harry Potter was offered to Disney first. WofHP wanted a train. And Disney's CEO said no. So they went to Universal instead. So glad that happened. I hate Disney's management. Now, all Universal has to do is build a World of Harry Potter in any of their parks, and they are guaranteed heavy foot traffic. It's one of Disney's management biggest blunders.
Man I miss Dueling Dragons! I know it was old, but it was such a unique ride, and the parks could really use some more legit thrill rides with inversions, so I would hope it got refurbished like Hulk, maybe add in metal detectors if necessary so people don't get hurt
Rip Ride Rocket may have not opened. Universal felt pressure to immediately have something big and new at USF to pull away some of the crowds from Hogsmeade. They were waiting to see if a Diagon Alley expansion was worthwhile. It's possible that they would have waited. My idealistic side wishes for a coaster themed to Fast and Furious with a bigger footprint. I'm really glad Jaws and T2 closed. Those were medicore attractions during their later years. I think people let the nostalgia cloud their memories.
If Nintendo would be the new Harry Potter, hopefully there’s a pikmin ride. You could do a lot: a show,a safari ride,maybe even a kid coaster. Pikmin needs more love
To sum up what i think, if harry potter never existed, then no other immersive ip lands like that all over the world would exist. examples of other lands in universal exist like the Simpsons, and it also had an impact making disney create toy story and starwars lands.
I would like this alternate reality a lot better if it weren’t for Epic Universe being too expensive too open, I will always defend the OG attraction (Jaws) and Super Nintendo World would be fantastic!
I think that if Universal weren't able to obtain the theme park rights to Harry Potter, then maybe Warner Bros might look into building their own destination theme park with a Harry Potter land. That's assuming Disney also fails to gain the theme park rights to Harry Potter.
Something that NEVER made sense to me: they have the theme park rights to the Scooby Doo franchise. Why did they never build a haunted house for him and his pals? It could help them have a counterpoint to Disney's Haunted Mansion. Now having said that, it would be a dumb mistake to not build Luigi's haunted mansion at Epic Universal. I can't believe there is not a shred of evidence that they'll ever intend to do so. Come on Universal, it's not that hard to brainstorm new ideas. At least entertain the thought of something like that along with a Hogwarts themed hotel or a new Nickelodeon Land.
We would still have Universal's greatest ride ever made, JAWS! Perhaps bring it back in a retro 80's & 90's themed area along with Back to the future, Ghost Busters,Terminator, Twister etc to accommodate the older generations not just the younger ones. Imagine a Theme park that attracts all ages, most Theme parks today only cater to one specific age group.
This a truly hilarious video because Universal doesn’t own the rights to Harry Potter. The agreement they made was that Universal would pay and build the sections of parks in FL and CA, they would also pay for the stores and restaurants, and they would pay to staff these areas. Warner Brothers and JK Rowling would have complete design control, down to each item sold in the store and each brick’s tone of color. Warner Brothers and JK Rowling would also use “Wizarding World” for this merchandise and retain all of the profits from these stores. They also take a cut from every ticket. (Which for a while was just islands of adventure, then it became all part tickets). Now, some people say the reason they stopped building in the Simpsons area was because of the potter area and they are incorrect. While Yes, Universal still owns the theme park rights to The Simpsons, all other rights (including merchandise) are now owned by Disney. When that sale happened all plans to expand that park ended, because they do not profit on any of the Simpsons merchandise now. Universal is great at piggybacking, they don’t mind allowing a company (like Nintendo) to come in and build 1/4 of the park and take 1/4 of the ticket price because they are VERY aware that Nintendo is what is drawing people to the new park.
Disney has dole whip as its premeir theme park treat while Universal has butterbeer. Although that's technically not true since dole whip is also sold inside the Universal Parks.
As nostalgic as I might be for the old rides, E.T. is long past it’s sell by date, and the entire Kid Zone space could be used to build something new and much better.
Also in Hollywood they will probably still have the kung fu panda ride but we would probably not get the Jurassic world upgrade and for both Hollywood and Florida I’m pretty sure Horror Nights would be WAY more cheaper than today
If there was a Grinch themed ride, then I wish that it would be similar to the Haunted Mansion Holiday over at Disneyland, which Haunted Mansion holiday is Based off of the film by Tim Burton,” The Nightmare Before Christmas,” also the Haunted Mansion Holiday only is open during Christmastime, similarly will happen to the Grinch themed ride.
I love the video and thinking about what would happen if Universal didn't transform itself with Harry Potter, but I do think Universal (really Comcast's bank account) would've gone through with some of the more expensive additions. Velocicoaster, a rethemed or replaced Dueling Dragons, Kong, and the Hulk retheme still happen. Minions and Jimmy Kimmel still happen, and Jaws is still on the chopping block because it's a huge space that could be used better. Comcast goes after another big property, either by partnering with Nintendo sooner or going after another popular franchise, and they put an immersive land where Diagon Alley is today, complete with an immersive world and top tier ride. Cabana Bay and Sapphire Falls still happen, maybe a year or two later but they still happen. This is because Comcast bought Universal with the intention of developing it into a self contained destination, not just a pair of parks in Orlando. They continue to invest in restaurants around the hotels and CityWalk. Volcano Bay is the only one I'm not sure about. I think Wet n Wild closes either way, and Universal does create a new waterpark but not at the same scale or price as Volcano Bay. Conclusion is that Comcast has deep pockets and has no problem funding big expansions, even if the demand isn't quite there yet, an immersive land creates that excitement from vacationers.
Fair enough. I kind of went with a reality where Comcast only spends money in turn with the park's performance, but I could absolutely see your theory being just as likely. Comcast is definitely not afraid to spend money
I’d argue Harry Potter is the only brand big enough to fill it’s own land. Nothing else available to universal could properly take its place. And as a big biased HP fan I can’t even imagine wanting to remove it, but the idea of removing it to put a bunch of little property rides to the space would be such a downgrade .
Yes, but I highly doubt they will remove the Harry Potter world in the themepark because how popular is and how much money they’re making from that land so I don’t see them removing the park. It may stay permanently but who knows
Wouldn't Covid 19 hit them harder financially and comcast would put universal on a cost cutting plan, since comcast and the world don't know that some Theme park could go head-to-head with Disney? Also, we would never know Nintendo would prolong negotiations with Universal for years since Universal has less money and doesn't have a track record with BIG Third-party IP
Well, we'll never know partly because Disney used the covid excuse for cutting back everything from shuttle service to food portion sizes and staffing. And they still haven't tried to return to normal operations.
Take in to consideration this video is only if harry potter didnt come to orlando so hollywood is perfectly fine. LETSSSS GOOO in fact if harry potter was only in Hollywood the park would get a much needed expansion
I don't know not having Harry Potter at universal would bring us Mount crumpet which would be really cool, and how to train your dragon ride that would be really cool as well. More Jurassic Park Ride is so freaking cool
I liked your idea of what would happened if wizarding world didnt end up in universal, however i would love to share my ideas of what would the plot end up being used for if wizarding world didnt exist. I think the plot would be used for a Jurassic park expansion, the plot is closed to the land so it make perfect sense. maybe in this reality the plot would be used for the jeep safari ride, and the helicopter ride. I'm still wondering if it would have the same impact like when harry potter opened, while Jurassic have a more bigger box office than harry potter. I'm pretty certain that harry potter has a more active fanbase than the former. I also could see with the box office of jurassic world being big, I could see universal adding a Jurassic world attraction probably being the velocicoaster and maybe we got the Jurassic world the ride more sooner. And I really didnt want to abandoned the KUKA tech if HATFB didnt exist, so maybe instead of the KUKA tech being used in HATFB, it could've been used for a potential Jurassic world ride.
just going off before I see the video. Top films I would want represented if there was no HP.. and I mean better then they were before. Full Walk around replicas of the iconic setts, multiple ride and show areas etc in short in MY list ONE of these things gets the same budget, attention to detail and profit as HP and the rest happens in other parts 1. Ghostbusters 2. Back to the Future 3. Hitchcock -- add new films in addition to the psycho house 4. Godzilla -Kong included 5. MIB 6. Hasbro Franchises -- Transformers, Gi-Joe, MLP: FiM 7. Classic Monsters- phantom of the Oparah stays open 8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a sewer ride and a technodrome ride 9. Larger and sooner Nintendo Land -- with Pokemon and Zelda 10. DC Super Heroes... all Marvel Propeties are dropped and DC is picked up 11. Star Trek 12. WB properties -- mostly cartoons 13. Re-open Nick Studios 14. LotR 15. Anime -mainly DBZ, Naruto. Sailor Moon etc 16. Wizard of Oz --this replaces twister 17. How to Train Your Dragon is a good idea Im adding this one post-seeing the video and yes some of these they would need to buy but Disney owns stuff and they need to compete.
I never would have give Universal Orlando a chance if it didn't have Harry Potter. Diagon Ally is really the only real reason I go to UO and I make it a priority now every time I visit Florida.
Nah though they wouldn't be anywhere near as profitable as they are now, they would still be making money. Certainly more than SeaWorld and Six Flags earn per park nowadays.
I stayed away from Citywalk in this video, but honestly, I think it might actually. The NBC Sports Grille was built and is ran by Universal themselves whereas Nascar wasn't. So without that Harry Potter money, maybe Nascar does stick around
I feel like if the Harry Potter land didn’t exist, Disney wouldn’t be inspired to make lands such as Pandora and Galaxy’s Edge. The ripple effects of Potter not being built would go much farther than just Universal not building the lands.
Great point!
Man I typed out a comment, hit the 'post' button, and then realized you said it before me! lol I totally agree, Universal changed the theme park landscape around the world with the addition of Potter at IOA.
@@Nojintt around the world is a big word, more likely in northern america. Europe has been building immersive areas for years
If HP hadn't gone to Universal, it would have gone to Disney, which had also bid on the rights.
@@LoveStallion Thank god Disney didn’t get HP. They would have destroyed the IP.
As a former worker at UO. While the Harry Potter stuff is really cool, it went so over budget that a lot of plans were canceled. For example, the Simpsons area was originally larger with a second indoor ride.
Don't let them fool you, they have the money to build that second ride if they wanted to.
@@michaelpye2754 especially after the profits from Harry Potter, especially when considering that to fully experience it you spend more on a park to park ticket.
Thank Goodness the money was spent on Potter and not a 2nd ride for Simpsons, that would just be gone by 2028 anyway.
The simpsons getting a second ride would've been amazing
We missed out on another simpsons ride!?
CURSE YOU HARRY POTTER!!!!!!
The multiverse is a place of endless possibilities and divergent futures… yet somehow Fast and the Furious Supercharged is always awful.
Interesting thought experiment. "What would Universal Orlando look like without the land that put them on the map?" It's like imagining what Nickelodeon would be if they never made SpongeBob, or Burger King if they never made the Whopper, or Universal, themselves, if they never made Frankenstein. Oddly enough, though, I think Universal not having Harry Potter would affect Disney more than Universal. Without Harry to draw in the crowds, Disney wouldn't have needed to take Universal seriously as a major theme park competitor, and wouldn't have endeavored to up their game. They would have just made slight improvements to their parks, and just coast by on the Disney name until Universal just sold the Marvel theme park rights to them, wholesale, out of desperation.
Yeah Disney would have been sitting pretty. I'm sure they would love this reality!
@@AttractionIdeas Will you be doing more "What If" videos like this? This was quite fascinating. I have a few ideas. "What if Disney bought Marvel before Universal could build Superhero Island?" "What if Nicktoon Blast was updated rather than replaced?" "What If Fast And Furious replaced Back To The Future The Ride instead of The Simpsons?"
I very well might. Might even use some of your ideas there 👀
@@googamp32 I agree
@@googamp32 "What if Nicktoon Blast was updated?"
First of all, the focus would now be on Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy. That is obvious. However, as for the other shows they travel in, Avatar: The Last Airbender is probably the only one I can definitely see happening if we're talking early 2010s Nick.
Universal wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for Harry Potter... Not only that but it changed the world of theme parks forever and to this date it has some of the best attractions with one of the most popular franchises.
Even though Disney will deny it, Harry and Hermione changed how Universal competes and it's working. How do I know? Well, I wouldn't have taken my vacation at Universal two years ago if that wasn't true...
They had the nostalgia, (jaws, et, back to the future etc.) they had the theming, (islands of adventure) but even with that, they needed that FRANCHISE, and they got it too. Pretty much as successful as Disney is, just a modern iteration of how Disney was in the prime days.
Bro, a Grinch Mount crumpet roller coaster would be AWSOME!!!
I agree!
Does anyone know when the Dr Seuss theme park rights end because I have a feeling that seuess enterprise will be ashamed by the way the cat in hat ride and pull out and most likely go to Disney
@@conory9282 honestly, your right, but maybe one day universal might fix cat in the hat or add something that would the crowd. Also I think suess landing not going anywhere
@@tahymisomonte54 well maybe but there were the rumors last year and plus they could change the ip to a bigger one like maybe a whole dreamworks land
Yeah but that can go in Seuss Landing. I love the Potter stuff.
If Harry Potter never happened than for a couple of decades universal wouldn’t see any new parks like Volcano Bay and the upcoming Epic Universe. So I’m happy that universal stuck with putting Harry Potter in their parks 👍🏻👏
I'm usually not a fan of "What If?" and alternate realities but this was very well done.
the main reason I prefer our current reality is because of Epic Universe. our massive Super Nintendo World, the classic monsters land, the galactic hub?? a necessity. also i absolutely love sapphire falls and cabana bay and would hate to see them off the docket. plus, with less of a park budget, what would Halloween Horror Nights look like?? would we still HAVE it? i just prefer what we have right now.
Good point about HHN. I think HHN would still be a thing, but it certainly would not have 10 houses or be the massive spectacle it is now
@@AttractionIdeas HHN was a big deal before Harry Potter, so I can see the still investing in the event (specially in this timeline, it would really benefit them the big attendance in fall season). However, due to budget, I also think they may just keep it as an Orlando thing since I don't think the have the money to replicate the quality in other parks.
Cabana bay? Why do you like it? It's one of the worst hotels I've EVER stayed at (not just Universal Orlando). Never stayed at sapphire falls. I find Portofino (top pick) and royal pacific the best. Hard rock is close to the parks, but the theming is boring unlike the two former hotels.
I can't believe there are no plans to build Luigi's haunted house. Crazy, they NEED to build it. The Mouse will cry because now Universal will have a true rival to the Haunted Mansion.
i feel like with fast and furious being such a big ip, they would have done something a lot bigger than the crappy ride we have now, with the extra money they would have from not getting potter. maybe something like a test track ride
Certainly possible. I can equally see them going the opposite direction and really cheaping out, but it would make sense to invest more since it's such a big IP
I am still confused as to why they haven't redone F&F into a fast moving tracked ride. Makes no sense to leave it untouched when the technology has gone up so significantly over the last few years.
Time. Space. Reality. It’s more than a linear path…it’s a prism of endless possibility. Where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities, creating alternate worlds from the ones you know.
I am The Watcher, I am your guide through these vast new realities.
Follow me, and ponder the question,
What If…?
With so many universes to observe, the changes in one can be more apparent when compared to another.
In one universe, a plot of land in Central Florida was used to create an immersive experience unlike any other, but in another universe…
I love both Universal and Disney but the one thing I’ve noticed about Disney is that they always tease the fans with all this blue sky art concepts for new lands or expansions but in the end it never happens they just say “oh we could do this” but in the end, it doesn’t happen because of the money etc
Universal should have kept the jaws ride open and just upgraded it. The Harry Potter expansion could have taken the space where the Fear Factor stage is at.
Nah it took up too much space and was so expensive to maintain. I'm kinda glad in hindsight that it was closed. Though I bet it was a great attraction.
No question, let me be the variant that’s in the Wizarding World reality every time. A world without wands or Butterbeer is too depressing to imagine. Omg, the WB-Six Flags partnership would be just blasphemous. Of course, I do want my reality to get The Grinch coaster at Islands!
I have a feeling that if Harry Potter never came, we would have either the whole lost continent land and Jaws or a new popular IP
As a Person that never got to see Terminator or Jaws. Seeing I went to Universal for the First Time back in December 2020, this would be cool. While yes I like the Two Harry Potter Lands at Universal, I would’ve loved Jaws or Terminator.
I’m glad I got to see both back then I only went on jaws once but I remember it vividly But I’ve seen Terminator many times
Damn Harry Potter helped them a lot
I would love a grinch ride after Epic Universe opens.
It makes no sense! The Grinch and the Lorax are still popular with kids at character meet and greets in Universal. They should have at least built one Lorax themed ride for kids ages 4-11.
@@largol33t1 lorax definitely deserved more at Seuss Landing
TBH if Universal never made their Harry Potter lands I probably would have never got back into the books.
There's a good chance I would've never watched the movies without the HP lands. What a tragedy that would've been!
What's odd is I had the opposite experience: if I had not read all the books and seen the movies just to find out why they were so popular, I would never have come back to Universal after nearly 11 years!
I really like the what if scenario of this video. A “What if Euro DisneyLand was successful” video in the same vein as this one would be really interesting and fun. I’d love to see more vids like these in the future
The Back to The Future Musical reference in the intro was *chefs kiss*
HARRY POTTER carries the park, but for the good. I love universal because of these lands
So if Harry Potter didn't exist at Universal Studios, then a whole bunch of rides and attractions would still be intact.
Lol the helicopter does make sense given the KUKA arm tech haha
"I wish Harry Potter wasn't at Universal!" Said absolutely nobody in actual reality.
The Grinch coaster and HTTYD coaster would bring me there in a heart beat
My crazy idea? You and Poseidon Entertainment should team up and do a colab video. You guys both give really good and very honest reviews and incite on Disney and Universal and everyone else.
Poseidon's content is top-notch. Wouldn't be opposed to teaming up with him one day
@@AttractionIdeas I would be SO HYPE for that!!! 😁😁😁😁😁 It could be like an episode where you both could do a "What we would like to see come to or leave....." episode!
This feels like one of those movies where the protagonist sees a alternate world where he was never born or something like that.
Let’s be real. Universal probably would’ve fallen into obscurity. Definitely not close but would not be nearly as popular as they are now.
Not completely, I think it has enough going for it where it would still be a relatively well-known player, just nowhere near as big as they are now.
Potter definitely brings in huge numbers. I still prefer universal with Dueling Dragons and Jaws.
@@greatone33j I admit that the opening of two Harry Potter parks as well as the much lower admission price deeply influenced my decision to switch my vacation from Disney to Universal in early 2020. I always wonder how many others did the same...
In my mind Harry Potter does take about 80% of the blame for Jaws being shut down however in actuality no Harry Potter would have only delayed the inevitable
So if the "Cat in the Hat" ride remained a secondary anchoring attraction of Seuss Landing in this alternate reality, does it receive any refurbishments and/or upgrades (the animatronic models, especially)?
It's definitely possible, especially since in this universe they'd be more likely to brand a refurbishment as a "new ride." With them having less money to play with, refurbishing something makes much more sense than building something new.
@@AttractionIdeas I can absolutely agree with you there.
In addition to closing “Shrek 4D” and retheming “Dueling Dragons” to “How to Train Your Dragon,” a boost in DreamWorks representation would be much welcomed by swapping “Shrek 4D” for the “Kung Fu Panda” show that originated at Universal Hollywood’s DreamWorks Theatre. As lucrative as Illumination IPs like “Despicable Me,” “The Secret Life of Pets,” and “Sing” have been for the parks, Comcast would still have the rights to DreamWorks’s catalogue secured.
They should still build that grinch coaster
We would have Nintendo more sooner at the Universal Parks if Potter never happened.
Doubtful. It would probably never happen at all without Harry Potter
The craziest thing I've ever seen at island of adventure was a fire work malfunction that injured a shit ton of people. It happened like the first couple of years it was open.
if Harry Potter world didn’t exist in universal studios I wouldn’t be going there all the time 🥺
If that happens, I would still see Disney built lands based on movies like Cars land was still going to happen. For sure Disney will be having more people to come to their park and universal would have less as people views Disney the superior park while universal is the cheap alternative, until the Nintendo world land opens
Yeah more than likely Universal would no longer be a park people travel to visit, but would instead just be the park people tack on at the end of their Disney trips
Hmmm.
One other idea for hypothetical if Universal wants to get another IP in the park.
Kind of curious if they could integrate Halo.
Just to spark the comment section to see what happens, but would be nice to see some interesting takes.
Halo is absolutely a possibility. I think even in this reality it could happen. You could even bundle it up with another Microsoft property in Minecraft. There's certainly plenty to work with thanks to all the world building. The only thing holding it back could be Nintendo not allowing Universal to use other video game properties in their parks as a part of their deal
Imagine Universal building a whole Gaming themed theme park with those Nintendo and Microsoft properties.
How about Demon Slayer (or any other anime property)? I think it could be very possible to have a ride of it in both America and Japan, seeing how much of a success it is with its movie back in Japan.
A video game theme park would be killed. I thought about that years and years ago. Multiple Nintendo lands, Halo land, Minecraft land, World of Warcraft land, Sonic the Hedgehog coaster and Green Hills land, Metal Gear Solid live stunt show, and Mortal Kombat stunt show and dueling coasters (Scorpion vs Sub-Zero).
Or you could do what Universal does and spread these worlds around their existing parks.
@@AttractionIdeas please make a video on this!
Kind of off-topic, but this is about the Lost Continet in this (or both) realities. Rather than replacing it all with Zelda, I was thinking they could replace Poseidon's with a Kid Icarus Uprising attraction? Possibly a flying theater simulator like Soarin' or Flight of Passage? Because that game needs some love ASAP. Too bad it probably would not happen tho
Probably not in our universe, but in this alternate reality I could see it happening. With Nintendo taking over the parks, I could see smaller Nintendo IPs getting their own attractions.
I loved Kid Icarus so much!!!
Leave Poseidon's Fury alone.
Well, not Poseidon's Fury actually, but somewhere in the Greek section of the Lost Continet without replacing anything, maybe.
I prefer the Harry Potter land reality. Because that gave birth to one of the best rides in 2021
You have to remember, all major roller coasters at Universal got mandatory lockers. Meaning that you couldn't have anything in your pockets. So it's likely that if Potter never came in, they would bring back the dueling aspect of the ride now that this is in play.
Plus, the ride would keep its popularity since it is dueling and JK Rowling wouldn't be JK Rowling and say "BYE BYE." So it would be much more worth it for Universal to give it the Hulk treatment.
Fully agree with the comments saying that Disney would look wildly different if Universal never built Harry Potter.
i would like grinch there and a couple more jurrasic park rides but after that nah I'm okay here
Fun fact: the animatronic at the end of the long ride was reused and refurbished from the old King Kong ride
I just wanted to point out a possible point of divergence for your hypothetical alternate Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World had Harry Potter never came to Universal, and the POD I would place for it would be sometime between June of 2003 and Fall, 2004 where in our timeline, J.K. Rowling signed a letter of intent with Disney to bring a Harry Potter land in the Magic Kingdom, however because of her strict list of demands and specifications for the land meaning that Disney wouldn't be allowed to do whatever they wanted with the Harry Potter land and their extremely lackluster plans for a Harry Potter microland that would've been placed in the back of Fantasyland (i.e. a cheap cutout of Hogwarts Castle posted to the entrance of the main attraction, the Leaky Cauldron Pub just being an outdoor quick service cart, a Buzz Lightyear-style attraction with wands instead of guns, a petting zoo with animatronic Hippogriffs and the most embarassing-sounding one, a tea cup-type of ride called the Dumble-dore) which resulted in J.K. Rowling being so enraged and disgusted by their lackluster plans that she even reportedly threw the plans off the table and stormed out of Disney's headquarters, then a few months later Universal stepped in and offered her their own plans for a Harry Potter land which, of course, was WAAAY better than anything Disney ever offered her and were MUCH more willing to comply with Rowling's demands and specifications for it, hence is why we soon got The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando and Hollywood.
In this alternate timeline, even though it's very unlikely we'll just say that Disney had come up with plans that were on similar, if not better scale than OTL's Universal and were willing to completely comply with Rowling's strict demands and specifications, therefore she never had any reason to leave the Disney deal and so Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter would never exist.
In any reality, Disney doesn’t bend to any demands so the Rowling-Mouse deal wouldn’t be.
Disney is refusing to build a new gate. A whole park should have been made
Your response is a tad underdeveloped. Bob Iger had little interest in the Harry Potter franchise and this REALLY hurt business relations with JK Rowling. He kept stalling and saying that he'd consider her proposals but never got back to her. By the time he realized his huge mistake, Rowling had given up and done the thing he feared the most: she ran to longtime rival Universal.
The World of Harry Potter was offered to Disney first. WofHP wanted a train. And Disney's CEO said no. So they went to Universal instead. So glad that happened. I hate Disney's management. Now, all Universal has to do is build a World of Harry Potter in any of their parks, and they are guaranteed heavy foot traffic. It's one of Disney's management biggest blunders.
Omg Dumbledore drop!!! I lost it
Man I miss Dueling Dragons! I know it was old, but it was such a unique ride, and the parks could really use some more legit thrill rides with inversions, so I would hope it got refurbished like Hulk, maybe add in metal detectors if necessary so people don't get hurt
Rip Ride Rocket may have not opened. Universal felt pressure to immediately have something big and new at USF to pull away some of the crowds from Hogsmeade. They were waiting to see if a Diagon Alley expansion was worthwhile.
It's possible that they would have waited. My idealistic side wishes for a coaster themed to Fast and Furious with a bigger footprint.
I'm really glad Jaws and T2 closed. Those were medicore attractions during their later years. I think people let the nostalgia cloud their memories.
If Nintendo would be the new Harry Potter, hopefully there’s a pikmin ride.
You could do a lot: a show,a safari ride,maybe even a kid coaster. Pikmin needs more love
Pikmin would be sick. I sucked at the games but still loved em
@@AttractionIdeas lol same, honestly the best idea for a pikmin ride would be like a safari-like dark ride
To sum up what i think, if harry potter never existed, then no other immersive ip lands like that all over the world would exist. examples of other lands in universal exist like the Simpsons, and it also had an impact making disney create toy story and starwars lands.
The grinch and more Jurassic park would be amazing
I would like this alternate reality a lot better if it weren’t for Epic Universe being too expensive too open, I will always defend the OG attraction (Jaws) and Super Nintendo World would be fantastic!
I was hoping you would come out with a new video
Btw Have a happy holiday thanks for the video,i hope you have a wonderfull new year.
A Mount Crumpet or HTTYD coaster both sound beautiful tho
I agree!
I NEED Hermoine the ride
There were rumors that they were going to sell off their park in Hollywood. It makes sense because before HP there were no expansion plans for it.
I loved this, can you do more what ifs like this.
I might I might
I think that if Universal weren't able to obtain the theme park rights to Harry Potter, then maybe Warner Bros might look into building their own destination theme park with a Harry Potter land. That's assuming Disney also fails to gain the theme park rights to Harry Potter.
No Harry Potter would probably have been close to the end of the park. Attendance wise, the park was struggling.
Something that NEVER made sense to me: they have the theme park rights to the Scooby Doo franchise. Why did they never build a haunted house for him and his pals? It could help them have a counterpoint to Disney's Haunted Mansion. Now having said that, it would be a dumb mistake to not build Luigi's haunted mansion at Epic Universal. I can't believe there is not a shred of evidence that they'll ever intend to do so. Come on Universal, it's not that hard to brainstorm new ideas. At least entertain the thought of something like that along with a Hogwarts themed hotel or a new Nickelodeon Land.
5:00 the amount of times this song gets stuck in my head is insane!
Classic!
Jaws can’t go !!!! Man I miss that ride.
Ey you forgot the best ride in the resort
Flight of the hippogriff
Ngl I love this channel so much
Good vid bruv
can you imagine Disney and Universal came in to an agreement to make a separate park called “UniSney” just a wild thought im throwing out there
Theme parks would be more six flags and less immersive
True. Definitely still a large leap ahead of Six Flags though
We would still have Universal's greatest ride ever made, JAWS! Perhaps bring it back in a retro 80's & 90's themed area along with Back to the future, Ghost Busters,Terminator, Twister etc to accommodate the older generations not just the younger ones. Imagine a Theme park that attracts all ages, most Theme parks today only cater to one specific age group.
We'd still have Jaws and I'd be happy
That's a really interesting analysis.
I strongly disagree with the sentiment that without Harry Potter, universal doesn’t have a fan base to care about ET closing.
This a truly hilarious video because Universal doesn’t own the rights to Harry Potter. The agreement they made was that Universal would pay and build the sections of parks in FL and CA, they would also pay for the stores and restaurants, and they would pay to staff these areas. Warner Brothers and JK Rowling would have complete design control, down to each item sold in the store and each brick’s tone of color. Warner Brothers and JK Rowling would also use “Wizarding World” for this merchandise and retain all of the profits from these stores. They also take a cut from every ticket. (Which for a while was just islands of adventure, then it became all part tickets). Now, some people say the reason they stopped building in the Simpsons area was because of the potter area and they are incorrect. While Yes, Universal still owns the theme park rights to The Simpsons, all other rights (including merchandise) are now owned by Disney. When that sale happened all plans to expand that park ended, because they do not profit on any of the Simpsons merchandise now. Universal is great at piggybacking, they don’t mind allowing a company (like Nintendo) to come in and build 1/4 of the park and take 1/4 of the ticket price because they are VERY aware that Nintendo is what is drawing people to the new park.
Disney has dole whip as its premeir theme park treat while Universal has butterbeer.
Although that's technically not true since dole whip is also sold inside the Universal Parks.
If it never existed poppeys would be my favourite ride
You need more imagination, if Harry didn't happen it would be LOTR and trust me it would be nearly as close if not bigger than the phenomenon.
It would've been funny if Six Flags Great Escape rethemed that Arrow Dynamics looper into a Harry Potter roller coaster lol
As nostalgic as I might be for the old rides, E.T. is long past it’s sell by date, and the entire Kid Zone space could be used to build something new and much better.
I think without Harry Potter, jurrasic world and minions would get a lot more rides
Also in Hollywood they will probably still have the kung fu panda ride but we would probably not get the Jurassic world upgrade and for both Hollywood and Florida I’m pretty sure Horror Nights would be WAY more cheaper than today
yeeesh this is the darkest timeline
If there was a Grinch themed ride, then I wish that it would be similar to the Haunted Mansion Holiday over at Disneyland, which Haunted Mansion holiday is Based off of the film by Tim Burton,” The Nightmare Before Christmas,” also the Haunted Mansion Holiday only is open during Christmastime, similarly will happen to the Grinch themed ride.
I love the video and thinking about what would happen if Universal didn't transform itself with Harry Potter, but I do think Universal (really Comcast's bank account) would've gone through with some of the more expensive additions.
Velocicoaster, a rethemed or replaced Dueling Dragons, Kong, and the Hulk retheme still happen. Minions and Jimmy Kimmel still happen, and Jaws is still on the chopping block because it's a huge space that could be used better. Comcast goes after another big property, either by partnering with Nintendo sooner or going after another popular franchise, and they put an immersive land where Diagon Alley is today, complete with an immersive world and top tier ride.
Cabana Bay and Sapphire Falls still happen, maybe a year or two later but they still happen. This is because Comcast bought Universal with the intention of developing it into a self contained destination, not just a pair of parks in Orlando. They continue to invest in restaurants around the hotels and CityWalk.
Volcano Bay is the only one I'm not sure about. I think Wet n Wild closes either way, and Universal does create a new waterpark but not at the same scale or price as Volcano Bay.
Conclusion is that Comcast has deep pockets and has no problem funding big expansions, even if the demand isn't quite there yet, an immersive land creates that excitement from vacationers.
Fair enough. I kind of went with a reality where Comcast only spends money in turn with the park's performance, but I could absolutely see your theory being just as likely. Comcast is definitely not afraid to spend money
@@AttractionIdeas Yeah, it's all speculation anyway, unless someone reading this works high up in the company and wants to chime in.
I’d argue Harry Potter is the only brand big enough to fill it’s own land. Nothing else available to universal could properly take its place. And as a big biased HP fan I can’t even imagine wanting to remove it, but the idea of removing it to put a bunch of little property rides to the space would be such a downgrade .
Yes, but I highly doubt they will remove the Harry Potter world in the themepark because how popular is and how much money they’re making from that land so I don’t see them removing the park. It may stay permanently but who knows
Wouldn't Covid 19 hit them harder financially and comcast would put universal on a cost cutting plan, since comcast and the world don't know that some Theme park could go head-to-head with Disney? Also, we would never know Nintendo would prolong negotiations with Universal for years since Universal has less money and doesn't have a track record with BIG Third-party IP
Well, we'll never know partly because Disney used the covid excuse for cutting back everything from shuttle service to food portion sizes and staffing. And they still haven't tried to return to normal operations.
Terminator surviving... Yes please
also do a followup of this make it a part 2 and make the same video but on universal studios hollywood
Take in to consideration this video is only if harry potter didnt come to orlando so hollywood is perfectly fine. LETSSSS GOOO in fact if harry potter was only in Hollywood the park would get a much needed expansion
I don't know not having Harry Potter at universal would bring us Mount crumpet which would be really cool, and how to train your dragon ride that would be really cool as well.
More Jurassic Park Ride is so freaking cool
I liked your idea of what would happened if wizarding world didnt end up in universal, however i would love to share my ideas of what would the plot end up being used for if wizarding world didnt exist. I think the plot would be used for a Jurassic park expansion,
the plot is closed to the land so it make perfect sense. maybe in this reality the plot would be used for the jeep safari ride, and the helicopter ride. I'm still wondering if it would have the same impact like when harry potter opened, while Jurassic have a more bigger box office than harry potter. I'm pretty certain that harry potter has a more active fanbase than the former. I also could see with the box office of jurassic world being big, I could see universal adding a Jurassic world attraction probably being the velocicoaster and maybe we got the Jurassic world the ride more sooner. And I really didnt want to abandoned the KUKA tech if HATFB didnt exist, so maybe instead of the KUKA tech being used in HATFB, it could've been used for a potential Jurassic world ride.
if it never came to universal Studios Orlando my great granny wouldnt be happy
just going off before I see the video. Top films I would want represented if there was no HP.. and I mean better then they were before. Full Walk around replicas of the iconic setts, multiple ride and show areas etc
in short in MY list ONE of these things gets the same budget, attention to detail and profit as HP and the rest happens in other parts
1. Ghostbusters
2. Back to the Future
3. Hitchcock -- add new films in addition to the psycho house
4. Godzilla -Kong included
5. MIB
6. Hasbro Franchises -- Transformers, Gi-Joe, MLP: FiM
7. Classic Monsters- phantom of the Oparah stays open
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a sewer ride and a technodrome ride
9. Larger and sooner Nintendo Land -- with Pokemon and Zelda
10. DC Super Heroes... all Marvel Propeties are dropped and DC is picked up
11. Star Trek
12. WB properties -- mostly cartoons
13. Re-open Nick Studios
14. LotR
15. Anime -mainly DBZ, Naruto. Sailor Moon etc
16. Wizard of Oz --this replaces twister
17. How to Train Your Dragon is a good idea Im adding this one post-seeing the video
and yes some of these they would need to buy but Disney owns stuff and they need to compete.
It would be a good thing because jaws would still be there
Let’s go JAWS
That's what epic uvers is for and volasacoaster is made
I never would have give Universal Orlando a chance if it didn't have Harry Potter. Diagon Ally is really the only real reason I go to UO and I make it a priority now every time I visit Florida.
-prediction they would shut it down
Nah though they wouldn't be anywhere near as profitable as they are now, they would still be making money. Certainly more than SeaWorld and Six Flags earn per park nowadays.
I only went to universal Orlando because of Harry Potter. I did enjoy the rest of the parks though.
Going back to 2012 didn’t you say they will close marvel when they want to or did I miss something.
Would the NASCAR Sports Grille still exist?
I stayed away from Citywalk in this video, but honestly, I think it might actually. The NBC Sports Grille was built and is ran by Universal themselves whereas Nascar wasn't. So without that Harry Potter money, maybe Nascar does stick around
@@AttractionIdeas th-cam.com/video/P3ALwKeSEYs/w-d-xo.html