NEW Universal Studios Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts Land Announced

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was one of the most impressive additions to the Universal theme parks. The opening of these Harry Potter lands completely revolutionized Universal and began a strong uptick in attendance at both theme parks. Harry Potter is an extremely popular franchise so it's no surprise that its presence at Universal has been a huge success.

Universal Orlando's new Epic Experience theme park will include a brand new Harry Potter themed land which will join the existing two at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. One of Universal Orlando's most popular rides to date is Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure which just further demonstrates the strong popularity of Harry Potter in the theme parks.

Keep reading for everything we know about this newest Harry Potter land which will take inspiration from settings in the Fantastic Beast films and the Harry Potter series. As a huge Harry Potter fan, I am excited to report on this upcoming news and share my own speculation and hopes for this newest addition.

Universal's Epic Universe 

Universal's Epic Universe will open in 2025 and will be the fourth (if you count Volcano Bay) theme park at Universal Orlando. The new lands coming to Epic Universe which include:

• Celestial Park
• Super Nintendo World
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic
• How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk
• Dark Universe

Let's focus on The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic and what we know so far.

See our Epic Universe guide for the most recent concept art and updates from Universal Orlando.

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You’ll want to consider the Park-To-Park tickets because they are the only way you are able to experience the Hogwarts Express. Also, with a Park-To-Park ticket, you’ll be able to avoid starting the day in the park with the biggest crowd prediction and then switch over to experience more across both parks.

If you are a member of an organization that may qualify for discount tickets or are interested in the Annual Pass option, you should read our guide to discount Universal Studios Orlando ticket options.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic

This new addition to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Epic Universe will blend the 1920s Paris from the Fantastic Beasts films with the British Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter series.

Based on the building permits approved by Orange County, Florida, we know that the Wizarding World area will have a large theatre and a large dark ride. The headliner attraction will be a dark ride in which guests enter the Ministry of Magic like we see in the Harry Potter movies.

If you look at the concept art above you can see an image of the Elder Wand over the entrance. The Elder Wand is featured in both Fantastic Beasts & Harry Potter so this is a nice way to incorporate the two series together.

Ministry of Magic Ride

While a separate entity, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo- The Making of Harry Potter has a full walk through experience of the Ministry of Magic set which gives us a nice look at what a Ministry of Magic focus could look like at Epic Universe.

The Ministry of Magic walk through experience has been popular at Warner Bros. and this helps give us an idea of what a dark ride themed to the Ministry Magic in Epic Universe could look like. Since all the Harry Potter lands at Universal do a nice job of combining thrill with family friendly elements, I imagine we will see a similar concept for this attraction. Perhaps we'll see an approach like Escape from Gringotts that blends story elements with family friendly thrills.

As for the rest of the attractions, the official details are a mystery. Due to the building permits we know there will also be a large theater in the land but there is nothing concrete known yet. Since the dark ride will reportedly focus on the Ministry of Magic, this leads me to wonder if we'll see a focus on Fantastic Beasts in the theater. Can you imagine a stage show with the beasts from the films? That would be pretty epic. 

If you want an idea of what the Harry Potter version of a magical 1920s Paris looks like, you can turn to the second film in the franchise: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. While these films weren't nearly as successful as the original Harry Potter franchise, the settings in the films capture the essence of the Wizarding World and I am sure we will see this carry over into Epic Universe. I personally loved the first film out of the three and it's focus on Newt and his magical beasts. I hope those are the elements that are focused on in the land. 

Interactive Harry Potter Wands

One thing we can expect is another way to utilize the Harry Potter interactive wands! Both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando (plus Hogsmeade at Universal Studios Hollywood) all offer spots around the land to use the interactive wands.

You can be sure that we'll see more wand spell spots added to the Epic Universe Harry Potter land. Since the interactive wands are so popular at Universal, it would be surprising if they did not incorporate a new interactive wand map into the land.

Potential for Fantastic Beasts Bakery?

In the Fantastic Beasts series, the character Jacob Kowalski opens a bakery filled with pastries inspired by the Fantastic Beasts he meets in the first film. I think it would be a huge missed opportunity to not incorporate a similar bakery into the land with pastries themed after the different beasts!

In fact, in 2022 there where pop up food trucks of Jacob's bakery selling these exact items. So the idea is clearly popular, we just need Universal to make it happen!

Stay tuned as we will post more information about Harry Potter at Epic Universe as we get the news from Universal Orlando. 

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