Preston Barta // Features Editor
Little Elm, Texas — If you solemnly swear that you’re up to no good, perhaps you should pay a visit to Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience in Little Elm.
The wizarding world attraction transformed the woods around Lake Lewisville into the Forbidden Forest and Black Lake that exists outside Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books and films. Now active through Jan. 13, the immersive nighttime walking trail experience comes complete with theatrical lights, fog machines, models and animatronic figures to make any Potter fan squeal like a Niffler with gold.
Upon arrival, you are greeted at the entrance and welcomed into the first of two snack and beverage kiosks, a.k.a. The Mulling Pot. This is where you can order the popular wizarding drink Butterbeer, which is essentially cream soda mixed with caramel extract and butterscotch topping. This one (compared to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando or even Alamo Drafthouse’s mix during a Potter-thon) is a tad heavier on the butterscotch side and watered down. So, if that’s not one’s cup of tea, you might want to go for one of the five (arguably better) hot chocolate flavors — named after the Hogwarts Houses (save for one named after the school itself) and have tasting notes that match the vibe or color schemes of each.
Additionally, there’s hot tea, coffee, apple cider, lemonade, water, and a few alcoholic options (such as beer, signature cocktails and wine). Snack-wise, you can chow down on some pretzel bites, pigs in a blanket, cake pops and other sweet treats. Sugar rush warning! Everything is under $20, averaging around $8-$10.
However, if you have a small bladder, you might want to hold off drinking anything until the end of the walk because there are no restrooms along the trail, which takes about 60-90 minutes to go through. There are park restrooms before the main gate and air-conditioned porta potties next to The Mulling Pot.
Before hitting the trail, be sure to do two more things:
1) Have someone in your group download the official experience app on their (hopefully) fully charged phone. There are scannable QR codes featured on signs as you walk in. This app will allow you to get fun information, watch video clips, take quizzes, and get themed borders for photos or videos. However, one must admit that keeping up with it sometimes can be a bit overwhelming because there’s so much to look at in person and taking photos without the app can be easier. Look out for signs on posts and the ground along the trail to let you know when it’s most important to have the app ready.
2) Drop by the souvenir booth next to The Mulling Pot. They have some themed items like hoodies, winter hats, gloves, and umbrellas fit for colder or rainier evenings. Also available are glowing lanyards and wristbands that make it easy to keep up with kiddos in the dark. But don’t worry, there’s a much larger selection of merchandise at the exit. More on that later.
Just outside the trail’s entrance is a perfect picture-taking opportunity in front of the illuminating stag statue (Harry’s patronus, Prongs). This is well-lit and spacious, so make sure to snap a photo. Whether you’re walking solo or going with a group, a friendly employee or fellow ticket holder should be nearby to snap a photo of your entire party.
Now, it’s time for the true adventure to begin. You’ll meet your wizard or witch host, who does a quick briefing. They’ll use their wand to cast a Lumos spell, which lights up all the trees around you. It’s a wonderful way to warm up the excitement for what’s to come.
From here, you’ll experience everything you paid for – details we’ll mostly remain tightlipped about so you can soak up all the magical wonder. Prepare for awe-striking, moody lights accompanied by sound effects, dialogue snippets and music. If you have young children in your group, you might need to pick them up every now and then as the atmosphere can be just as spooky as one would imagine walking through the Forbidden Forest would be. One spidery tunnel and a glowing eyes sequence might slow your feet, but it’s all good fun. Nothing is going to pop out at you.
It’s best to slow your feet anyway because you could very well miss a beat or two. One sight involving lights from a certain moment in Chamber of Secrets can be easily missed if you walk too fast. So, listen to the dialogue and noises around you as indicators of what’s to come. Plus, there will likely be lines for the more interactive moments, some of which appeal to the senses beyond sight. Prepare your noses, too!
Once you’ve completed the walk-through, which concludes with a series of grand photo/video opps to widen smiles, you’ll approach the second village. This includes the more substantial food items, with options like The Fat Fryer (mozzarella sticks, chicken and fries), Dragonfire Roasts (beef stew, grilled skewers, and pasties), and a Sweet Shop (cupcakes and marshmallows to toast at the fire pit). There are veggie options available from these booths, too. (The strongest recommendations are the marshmallows and skewers.) And if you missed the drink options at the beginning, here’s your next chance to sip away while you eat at the tables or grab more pics at a few more surrounding photo opportunities.
As you exit, there’s the final gift shop featuring all kinds of exclusive merch. There are also kid-friendly products, including bendable pixies and plush characters of Nifflers and House mascots. Smaller mementos include pins, keychains, patches, and journals. House-specific items are also available, like robes and shirts. If you have a sweet tooth, purchase a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, chocolate wands or gummies. And don’t forget about the actual wands! They’re on the pricier end, but they’re cool to look at, nonetheless. Shirts are around $25-$40, and hoodies are $60-$65 for adults and $35 for children. Smaller items like gloves, toys and mugs are about $20.
In all, Little Elm’s take on the Forbidden Forest is exceptionally Prisoner of Azkaban-like, especially if you experience it during a full moon. Some areas on the trail could have used a few more props to keep the magic going, but it’s still a well-sustained adventure that feels like you’re experiencing Harry Potter on a more profound level.
Forbidden Forest Experience: A History
While at the media tour of Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience in Little Elm, Fresh Fiction spoke with Alan Skott, Strategic Project Lead at Fever Originals. Skott discusses the history of the special wizarding world trail and how the weather (rain, snow or cold) brings a whole new level of escapism to the experience.
Some of the questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Preston Barta: How long have you been developing this experience?
Alan Skott: We launched the first one in 2021 in Manchester. It went super well. We sold 97 percent of tickets, and the reviews were great. So, we thought, “Wow, there’s actually something here.” This was also straight out of COVID, so people wanted to be outside. They wanted to enjoy nature a bit more. They were cooped up inside and wanted to enjoy IP-related events. Obviously, Harry Potter is one of the biggest IPs of all time. It was a perfect combination.
Then, last year, in its second year, we went to New York, D.C., Brussels, and back to Manchester. All super successful. However, this year, we are only in Dallas, and part of the reason why we’re only in Dallas is it’s super difficult to find a perfect venue. That’s probably the hardest thing about this event: finding unicorns like this in terms of locations to run the show.
I can imagine not every location has the same walking length. So, how does a venue like this dictate creativity?
Yes. It’s not a black box event. Every single show we’ve ever done and will do will be different. For Little Elm, we sent a team out probably about the best part of a year ago to come in, check the trail and redesign the creative. So, every show we do is a new creative project because you must adapt to the environment. And that’s what makes it so magical because you feel like you’re blending into the environment, and it feels natural. And that’s part of the enjoyment of it as well.
Ah, so there’s crossover from event to event in terms of design and the running of another?
Yes. We started having conversations with this venue while we were still doing the previous shows. To put into perspective, we are looking across the world for venues like this, and it takes a lot of work and a lot of visits. It probably took us a year and a half to get to this venue. We were in conversation with Little Elm Park for a long time, and they’ve been great.
I’m sure that makes a huge difference.
Yeah. It’s not just about the venue. It’s not just about the forest and the logistics, being close to a city center so that families can get here easily. It’s also about the people you’re going to work with, and Little Elm Park has been amazing so far.
There are so many gorgeously designed and exciting sections of this trail. What section are you most proud of?
There are a lot of amazing sections. I mean, from the Hippogriff to obviously the interactive moments, which is something new to this.
Oh, really?
Yes. All these interactive moments have added in. But I would say the bit I enjoy the most, probably because of my preference in the film, is the Aragog section, the spider section.
Oh, yes. It captures the feeling of the film quite well. I agree. And that tunnel sequence.
Yeah. When you go through that dark tunnel, you start feeling a bit tense. And then you are welcomed into this environment where Aragog suddenly crawls out and the other spiders are there all around the forest. To me, that’s the one that gives me goosebumps.
How about the musicality of it all? Because it’s not just things to look at. There’s music, sound effects, lights, fog machines and dialogue from the films going. It’s like you’re conducting an orchestra, really.
Absolutely. First, we look at it as a whole. We’ve got to look at the journey we want to take the customer through. None of it is by accident. When the voices come in at the start, we want to get you immersed back into the IP. Then, we want you to feel good, feel a bit more, I guess, darkness and a bit more joy. There is first a storyline that we’re trying to get you through, and then we look at the individual moments and how we tie in the music with the lights and animatronics. They all work in unison to create a theatrical environment.
We’ve got an amazing team of designers and technicians who have worked around the clock to create this. And like I said earlier, you have to adapt to the environment. It’s not a case of picking up and going somewhere else, right? For Little Elm Park, we had to redesign all of this. But it all comes down to the amazing team putting this together.
Has the weather even been an issue, or does it only add to the overall mood?
We get asked this a lot, and yeah, actually, it’s the opposite. When it rains, it makes it more magical, right? You’ve got the gleaming of the light off the water that comes down. Or when it snows, you feel that cozy, Christmas-like feel. And when it’s a beautiful evening like this [with a full moon], you can see into the distance, you can see all the lights. So, honestly, you could come here at different times and have a completely different experience.
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Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience is located at Little Elm Park (701 W. Eldorado Pkwy, Little Elm, TX, 75068).
Tickets are available today on hpforbiddenforestexperience.com. Prices vary by day, but adult tickets (13+) are $44-$72 and child tickets (3-12) are $29-$57. Children under 3 are free. There are bundle deals and discounts for seniors, students and military. Parking is $5 online or $8 on-site.
