A Celebration of Harry Potter At Universal Orlando Resort 2015

At A Celebration of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando Resort held an exciting 3-day event of panels, discussions, and demonstrations. Over the weekend of January 31st to February 1st 2015, Harry Potter fans from around the world gathered at the Florida theme park to celebrate their love of the series as well as celebrate the recent opening of the Diagon Alley expansion. I had the privilege to be there first hand, and as my first time attending the event, it was more than I ever anticipated!

The Harry Potter Expo Soundstage included Scholastic, Pottermore, MinaLima, and the Warner Bros Studio Tours to offer interactive experiences for fans.

Scholastic asked What Does Harry Potter Mean To You? and invited fans to write their answers across a ceiling to floor wall display. Among the messages of love and praise for the series and characters for the abilities to open up magic and imagination in their childhoods and adult lives, I managed to squeeze in one of my favorite quotes by Dumbledore: It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour displayed a variety of props and costumes from the movies and Universal Orlando Resort theme parks. To see some of the outfits and significant set pieces was amazing. I was simply in awe to see items like Harry's tattered robes and the Ford Anglia from Chamber of Secrets, horcruxes, the Sword of Gryffindor, Severus Snapes and Bellatrix's costumes were made available for us to view. And, that certainly wasn't the end of what was on display!

One of the biggest attractions was the MinaLima exhibit. The graphic designers who provided so many amazing and beautiful props for the film franchise were on hand to meet with fans and sign autographs. Having a few time constraints on my schedule, I wasn't fully able to stay in line to meet them. Perhaps another day!

My sister and I capped off our visit to the Harry Potter Expo to be seated in The Great Hall. Our next stop was the Q&A panel with cast of the movies. Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Harry Potter Celebration!