ORLANDO — Universal Orlando is doubling down on Harry Potter. Already home to one Potter-themed attraction, the Florida resort will debut a second Potter fantasy world this summer.
At the same time, it will fully open its first value-priced, on-site hotel, the 1,800-room Cabana Bay Resort.
Executives said they hoped the one-two punch would finally draw attention to Universal as a force to be reckoned with in Central Florida's crowded field of family tourist attractions.
Dennis Quinn, vice president of Destination Universal, called it "a bit of a shift in the Orlando paradigm."
That shift, said Quinn and other Universal executives, began in 2010 with the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the Islands of Adventure park.
It was the first and only theme-park realization of J.K. Rowling's popular series of fantasy novels. Although Universal has not commented, independent estimates put the cost of that endeavor at $265 million.
The second attraction, to be called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Diagon Alley, will undoubtedly cost more. Universal employed 18 designers on the original Potter park, while more than 60 are at work at Diagon Alley.
Insiders say the payoff from Potter has been worth the investment and that in most quarters attendance has grown since it opened by double digits. The hope is for more of the same when Diagon Alley opens.
"It's become a reason for coming to Orlando," Quinn said. "A not-to-be-missed experience."
Universal, like other operators, doesn't publish attendance for individual parks. In 2012, its two Florida parks, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida, had attendance of 8 million and 6.2 million, respectively, according to Amusement Business magazine.
Whatever the impact of the Potter attractions, Universal is mounting a full-court press to get more buzz for its Florida properties. In addition to the first Potter land, Universal Studios has recently opened rides based on the Transformers movies and on its Despicable Me franchise.
Last year, the park opened its Springfield area, bringing to life the hometown of the Simpsons.
Also within the last year and a half, it has created a new evening sound-and-light spectacle and a new daytime parade. The resort's CityWalk entertainment complex will be getting eight new venues over the next year, such as a modern Mexican concept set to open soon and Cowfish, a combination burger and sushi restaurant.
"Since 2010, we've opened almost an attraction a year," said Tom Schroeder, Universal Orlando's corporate communications vice president.
Next up in that progression will be Diagon Alley, part of a world accessible only to wizards and hidden behind the facade of a modern London streetscape. The world will include a plethora of shops, a simulator ride in Gringotts Bank and an elevated train, the Hogwarts Express, that will run between Diagon Alley in Universal Studios and the original Potter attraction in Islands of Adventure.
Although details of the train are being withheld at this point, designers hint that there will be video simulations of the English/Scottish countryside instead of windows.
"You will not see Orlando," said Thierry Coup, senior vice president of Universal Creative.
Attractions like the Potter properties have helped make Universal a magnet for young adults who are also drawn to signature events such as Rock the Universe, an annual Christian music festival that usually occupies a weekend in September.
"It's become, for preteens and teens and young adults, a rite of passage to experience Universal Orlando," Quinn said.
With two theme parks, CityWalk and, soon, four on-site hotels, Universal executives — who use words like "contemporary," "energetic" and "thrilling" to describe their brand — think they have all the elements of a complete resort in place.
"We'll have people who will make us the center of their vacation," said Alice Norsworthy, executive vice president of marketing and sales at Universal Orlando.
Cabana Bay is an important piece of the puzzle, providing for the first time a value alternative to Loews Portofino Bay and the other two luxury hotels on site. The complex will evoke the family vacation of the 1950s and 1960s, with midcentury modern architecture, design and colors.
The first 600 rooms are slated to open in March, with the remaining 1,200 ready by July. Rack rates range from $119 to $174.
Universal said its marketing emphasizes the family group rather than focusing on small children.
Norsworthy said travel agents can play a role by qualifying clients who are seeking what Universal does best, then educating them about all of the new elements that have been added since 2010.
"If you haven't been here in the last few years, you haven't seen it," Norsworthy said.
The resort pays a 10% commission on packages available either through Universal Vacations or an agent's preferred tour operator, Quinn said.
Follow Tom Stieghorst on Twitter @tstravelweekly.