It’s arguably the most magical weekend of the year, and it’s happening this weekend! A Celebration of Harry Potter will return to Universal Orlando January 27th-29th, and with it a slew of celebrities, tons of wizard inspired activities and even a massive announcement! We’ve got the complete run down of the event, as well as the celebrity guests!
Cast of Harry Potter Films
Like previous years, this year is stacked with appearances from the cast of the Harry Potter films. The actors will be doing live Q&A sessions, and you never know just when you might see them walking around the crowds.
Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick and Griphook) and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) are all scheduled to appear this year. The celebrity Q&A sessions are always a highlight of the weekend, so you won’t want to miss them.
Schedule
This year there’s an expanded Harry Potter Expo that takes place in TWO of the parks massive soundstages. You’ll get to see a new VR Experience, tons of different offerings from the various expositions and displays from around the world, and much more!
Soundstage 21
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter™
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Pottermore
Soundstage 33
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter™
MinaLima
Stories from Harry Potter™: The Exhibition
Scholastic
Universal Parks and Resorts™
The most interesting thing here is that Universal Parks and Resorts will have a booth setup. Wonder what we could expect to see? We’ll have to wait until Friday to find out!
This year the presentations will take place in both parks. At Universal Studios Florida, everything will happen at the Musci Plaza Stage. At Islands of Adventure, guests will flock to the Toon Lagoon Ampitheatre. The presentations are always huge, and guests can expect to find huge crowds if they don’t get to the park early.
Here’s this year’s run down:
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017
- Movie in the Park: 10am – 12:30pm | Music Plaza Stage
- Movie in the Park: 1:30pm – 4pm | Music Plaza Stage
- Opening Night Event: 7:15pm – 8:15pm | Music Plaza Stage
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2017
- Kids’ Dance Like a Beauxbatons, Battle Like a Durmstrang: 10am – 10:30am | Music Plaza Stage
- WB Studio Tour London – Discover the secrets behind Creature Effects with Nick
Dudman & Warwick Davis: 10am – 10:30am | Toon Lagoon™ Amphitheater - Harry Potter™ Trivia: 11am -11:30am | Music Plaza Stage
- Learn Wand Combat Skills with Paul Harris (Kids): 11:30am – 12pm | Music Plaza Stage
- MinaLima: Graphic Design for the Harry Potter™ Films with MinaLima:11:30am – 12pm | Music Plaza Stage
- Harry Potter™ Trivia: 1:30pm – 2pm | Music Plaza Stage
- Learn Wand Combat Skills with Paul Harris (All Levels): 2pm – 2:30pm | Music Plaza Stage
- Stories From The Exhibition: Taking the Audio-Tour Experience to the World: 3pm – 3:30pm | Toon Lagoon™ Amphitheater
- Harry Potter™ Film Talent Q&A: 4pm – 4:45pm | Music Plaza Stage
- An Interview with Mary GrandPré: 4:15pm – 4:45pm | Toon Lagoon™ Amphitheater
- House Rally Meet-Up (Costume Contest): 5:30pm – 6pm | Music Plaza Stage
- Evening Tribute: 6:45pm – 7:45pm | Music Plaza Stage
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2017
- Kids’ Dance Like a Beauxbatons, Battle Like a Durmstrang: 10am – 10:30am | Music Plaza Stage
- MinaLima: Graphic Design for the Harry Potter™ Films with MinaLima:10am – 10:30am | Toon Lagoon™ Amphitheater
- Harry Potter™ Trivia: 11am -11:30am | Music Plaza Stage
- Learn Wand Combat Skills with Paul Harris (Kids):11:30am – 12pm | Music Plaza Stage
- Learn Wand Combat Skills with Paul Harris (All Levels): 2pm – 2:30pm | Music Plaza Stage
- Stories From The Exhibition: Taking the Audio-Tour Experience to the World: 2:30pm – 3pm | Toon Lagoon™ Amphitheater
- Harry Potter™ Trivia: 3pm – 3:30pm | Music Plaza Stage
- WB Studio Tour London – Discover the secrets behind Creature Effects with Nick Dudman & Warwick Davis: 4pm – 4:30pm | Toon Lagoon™ Amphitheater
- Harry Potter™ Film Talent Q&A: 5:30pm – 6:15pm | Music Plaza Stage
While all of it is pretty amazing, the things you CAN’T MISS are the Wand Combat Skills. Those are always fun, and Paul Harris is an amazing teacher. In fact, he’s the only Wand Combat Specialist in the world, and with the latest Wizarding World Film-Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, you can bet there are some secrets he’s going to spill. PLUS you never know who might show up!
Other highlights you have to catch is the opening night ceremony. That’s when you get to see all the actors on stage, see the run down of events and see the amazing tributes that happen all weekend in one spot. Plus, you never know what kind of secrets you might get to hear about. A huge rumor is that an all new Wizarding World experience is coming to Universal Orlando this year, and we’re going to get to hear all the details this weekend, and maybe even a little sneak peak!
Stay tuned for more from Universal Orlando, and be sure to get social with us on Facebook and follow along with us on Twitter @BehindThrills for the latest updates!
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For more information about Universal Orlando, including tickets, visit the official website by clicking here!
