The Harsh Reality of Universal’s NEW Harry Potter Land

Here’s the thing — I am more excited for Epic Universe than I have been for anything in the theme park world for a while.

©Universal

While I usually find myself at Disney and not at Universal, that means that anytime I do get to go, it feels more special. I’m so excited to get to see all the different lands come to life, and seeing the updates from the sky as it’s been coming to life has been nothing short of thrilling. I have a feeling I’ll burst into tears the first time I step into the park, but I will admit, I’m a little hesitant about this ONE thing.

I’ve seen the Harry Potter films and read the books more times than I can count, so you could say I’m a big fan of the series.

In case my words aren’t enough, here’s my Halloween costume from 2018 (yes, I am a very proud Slytherin!)

I love visiting Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley in the existing Universal Orlando parks, and I’m really looking forward to getting to see inside the Ministry of Magic, which looks incredible from concept art.

©Universal

Yeah, I’ll definitely tear up when I walk into the Ministry, but I have to admit that I’m a little worried about how they’ll be mixing the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series with the original Harry Potter franchise. See, the land itself is set in Paris, not London, where the Fantastic Beasts series takes place. The Ministry, however, is the Ministry we know of from the original series, which is set, again, in London.

©Universal

Now, I have nothing against the Fantastic Beasts series — really, I don’t…but I will admit that I’ve only seen the first one. I know you will be “using” Floo powder to get from the streets of Paris to the Ministry, so that makes sense, but what I’m stuck on is that the Fantastic Beasts series predates the Harry Potter series by a number of decades, beginning in 1926, while Harry himself wasn’t born until 1980.

©Universal

And since the whole setting of the ride in the land has to do with Dolores Umbridge’s trial, which takes place sometime in the 1990s-early 2000s…how are we going to go from 1920-1940s Paris to the 1990s just by Floo Powder?

©Universal

Or perhaps the streets of Paris won’t be in the same timeframe as Fantastic Beasts, but maybe just its location, bringing us into the 1990s for it all? This would be the only option that makes sense for the timelines, but if that is the case, we’ll see no trace of any of the characters from the film series, as they’ll be long gone if the year is sometime in the 1990s.

©Universal

Despite my slight worry, I have faith that the Epic Universe creators have thought it all through and it’ll be an incredible land tied together very well. And if it isn’t…well, I’ll personally still love it anyway! We’re keeping up with all the latest updates, so stay tuned to AllEars!

FULL LIST: Height Requirements Revealed for EVERY Ride at Universal’s NEW Epic Universe Theme Park

Join the AllEars.net Newsletter to stay on top of ALL the breaking Disney News! You'll also get access to AllEars tips, reviews, trivia, and MORE! Click here to Subscribe!

Click below to subscribe

What are you most excited to experience in Epic Universe? Tell me in the comments!

Trending Now

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

4 Replies to “The Harsh Reality of Universal’s NEW Harry Potter Land”

  1. One of the great things about all the theme parks is the ability to use your imagination. If if you can’t use your imagination that I don’t know that theme parks are the best place. I don’t remember there being dinosaurs in Harry Potter but when I crossed the bridge at a hogsmeade on suddenly on Jurassic Park. That doesn’t take away from the magic.

  2. I cannot wait for Epic Universe, but it’s going to be jam packed with crowds at the start. The new Harry Potter ride offers a story beyond the last movie. The how to train your dragon area features actual flying animatronic dragons. Mario Land is still pretty new but it features a brand new Donkey Kong Area. Celestial park has the giant coaster and hotel. Dark Universe will be an amazing themed experience featuring the dark ride and some really awesome dining locations with all the Movie Monsters.

  3. There are a LOT of time turners involved in Epic Universe’s new land. The Merch has time turners on it and the portal into the land has a time turner. Now, I am afraid that they won’t follow the “rules” of the time turner that Hermonie used in Prisoner of A, but I feel certain that time travel is worked into the way this land works. There are a lot of hints about this.

    The circus show will involve beasts from Newt’s case, after the case has been stolen and the plot involves rescue of the beasts. When one enters the park the main portal will transport one back into the 1920’s Paris, and then the “Metro-Floo” will use more time travel to take the visitor to the 1990’s England. Simple by theme park standards, and very much advertised by all the time turner images scattered about.

  4. If there is a time difference between the Streets of Paris and London’s Ministry of Magic, then I’m sure Universal Creative will come up with a story to explain it. Disney created the weird plant when you enter Pandora to explain why we can breathe the atmosphere, so an out-of-movie explanation can be made up if needed.

    As for why Streets of Paris from Fantastic Beasts is being used, I believe Universal was so convinced this was going to be the next big successful film series that Universal began created the land immediately, and were already too far along to completely cancel the project when it became apparent that Fantastic Beasts was ending without a decent ending.