A Celebration of Harry Potter has become a very popular annual event put on by the Universal Orlando Resort. All year long Universal is a treat for Harry Potter fans! Guests can step into the magical worlds that they have read about and seen in the famous film series everyday through thrilling rides, spellbinding shows and unforgettable experiences, like finding your perfect wand at Ollivanders. Through the immersive lands of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, visitors will be living the story of Harry Potter!
Every Year Universal becomes filled with even more wizarding magic during A Celebration of Harry Potter. The 3-days long wizarding event is no additional charge to park guests. Regular admission is all that is required to attend the festivities. The Universal Orlando Resort partners with Warner Brothers to bring to life this event filled with everything a super fan of the Harry Potter franchise could every desire! Guests can look forward to special panels, Q&A sessions with film talent, magical demonstrations, and expos. This past weekend was the 2018 Celebration of Harry Potter and we are excited to share a few of the exciting offerings from this year’s event!
Film Talent
One of the most exciting components of the event each year is the star-studded line up of film talent! Actors from the film series make special appearances on panels and in Q&A sessions. These film talent events are always interactive and filled with fun. The stars share special stories and memories from their experience getting to work on what has now become such a beloved movie series. The actors always loves to reminisce on their favorite funny moments and the goofy things they remember from being onset. During the Q&A the guests have the opportunity to get involved in the action and ask their favorite stars whatever they want to know. The event is always full of great interaction and everyone walks away with great memories and stories to tell! This year the film talent included,
Natalia Tena, (played Nymphadora Tonks)
Stanislav Yanevski, (played Viktor Krum)
Bonnie Wright, (played Ginny Weasley)
James and Oliver Phelps, (played Fred and George Weasley)
The heart of the Harry Potter event is the expos. The Universal soundstages become huge expo halls that house booths and activities dedicated to all things Harry Potter. Let’s take a look at some of the fun that was found inside the soundstages this year,
Pottermore
Pottermore is the official Harry Potter fan club and they had a great presence at this year’s event. At the Pottermore booth you could use smart tablets to take a sorting quiz which based on your personality would tell you which Hogwart’s house you belong in. Also at the Pottermore booth, guests could create fun keepsakes with whimsical props by posing for a Harry potter themed GIF! Such a great way to share the fun on social media with your friends.
Harry Potter and The Cursed Child
This past year a new chapter in the Harry Potter story was born when the Harry Potter and The Cursed Child play premiered in London. The story is a continuation of a new era in Harry’s life. The play will be coming to New York this year and so many people are on the edge of their seat, awaiting to experience the continued story. Everyone attending the event got a taste of what to expect in the theatrical production by visiting the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child section of the expo. Here guests got to see a glimpse into the new story through real props and costumes from the show.
Audible
Audible is the popular audiobook service and they had a booth at this year’s event advertising the Harry Potter audiobooks available on Audible. The booth was home to a very fun game where true fans could compete against other fans to prove just how well they know the books. In the game, you would wear headphones and listen to a selection from one of the Harry Potter books. You would then have to guess which book the line is from. In the end, you can see how you ranked against the other fans! This booth was a very fun and competitive place to be!
Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them VR Experience
Guests could put on a Virtual Reality headset and live inside the movie Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them. In the experience, you could encounter a series of magical creatures!
Warner Brothers Studio Tour
Hands down a huge hit at this year’s event was the Warner Brothers Studios tour that was set up inside one of the Universal Studio’s soundstages. The experience gave guests a portion of what they could experience at the actual Warner Brother Studio tour in London. During the tour guests got to view props, costumes and watch special effects demonstrations to learn how the magic was made!
Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery Mobile Game
Late this Springs the Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery mobile game will be released on IOS. Guests who attended the event got to be among the first people to ever experience the new game when visiting the Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery booth! From what we have heard the game will give you the experience of going to Hogwarts. The style of the game will be similar to the very popular Pokemon Go app.
Harry Potter Concert Series
Everyone loves the music from the Harry Potter films! The scores are so iconic, thrilling and powerful! The Harry Potter Concert Series is an orchestra that travels the world preforming the famous music live alongside the movie. The Harry Potter Concert Series was represented in a booth at this year’s event.
New Projection Show on Hogwart’s Castle
The icing on the cake at this year’s event was the premiere of the brand new Harry Potter project show on the Hogwart’s castle. This past Christmas season the Hogwarts castle introduced Christmas projections for the first time and it was an instant hit with visitors. After the Christmas show premiered it became highly rumored that this exciting new technology could pave the way for more projection shows in the future. Well that came true with the premiere of the new show, “The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle.” The show is a celebration of all 4 Hogwart’s houses. Be sure to bring your house pride when watching this show!
We hope you enjoyed hearing about a few of the offerings from this year’s event. Experience the fun for yourself and plan your visit to next year’s Celebration of Harry Potter with your Kingdom Magic Vacations Travel planner!
