Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience

Story and Photos by ASHLEY WORLEY/Staff Contributor

Pixies and Nifflers might not be the average wildlife of a DFW park, but the inhabitants of Universal Studios’ Wizarding World, it seems, can make an appearance just about anywhere.

Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience wrapped up its three-month run on Feb. 11 in Little Elm, Texas, after having extended its stay for two weeks past the original closing date.  The interactive nighttime walk-through attraction featured unique photo ops, food, merchandise, and a 45-minute walking trail into the depths of the ‘Forbidden Forest.’

The globe-trotting, themed attraction traveled all over the world, from Belgium to New York, before popping up just outside Dallas in Little Elm Park.  There, the forest hiking trail was transformed with interactive lights, props, and animatronics that recreated iconic scenes from the Harry Potter franchise.

High school senior and Tylerite Lucy Holden described it as a good outing for Harry Potter nerds of all ages. 

“The interactive experiences were very fun,” Holden said, “even if they were simple.  I thought the glowing mushrooms were cool!”

Those lighted mushrooms accounted for only a fraction of the other myriad of Forbidden Forest flora and fauna encountered by guests.  Past the owl post carriers and werewolves, there might be a unicorn slipping through the trees via projector screen.  Beyond Buckbeak the hippogriff and through a dark, cobwebbed tunnel, an animatronic Acromantula might lurk.

To either the casual or committed Harry Potter fan, many other familiar sights, sounds, and even tastes from the franchise were brought to life.  Wands (with the help of a motion detector and sheer screen) could summon a Patronus with a simple wave.  Butterbeer shimmering with a guest’s Hogwarts house colors could be purchased from a wooden booth.

“Very fun and immersive,” said a reviewer on the event platform, Fever.  “A little spooky but not too overboard for younger kids.”

Another reviewer described it as “…better than our time spent at Universal in Harry Potter World.”

To sum up the Forbidden Forest, over six thousand reviewers ranked the experience at 4.5 out of 5 stars.

At the moment, the Experience is still touring in Australia and Singapore.  Whether or not the event will return to the U.S. next fall is unknown.  The website offers guests a chance to be notified via email if it does.

Until then, the Wizarding World has effectively returned to its natural habitat in Florida and California.

For more information, you can view photos and videos of the event on the Experience’s Instagram page or visit the Forbidden Forest Experience website.