The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic is heading to Epic Universe! Universal just revealed all the details for this highly anticipated land! Epic Universe Epic Universe …
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The Bachelor Nation mourns the loss of Hailey Merkt, who was a contestant on Season 21 of the popular show. What’s Happening: Hailey Merkt has passed away at the age of 31 after a battle with leukemia. She was a contestant on The Bachelor Season 21 in 2016 with Nick Viall as The Bachelor. This news was shared […]
The post “The Bachelor” Season 21 Contestant Hailey Merkt Passes Away at the Age of 31 appeared first on LaughingPlace.com.
It’s no surprise that most members of our team have homes filled with different Disney items.
Loungefly Wall at the Emporium in Magic Kingdom
Some of it is merchandise and souvenirs from park visits, other is attire we’ve bought from stores around our hometowns (we love Ross specifically), but some are home essentials that are genuinely needed in your home, and ours just happen to be Disney-themed! If you’re on the hunt for some of those, we’ve got you covered!
The sign hanging on the door
If you’re looking for a great welcome sign that can be changed to fit whatever season it is (AND is Disney-themed), the Cute Mouse Interchangeable Seasonal Welcome Door Sign is perfect!
Here is a look at the pieces you can switch it out with.
All the different Mickeys
©Amazon
If you find yourself often bringing out snacks or drinks for your guests, put them on the Disney Home Monochrome Serving Tray Set so they don’t ruin your tables or other furniture. (Plus, they’re just cute, how can we resist?)
©Amazon
Want to make your own Mickey waffles at home? Who wouldn’t! You can grab the Disney Classic Mickey Waffle Maker to bring Disney magic to any breakfast (even on those difficult mornings before school)!
©Amazon
If you’re as excited for fall as we are and want to have a special sign just for that, the Mickey Mouse and Minnie Welcome Fall Round Hanging Wood Wall Decor is a great fit!
©Amazon
Alright, for those of you out there who need all new pans to complete your baking endeavors, the Farberware Disney Bake with Mickey Mouse Nonstick Bakeware Set is perfect! It comes with two cookie pans, one 12-count cupcake/muffin pan, a loaf pan, and a set of Mickey oven mitts.
©Amazon
We totally get the need to have some inspirational quotes in your bedroom or home office — it gives you a great pep in your step for the day! That’s why we absolutely love the All Your Dreams Can Come True If You Have The Courage to Pursue Them Walt Disney Wall Decal Sticker!
We’re always keeping an eye out for all the best latest and greatest Disney deals online, so stay tuned to DFB!
What’s your favorite Disney item you have in your house? Tell us in the comments!
The post We Found HUGE Discounts On Disney Home Decor On Amazon first appeared on the disney food blog.
D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event is coming up SOON.
D23
This event sold out quickly, and will feature appearances and talks from Disney execs, celebrities, Imagineers, and so much more. Disney often drops MAJOR announcements during these events, which is why they’re so popular. We’ll be bringing you the biggest news from the major panels this year, and we’ve officially got the FULL map and guide for the event!
The D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event will take place in Anaheim, California. The event runs from August 9th through August 11th, 2024. Disney previously released a general schedule of the main events, including highlights like the Disney Experiences Showcase on August 10th, but now we’ve got the FULL MAP and guide! It all starts on the First Floor, which is where you’ll find all sorts of experiences, shopping, and more in the Main Expo Hall.
©Disney
The Second Floor features the Hyperion Stage, Inside Out 2 Headquarters, and the Backlot Stage…
©Disney
…and the Third Floor is for the Walt Disney Archives Stage.
©Disney
Here’s a look at the map for the World of Disney: The Product Experience.
©Disney
Disney also shared maps and guides for transportation and parking at the Anaheim Convention Center…
©Disney
…and the Honda Center. It’s recommended that you allow at least 90 minutes for travel and entry time to the Honda Center!
©Disney
This is going to be a BIG event, and we can’t wait to check it out. Stay tuned to DFB as we bring you the latest Disney news and more!
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you’re a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
The post FULL MAP and GUIDE for D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event first appeared on the disney food blog.
A popular Disney souvenir is returning to the parks. Here is where and when you can get your own! Disney Headwear Disney headwear is iconic! You can’t step foot in …
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Universal Orlando Resort has revealed new details for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, opening in 2025 as part of Epic Universe.
This is the final land reveal for the new theme park.
Guests will enter the land through a portal topped with a golden hand pointing a wand toward the sky, set atop a tall column. A Time-Turner will be positioned above the portal entrance.
In this land, “guests will explore the magical streets of 1920s Paris and embark on a new experience at the British Ministry of Magic.”
Names for the land’s ride, shops, and more were revealed via trademarks in late 2023.
From the rise of Grindelwald to the fall of Voldemort, never before have fans been able to partake in a single journey that spans decades of wizarding world history. You’ll experience Paris in the 1920s before traveling to the British Ministry of Magic circa the late 1990s.
Lucky for you, this story doesn’t end here. Ready your wands, because we’re about to travel back in time and uncover all the sumptuous details…
Your introduction to this new world comes in the form of a structure you spot from beautiful Celestial Park (the hub of Universal Epic Universe). You’ve been wandering through its astral-themed gardens when you notice a towering hand unmistakably holding a wand…this must be the portal you’ve been seeking.
Upon entering, it’s immediately clear you’re in a new place and time. Pass under the Phoenix Arch and you’ll find yourself in Place Cachée, a pocket of Paris catering to the witches and wizards of the 1920s! The bustling stone streets ahead are lined with shops, cafés and a series of banners advertising Le Cirque Arcanus — all beckoning you for a visit.
“It’s really a new look for the wizarding world,” explains Scott Verble, executive producer for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. “This is a more refined, Parisian take.”
To construct this full-scale thoroughfare, the team took inspiration directly from the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise and even visited the sets of the second film installment, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” “We worked with the production designers of the films,” Scott continues. “For a film you’re designing for specific shots, but within a theme park — we have to be sure that it’s designed for any shot.”
Immersion truly is the name of the game. Scott and his team have been tirelessly working to make sure everything guests feel, see, taste and even hear is congruent not only with 1920s Paris, but with the experience of a witch or wizard.
For example, associate producer Cara Pfost Brown let us in on a little easter egg: “We’ve recorded these little vignettes and stories to kind of populate our French city with French wizarding people. So if you’re stopping by a storefront, you might overhear the storekeeper talking to clients or you might overhear some gossip.” If there’s a boost in language app usage around Orlando next year, you’ll know why.
Experiencing the 1920s has been a dream, but it’s past time we caught up with some old friends, isn’t it? Let’s head into the Paris Métro-Floo station and travel to 1990s London.
Fans of the “Harry Potter” franchise have been able to retrace Harry’s footsteps inside Hogwarts castle. They’ve shopped in legendary Diagon Alley. But The Ministry of Magic remains one of the films’ biggest locations that has yet to manifest in any theme park.
“[The] Ministry of Magic has been on our minds for a while,” admits Kim Gritzer, creative director for the ride. “Every time we look into [building] a new ‘Harry Potter’ world, the Ministry always comes up because it is just a beautiful location. And I am very excited that we decided to do it.”
Much like with Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, and Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, this queue will be an attraction unto itself. “When the guests walk into the Ministry for the first time, that sense of scale is established, and that scale is consistently held through the entire experience,” Scott illustrates.
You’ll wind your way through various recognizable departments and workspaces… but more on that to come!
Shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts, order has been restored in the Ministry of Magic and Lord Voldemort’s followers are being held accountable for their crimes. One such accused is none other than Umbridge herself, and you’ve arrived on the crucial day of her trial. You board a lift to the court room and notice that Harry, Ron and Hermione are in attendance, alongside a new character, Higgledy, Umbridge’s former house-elf. “She’s very happy that Umbridge is on trial because she was mistreated by Umbridge,” notes Kim.
Along the way, we witness Umbridge wriggle free of Ministry control with the help of Death Eaters Yaxley, Carrow and Macnair. Her stated mission: repair a broken Time-Turner in the Department of Mysteries and restore Voldemort’s reign. “We’re recruited by Harry, Ron, Hermione and Higgledy to capture her and stop her from escaping,” continues Kim, “And then we chase her through the Ministry and have a whirlwind adventure.”
Argued by some fans to be even more despised than Voldemort, Umbridge is a notable and formidable foe for our heroes. She also happens to be Kim’s favorite “Harry Potter “character. “I loved her!” she laughs before clarifying, “as like a villain.”
Once inside, take in your Art Nouveau surroundings and follow the signs down hallways lined with white tile before you’re directed to step into a large Métro-Floo fireplace before you are engulfed in magical green flames (it’s quite easy dear, don’t be afraid). You will emerge at your destination and see that you’re no longer in Paris. A familiar and breathtaking grand atrium greets you and you know your journey has been a success.
You follow the banners to this first-of-its-kind live show, of course! Once the premiere showcase of magical creatures from around the globe, Le Cirque Arcanus has fallen out of favor. Ringmaster Skender seeks a reinstitution of the glory days, having finally accomplished his quest to obtain magizoologist Newt Scamander’s famed suitcase filled with the beings who would go on to inspire a seminal wizarding text (and required for Hogwarts students in Harry’s first year), “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Walking into the theater, you instantly recognize that this show has no metaphorical fourth wall. You are a member of the wizarding community just like the people — and yes, beasts — who will soon populate the stage.
“How can we bring the guests to that circus and put on a circus-level spectacular production in a way that makes it feel like it’s real and happening in front of you?” asks Cara. The answer includes a combination of live performers, puppets and special effects. “Whenever things are represented on stage, be it a spectacular or some sort of beast encounter, we want to make sure that the technology isn’t visible, and the guests just believe that it’s there… whether it’s in media, or physical, or any combination of the two.”
Fans of the franchise will recognize familiar faces: a Demiguise, Zouwu, Kelpie, Mooncalves, and even Scamander himself are all scheduled to appear. But the audience will also be endeared to a new character: protagonist Gwenlyn, a squib and assistant to Skender. “It is the first fully immersive in-world theatrical experience for this brand globally,” offers senior show producer on the project, Kathryn Cobbs DiGenova. She also notes that it’s the most technically complex — from both an equipment and a performer standpoint.
The characters of the wizarding world aren’t contained to its shows and attractions. You might bump into fascinating witches and wizards on the streets. The entertainment program at Universal Epic Universe has been elevated across the board in terms of innovation, technology and diversity.
“We’ve never been able to do as many interactions in a wizarding land,” Kathryn points out, “And we’ve never been able to expand the world through those engagements the way that we are here.”
Magical creatures will have found their way into shop windows, nooks and crannies, ready to interact. “We have a moment where a Niffler will just look you in the eye and shove a gold bar in his pouch,” chuckles Scott. Overall, the world contains some of the smallest animated figures Universal Creative has ever developed, as well as some of the largest.
One of the wizarding world’s most charming qualities (pun definitely intended) is the breadth of its vitality. The fact that inanimate objects seemingly come to life in the edges of nearly every frame never ceases to delight. That will be the case in Universal Epic Universe, as well.
For the first time, you will be able to speak to various talking portraits and receive real, personalized replies. And you’ll be able to sharpen your spell-casting skills with amazing new interactive wand experiences as you explore the streets of wizarding Paris, interacting with fantastic beasts and revealing hidden surprises.
One of the more refined dining options, Café L’air De La Sirène will serve French-inspired cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The interior will be a feat of architecture, adorned with carved marble and art nouveau mosaics featuring stunning period interpretations of witches and wizards. Even the ceiling detail features thoughtful design of flora and fauna from the wizarding world. Improbably towering displays of croquembouches provide a glimpse of dessert while you dine on baked goods, sandwiches and plats du jour.
With two distinct outdoor seating areas, you can also get the full Parisian street café experience, which should be atmospheric for both dining guests and passers-by.
Yes, you will find Butterbeer in Universal Epic Universe! This wizarding world must-have may have a different name in France (Bièreaubeurre, s’il vous plaît!) but that beloved taste reminiscent of butterscotch and shortbread can make even wizarding Paris feel familiar.
If you’ve been waiting to find out whether you can procure a unique French wand for all that spellcasting you’re planning, wait no further. Mais bien sûr!
In Cosme Acajor Baguettes Magiques, you’ll find delicately crafted, exquisite wands designed by Acajor herself. You may be used to the haphazardly teetering piles at Ollivanders Wand Shop, but Acajor’s establishment has a more refined interior befitting of her own elegance.
Specializing in different wand cores than her British wand master counterparts, she considers her wands works of art and only sells product of the highest standard. Ornate wand arrangements seem to hover in the air, forming a centerpiece above the displays where her signature triangular packages are neatly stacked.
A quick note for Ollivanders fans: while Acajor’s exclusive line is the main feature here, you will also find plenty of British wand imports.
Previous rumors indicated that new spells and wands would come to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter areas at Universal Orlando ahead of the opening of Epic Universe.
Also read more details for Celestial Park, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World, and Dark Universe. Merchandise inspired by each of the park’s lands is available now for purchase in the Epic Universe Preview Center, located in Universal CityWalk Orlando.
For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.
The post BREAKING: Details of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic Revealed for Epic Universe appeared first on WDW News Today.
It’s back! Disney Store’s last Free Gift offer is here giving you the chance to add some extra magic to your shopping cart while you top off your Summer shopping lists. For a limited time guests can choose a free gift (for themselves or to share!) when spending $100 or more! (Please note this article contains […]
The post Everyone Loves a Free Gift! Spend $100+ at Disney Store and Treat Yourself to a Magical Bonus Item appeared first on LaughingPlace.com.
ABC News and ABC Owned Television Stations have announced new climate-based programs to keep families and communities safe during extreme weather events. What’s Happening: ABC News and ABC Owned Television Stations are announcing Climate Ready, a new editorial initiative created to amplify vital climate preparedness stories focused on ways for viewers to keep their families safe, […]
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