Ever wanted to meet your favorite magical creatures? Well, Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience is an incredibly immersive, intricately detailed adventure filled with creatures of all abilities and oddities.
This traveling landmark allows Wizards and Muggles alike to witness fantastical creatures and key scenes from the Harry Potter books and movies. It’s located in Leesburg at Morven Park through Dec. 8.
The trail moves through book by book, starting at Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and finishing with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Each section/book has varying amounts of attractions. Sorcerer’s Stone has an encounter with a unicorn, Harry, Draco and Hagrid’s dog, Fang, while Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix doesn’t present much more than a few scenes referencing a certain creature.
Additionally, the Fantastic Beasts franchise is represented within the forest. “Fantastic Beasts” is an additional movie trilogy taking place in the wizarding world before Harry Potter arrives at Hogwarts. The series delves into the many drastically different and wonderful creatures within their world. From these movies, creatures like Bowtruckles and Nifflers are featured in this attraction.
Both franchises fall together to create a cohesive picture within the trail, but from the moment of entering the park, immediate immersion is successful. Food venders line the enclosed space, all appropriately named and designed. They sell the famous drink of the wizarding world, Butterbeer, with other options such as house hot chocolates, various types of alcohol and pub food.
The entrance to the trail is framed by lit Christmas trees and a decorative sign for photo opps. But what’s inside the forest is the most aweing.
Here are the most noteworthy interactions.
Upon entering the trail, a unicorn is seen wandering between the trees. A brilliant white, its bold stature makes it a majestic sight. Also appearing occasionally is a baby unicorn with a coat of bright gold, which corresponds to the lore from the books. While these creatures do not exist, the apparition makes it appear as if an actual unicorn is being sighted.
Further into the forest, wanderers bear witness to one of the most momentous scenes in the series. It takes place at the end of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when Harry and Hermione have turned back time to save Sirius Black. In the forest, Harry is confronted with a mob of Dementors.
This is represented along the trail as a shadow of the scene. Harry’s silhouette is lit among the trees as he forcefully shouts the spell for the Patronus charm, and a vivid white stag appears, blinding in its appearance and meaning. The scene in the movie presented itself as more profound when it’s happening in real time.
Even deeper into the exploration of the forest is one of the most rewarding interactions. There is an opportunity to introduce yourself to a Hippogriff (a creature with a body and legs of a horse, and head and wings of an eagle).
As explained in the books, Hippogriffs are proud creatures and must be approached with caution. The etiquette is to bow in front of the Hippogriff and then wait to see if it bows back (if it doesn’t the advice is to flee). Travelers get to try their hand at earning this creature’s respect by bowing. It either chooses to accept your advance by bowing back or denies it by shaking its head. As a Potter fan, this moment was a significant one when the Hippogriff accepted my introduction.
From this experience, there is an underlying understanding that the Potter lore is deeply embedded into the making and experience of this entertainment. Little giveaways that only true fans would catch are ingrained into the walk; from the flying car’s headlight in the trees, to the Nifflers with the Golden Snitch, there is no mistake that the designers are educated Harry Potter fans. This attention to detail ties the experience all together satisfyingly.
As a whole, this attraction brought the creatures from the beloved book series to life in a colorful and interactive experience that will not be forgotten quickly. Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience was an adventure framed with excitement, delight and the fantastical magic of the wizarding world.
