Our rumor articles are designed to give fans of Orlando a glimpse into what might be on the horizon

For this week s edition of the Rumor Round-Up , we re taking a page out of Harry Potter (no pun intended) and firing up the old crystal ball to try and divine what the future may hold for the biggest names in the Orlando themed paris casino hotel world. Think of it as a tour of your near-future vacation.
No, this isn t the rumored fifth hotel that is going next door in the empty plot of land in between Royal Pacific Resort and the brand-new Cabana Bay Beach Resort – although it just may be the next best thing to a confirmation and possible ETA.
Royal Pacific, paris casino hotel apparently, has proven to be just as popular with conventioneers as it has with tourists. It already boasts 85,000 square feet of meeting and function space, broken down into two sections: the Pacifica Ballroom (41,503 square feet), which is column-free, features a 21-foot ceiling, and can divide into 12 sections; and a total of 15 “breakout” meeting rooms, which range in size from 939 to 3,282 square feet.
Now, however, an additional 56,330 square feet are being tacked on in a brand-new addition, featuring its own entryway (you can find a nifty map of the new facilities here , or see below). The new, as-yet-unnamed ballroom will feature the same exact capabilities as its forbearer, with the only difference coming in its slightly smaller size (35,955 square feet), and will open sometime in fall 2015.
What is interesting about this expansion – besides its being the very first for an on-site Universal hotel, proving that the resort is, indeed, growing up – is the fact that it only pertains to convention space. paris casino hotel With the possibility of significantly paris casino hotel more people paris casino hotel on the way, RPR s 1,000 rooms won t be enough to hold both them and the average guests that are already flocking to Universal Orlando due to a certain boy wizard.
This, of course, is where the fifth hotel, which is already rumored to be a sister property to Royal Pacific, connected via both walkways and water taxi, comes into play. Could we be looking at a similar fall 15 debut for the new venue? It would make the most logistical sense, although Universal could always end up pulling another Cabana Bay here; the company opened both phases of that hotel before paris casino hotel its pedestrian walkway, paris casino hotel which (safely) connects it to the rest of Universal Orlando, was finished, providing for more than a few guest complaints. Maybe visitors will have to expect to – and learn how to cope with – a pinch on space in that particular neck of the resort
When discussing paris casino hotel the almost unparalleled success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley , Testa casually mentioned how Disney executives were among the throngs of Muggle visitors in the land s first few weeks of operation, checking out what Universal s designers had brought paris casino hotel to the theming table. They were so impressed with Diagon Alley s overwhelming level of detail, they reported directly to Disney CEO and Chairman Bob Iger, who, in turn, immediately met with the Board of Directors.
What was said in that behind-closed-doors meeting? In order to have the company s long-in-development paris casino hotel Avatar and Star Wars Lands be competitive with its rival s combined paris casino hotel Wizarding paris casino hotel Worlds, somewhere between $350 to $600 million in additional funds was requested and, apparently, approved.
Testa went on to speculate just what that huge sum of money (just to put this in perspective: all of Diagon Alley, including the Hogwarts Express, is estimated to have cost only $400 million) would be used for, and it s more than worth repeating here. After already committing to doing some three attractions, a quick-service restaurant, and loads of streetmosphere for Pandora: The World of Avatar, Disney seems to have sat back and relaxed on its throne, safe in the knowledge that its Pandora would be able to out-ride Harry Potter s new theme park digs. Once word came back from the front lines that Diagon Alley s true attraction was its immersiveness, however, Disney has sat up, taken notice, and accepted the gauntlet that has been thrown down in front of it.
If this is, indeed, true, Animal Kingdom s newest addition has instantly become paris casino hotel a serious contender in the knock-down, drag-out turf fight that Orlando now is. The land already was slated to receive some rather paris casino hotel nifty, immersive paris casino hotel details; anything else is more than just icing on the cake – it s potentially revolutionary, forcing Universal to head back to the drawing board (again) when executing Harry Potter, phase three.
That Universal Creative has been interested in doing a third – and, even, a fourth – phase of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at its two Orlando theme parks has been no secret for quite some time now , and last week s news of an annual Harry Potter Celebration seems to only reinforce the obvious.
It should come as no surprise, then, that About.com just recently pried some details out of these future paris casino hotel plans from none other than Alan Gilmore, the art director for the Wizarding Worlds (and several of the Harry Potter films, as well). Although only amounting to vague half-proclamations, his two edicts amount to the biggest and clearest official statements yet of what future adventures Harry s wondrous world will have awaiting guests in the not-too-distant paris casino hotel future.
The now-well-known Ministry of Magic Easter egg – activated by dialing MAGIC in the shiny red phone box parked out on the London waterfront – does, indeed, double as a nice bit of foreshadowing. Says Gilmore: It may be a hint of the next Potter thing. By giving Muggles access to the Ministry of Magic, we re feeding the fire a bit.
Our rumor articles are designed to give fans of Orlando a glimpse into what might be on the horizon for our theme parks and entertainment destinations. Some of the information we share comes to us directly from anonymous sources, and some of it comes from our research on other websites, which we always link to and are proud to showcase.
If you enjoy our weekly summary of the latest internet chatter and gossip, and you understand that these are rumors and not facts (unless explicitly stated), then this column is for you, and we’re very happy to have provided it for 124 weeks in a row !
About the author Marc N. Kleinhenz’s first dream in life was to be an astronaut. His second was an Imagineer. While neither completely worked out, he now writes books , flash fiction, and articles for 26 sites and counting (including IGN, The Escapist , and The Huffington Post ). He’s co-created two podcasts and has even taught English in Japan. Imagineering school won’t be too far behind. More posts by Marc N. Kleinhenz
I am a huge Harry Potter fan and for me this is the main reason for going to Universal parks. Before this, the one thing I really liked about Universal was Jurassic Park but I felt they didn't really do enough with it and that I wished there was more to do in that area, more attractions (never did get to experience Triceratops Encounter and have never been able to ride the Pteranodon thing…wish paris casino hotel there was a DNA dark ride and a jeep safari ride).
I really am excited by the idea of a Ministry paris casino hotel of Magic and all the possibilities with that. Hope we get two attractions out of that: maybe a show of some kind (could theme the theater to look like the court room where Harry had to sit for his trial) and then a ride through all the different crazy levels of the Ministry. You could be riding on a mail cart or something as it whirls around through the corridors.
I'd also like to see an expansion and upgrade over at IOA for Hogsmeade: do something to either conceal or remove all the steel coaster tracks for Dragon Challenge and Hippogriff and make a Shrieking Shack Haunted House attraction paris casino hotel (a better version of the Haunted Mansion at Disney, with more scares and excitement and better effects). I think with these additions that the Potter films would be really well represented.
As for Avatar…I think it will be gorgeous and glad to hear that the cheapskates at Disney paris casino hotel feel they need to spend money on it. The movie sucked, but seeing 'alien' wildlife and getting to be immersed in an "alien" planet would be so very cool. And all the bioluminescence would be gorgeous at night. To me, that would be a fantastic place to be in after dark and let my imagination wander. So I think it works well for Animal Kingdom: go see the real animals during the day…and at night, be taken to an alien world of strange beauty and wonder what creatures on other planets look like. Don't need to love the movies to love an experience like that.
Avatar came and went.  Glad Universal didn't get suckered into that theme. I read Cameron went off to right the sequel and ended up coming back empty handed and they are hiring writers. The Avatar story was so dull and predictable. Pocahontas type story has been done several times.
Marc, I heard it was true that Universal could open more Marvel based attractions in Florida paris casino hotel if they were comic book and not movie based. Heard about a possible Ironman (comic version) indoor coaster was being considered by Universal for a Marvel Superhero expansion into Toon Island by using the space where the outdoor auditorium is currentyl located.
I guess I can't argue with the majority Tom- it comes down to a personal preference of Avatar over Star Wars! I just think the environments from Avatar could make a really cool and interesting world. Star Wars is a bit yawn, been done already. And Pixar films are cool and all, but maybe Disney are trying paris casino hotel to put something a bit more adult in? If they want to win back people from Universal then that cant be a bad idea.
With sequels to Avatar on the way as well as a new series of Star Wars' movies these lands will be well attended.  But I do agree Disney made a mistake by not bringing Cars land to Orlando and other Pixar projects.  And what about Marvel?  Pixar and Marvel would be natural addition lands to Disney.
Tom I couldn't disagree with you more. I have a lot of interest in an Avatar paris casino hotel land and less than none in a Star Wars one. Im not planning to visit