Universal said the Harry Potter-themed section of Epic Universe will feature “the most ambitious, groundbreaking ride Universal has ever created.” It will be called Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.
Guests will travel in both time and space from 1920s Paris to the British Ministry of Magic via Metro-Floo, a nod to the Floo Network seen in the Harry Potter films, which lets wizards and witches travel between fireplaces via a special powder.
They will arrive at the British ministry for the trial of Dolores Umbridge, the notorious witch who took over Hogwarts while Harry and friends attended the school. Guests will move through the Ministry’s atrium and other departments before boarding “magical, omnidirectional lifts” to watch the trial.
But Umbridge makes an escape attempt, and Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Higgledy the house elf chase her down.
Guests will be propelled “up, down, forward, backward, sideways and more,” Universal said. There will be the added excitement of Death Eater attacks and creature encounters throughout the adventure.
Muggles are welcome
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic will be one of five worlds at Epic Universe. Guests will enter the world via a portal that will land them in a Muggle park in Paris (In Harry Potter parlance, a muggle is a person without magic powers.) From there, guests will enter the wizarding shopping district Place Cachee, set in the 1920s.
Inside Haussmann-style buildings there, guests will find shops and sidewalk cafes. As they wind through the streets, they will discover numerous chances to use wands to cast spells and interact with exchange students from magic schools Hogwarts and Ilvermorny. They may run into an Auror (or dark wizard catcher) from the Ministere des Affaires Magiques de la France and other visitors, officials and residents of the Wizarding World.
Wands can be purchased at Cosme Acajor Baguettes Magique, featuring the work of wandmaker Cosme Acajor. The shop will feature interactive wands in unique three-sided boxes with lists of spell-casting locations. Universal promised spell interactions with both enchanted objects and magical beasts, like Nifflers, Bowtruckles and a Demiguise.
The first Harry Potter theater show
Le Cirque Arcanus will offer a full-scale theater show for the first time in a Wizarding World park. The show will feature live performers, aerialists, puppetry and special effects in a show about magical beasts. Its storyline follows Ringmaster Skender, who stole the suitcase of Newt Scamander in the 2016 film “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” the ninth movie in the Harry Potter franchise.
During the show, circus employee Gwenlyn will attempt to rescue the creatures — including Demiguise, Diricawl and Mooncalves — from Skender.
Food and drink at the Ministry of Magic
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic will feature a number of eateries.
At Cafe L’Air De La Sirene, a French café, guests will find French sandwiches, plats du jour and desserts.
Le Gobelet Noir, a hangout of Dark witches and wizards, will be a shadowy eatery serving soups, salads, entrees and desserts.
Bar Moonshine will feature beers, wines and cocktails in an establishment themed to wizarding Americana, lined with U.S. Quidditch team pennants.
Butterbeer fans will find the beverage at the Bierauberre cart inside Place Cachee.
The world will feature a number of merchandise locations, like wizarding gear shop Les Galeries Mirifiques, French confectionary K. Rammelle and gift shop Tour En Floo.
Merchandise themed to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic is now on sale at the Universal Epic Universe Preview Center in Universal CityWalk.
Ministry of Magic is being created by the Universal Creative team and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Themed Entertainment. It is the third installment of Harry Potter lands and joins the Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Hogsmeade, which opened at Universal Islands of Adventure in 2010, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Diagon Alley, which opened at Universal Studios Florida in 2014.