Diagon Alley Preview Event and Photo Tour – Part V – Entertainment and Overall Impressions

Shortly after scarfing down food at the Leaky Cauldron, we stumbled upon The Singing Sorceress:  Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees. This was a musical performance featuring the ever-popular singing sensation of the wizarding world, known from the books as Molly Weasley’s favorite singer. The swinging show features never-before heard songs including, “A Cauldron Full Of Hot, Strong Love,” “You Stole My Cauldron But You Can’t Have My Heart” and “You Charmed The Heart Right Out Of Me.” These titles were all created by J.K. Rowling and the lyrics also include never-before-revealed information on Celestina’s wand from Pottermore. Cool stuff!

We watched the performance for about 30 seconds, which you can also watch here:

Don’t get me wrong, I could have easily watched/listened to Celestina and the Banshees for awhile. They were great! I was really impressed with the performance and the original song. I still sing “Stole My Cauldron” and find myself re-watching this short video. I can’t wait to see them again and hear more of the set.

Fables from The Tales of Beedle the Bard

I didn’t get to experience this entertainment offering during the Preview, so I’ll just share the information from the press release:

The Tales of Beedle the Bard,a new stage show taking place within Carkitt Market, a covered, outdoor shopping area inspired by London’s famous markets. The show features a troupe of four from the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts who have set up to perform a trunk show using stylized scenic pieces, props and puppetry fabricated by Emmy-award-winning designer Michael Curry. Curry is best known as the production designer on projects including the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony and the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show.The performers will retell two of the famed tales of Beedle the Bard, a 15th-century author of wizarding fairytales. The show will feature “The Fountain of Fair Fortune”, in which three witches and a knight meet in their attempt to reach the Fountain in an enchanted garden, and “The Tale of the Three Brothers” – featured in the seventh film “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1” – in which three wizard brothers come face to face with Death.

I am looking forward to watching this as I have heard rave reviews from other party-goers and the media who attended events prior to my Sneak Peek event. With both Celestina and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Universal is again bringing Muggles deepter into the Wizarding World by allowing us to experience entertainment much like that which the wizards and witches enjoy themselves. Full immersion and sensory overload continues!

Gringotts Money Exchange

Speaking of getting fully immersed in the Wizarding World…. What better way to act like a wizard than to use wizard money? In order to do that, you need to get some wizard bills, and Gringotts Money Exchange is just the place to do that. There, you can interact with a Gringotts bank goblin and exchange Muggle currency for Wizarding Bank Notes.

These bank notes can be used within both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade (and throughout the rest of Universal’s two theme parks) to purchase snacks and items from the shops. You can think of them kind of like Disney Dollars or like a gift card. There’s no actual need to exchange your money for Gringotts notes, but it is a novelty and I am sure many people will buy them and plenty will keep them instead of using them like cash. They come in $10 and $20 denominations only and change is made in Muggle cash.

They also have bags of gold (chocolate) coins, Gringotts wallets and other souvenirs for sale.

Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC

Ollivanders wand shop is one of the wizarding world’s premier shops. It is also one of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’s premier shops, often drawing very long lines in Hogsmeade in Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The new shop in Diagon Alley is much larger than the other and has several wand selection rooms to accomodate the many Muggles who will surely want to experience “a wand choosing a wizard” firsthand.

Knowing that Ollivanders was going to be an important shop in Diagon Alley, I wanted to check it out. I had never been through the wand selection process at the Hogsmeade shop, so I had no idea what to expect when we walked into the small wand selection room.

Before I knew it, an incredibly real wizard was coming down a set of stairs to join us. This man was the real deal! His eyes, his hair, his glasses, his beard, his clothing, his voice inflections! Everything was perfect! He was a wizard as far as I’m concerned!

I couldn’t help but stare at him as he spoke to me about choosing a wand. I am not even sure if I was listening because I was in such a state of shock at how authentic everything about him and this store was. I wish I could have gotten a photo of him up close!

The wand selection experience was very cool. I got to try out a few wands, with which I was able to make magic happen in the room. Since the first two were not right for me, the magic was a little haywire and uncontrolled. Thank goodness the experienced wizard was there to assist.

Once my wand had chosen me and I held it in my hand, there was light and music and it was clear that all was right in the Wizarding World. Except for that awful humidity hair I told you about earlier. See! Good God.

If you know a young wizard who would like to have a wand select him or her, do not miss this experience in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

If you’d like to see my entire wand selection experience, check out the video below.

Overall Impressions of Diagon Alley

From what I saw and experienced, Diagon Alley is simply amazing. It’s rich, immersive and consuming. I didn’t get to enjoy nearly enough of it for my own liking though. There is just so much to see and do, the few hours I had at the VIP Sneak Peek party were just not enough.

After the long delay at Gringotts, I kept waiting for someone to tell me it was time to clear out, and I was worried about what I would not have time to see. Having read about so many of the offerings from press releases and media coverage, I knew there were a lot of things I wanted to see. But I really had no idea just how extensive and immersive Diagon Alley would turn out to be!

I’ll warn you now that sensory overload is going to happen. You’ll want to dedicate a good chunk of time to experience Diagon Alley. I’m thinking you’ll need at the very least half a day for exploring Diagon Alley if you are a fan of the Harry Potter series. If you are a Potterhead, plan at least a full day. As you can see, I didn’t even touch on the numerous shops waiting to be explored. Those alone will require a separate visit for me or a couple hours in your planned trip.

Honestly, between the two attractions, the many shops, the new food and beverage choices and the enchanted wands, there’s a great deal to do! Personally, I know I will be planning multiple visits (I’m an annual passholder) to spend time looking at all the details in the shops and riding Hogwarts Express as well as Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts as much as possible. This new land will certainly change the way people tour Universal Studios and Universal Orlando as a whole! I can’t wait to see the changes unfold! It’s such an exciting time to be a theme park fan!

To describe The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley in a word, it would have to be authentic. This seems somewhat humorous because it’s an authentic fictional world. But once you are there, you’ll see and feel the authenticity too, and it will be just as real as you may have imagined when reading J. K. Rowling’s books or watching the films!

Now, quickly go and enjoy before the Ministry of Magic envokes Repello Muggletum!

Note: I received free admission to Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida to attend this event. All meals and drinks were complimentary as were souvenirs. Thanks to Universal Orlando Resort for the invitation and experience.