They didn't announce soft openings back in 2010. Regardless, you can throw whatever they did for Phase 1 out the window. For example, the vacation packages you're referring to, which included early entry to the WWoHP, were sold months and months in advance, and here we are, barely a month to go before it officially opens and they have not done anything of the sort. They know this will be successful and they don't need to make the same efforts as with Phase 1 when they were still uncertain. After the huge success of Phase 1, everything changed. But back to my main point, soft openings are controlled situations for the TMs to get training and to work out any kinks in operations, so they cannot announce them because it would create mass chaos of people lining up with expectations and demands that they may not be able to satisfy. They will even deny any soft openings until the moment they decide to have them, and even then there are no guarantees of who gets in or for how long. So do not expect soft openings to be announced. The most we might get are leaks from TMs mentioning when they will be working, or #PotterWatch alerts as softs are happening.