The Harry Potter Forbidden Forest Experience is designed to be a magical, out of this world experience.
After Universal Studios and a New York exhibit created a realistic Harry Potter World experience with shops, cafes and interactive rides and adventures, the Forbidden Forest experience was born. The magical location features a strictly nighttime woodland trail, filled with magical creatures and wizarding wonders from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films.
This surreal experience originated for the first time in Arely Hills, United Kingdom, in October 2021. In October 2022, a second and third location were opened in Leesburg, Virginia, and Westchester, New York in the U.S. As of now, there are only nine locations around the world and only three in the U.S.
As soon as the sun sets and the moon begins to shine, the forest is in motion. Brooklyn Shrewsberry, a West Virginia high school student, attended the location in Leesburg, Virginia.
“So, there’s scheduled times online that you pick when you want to go, so it keeps the experience a steady flow, rather than it being chaotic,” Shrewsberry said “When you first walk in there’s a center with food and activities to participate in before you walk in the real forest path.”
“When it’s time for you to go in, your tickets get scanned and you walk out of the center and walk into the forest entrance. A clear path that takes anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours depending on how long it takes your party to finish.” Said Shrewsberry
The trail is not created to be like a museum where one simply walks through the exhibit. The purpose of the Forest is to make it feel as if visitors are actually there.
Cleo Cochran, an Arizona State University student, explained what it felt like walking through what she described as a trippy illusion.
“The whole thing was actually really cool,” Cochran said. “The technology is completely advanced, with speakers connected throughout the entire trail taking lines from the actual movie that gives the illusion that the characters are actually in the forest with you. As you go through the trail, there’s sculptures and all types of illusions from each movie and interactive things you can do to feel the Hogwarts magic come alive.”
There are a few interactive elements to engage with throughout the trail, which is intended to make the experience more immersive. One moment from the books and movies that is a featured part of the Forbidden Forest experience is Harry Potter’s casting of his patronus. In order to cast a patronus, you would walk up to this stage-like floor in front of a projector and wave a given wand in front of the screen which will show your animal. There’s also a life sized animated hippogriff and having it bow back, and even having a wand duel war seeing who wins.
Harry Potter films were so loved and cherished that many people have come together to make these films come to life. The Forbidden Forest is a unique experience for those who love the films and is highly recommended for fans of the books and movies.