Harry Potter cast members reveal their Universal Orlando bucket lists
We love these Celebration of Harry Potter theme park traditions! Find out what Harry Potter actors Bonnie Wright, Natalia Tena, Stanislav Ianevski, and James and Oliver Phelps love to do most at the Wizarding World.
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Five cast members from the Harry Potter films were in attendance at Universal Orlando Resort’s A Celebration of Harry Potter event this past week, and just like many of the fans in attendance, the film stars were eager to return to the theme park’s Wizarding World.
Cast members Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley), Natalia Tena (Nymphadora Tonks), and Stanislav Ianevski (Viktor Krum) revealed what they love most about attending the special 3-day event with thousands of Harry Potter fans. Having all visited the Wizarding World at Universal Orlando in years past, each actor shared their favorite thing to do in the parks and which activities are at the tops of their bucket lists.
For Natalia Tena, a weekend at A Celebration of Harry Potter comes with high expectations and massive goals. She said her plan was to “go on all the rides, try Butterbeer, and meet all the fans — everyone who loves it.” Oliver Phelps had a much more specific adventure at the top of his must-do list. “I love seeing Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes,” he shared. “When we were filming it, it was quite a full size set anyway, but seeing it here in the actual setting — and the guys have done it so well — it never gets old.”
His twin brother James shared that he has his own tradition every time he visits the parks, and it involves fans of the series. “I stumbled across this tradition one of the first times I came here when the original Hogsmeade opened,” he said. “Seeing people who are looking at it for the first time. Seeing their face when they walk through, and they literally look up and they see Hogsmeade, and their faces are just lit up. That really does bring it all back… it’s quite a cool thing to see.”
Durmstrang alumnus Stanislav hits the ground running when he arrives at Universal. “The first thing I want to do is go on the roughest possible ride and go a few times in a row,” he said. He also loves to see the Harry Potter world expanding, growing and becoming more immersive. “Seeing all these fans and people dressed up as if they are going to Hogwarts as we were — well, I went to Durmstrang — but still. It’s a great experience meeting fans, and sharing their love, and seeing their support because this is what keeps this amazing world alive.”
For Bonnie Wright, returning to Universal Orlando’s Wizarding World feels “more real” than the Harry Potter sets built on the stage in Leavesden. “You don’t see the scaffolding that exists behind a set,” she explained. “The reality doesn’t break, and the world you’re in doesn’t break. You go into a shop and you can pick things up and get sweets and candy that we read about in the books, but they never actually fully made for us when we were filming.”
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Being immersed in the magic of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley is a truly special feeling for the actress, and she opened up about why she thinks fans of the series keep coming back as well. “Seeing [fans] step into a world that they’re so at home in is lovely. You can see people just feel quite comfortable, and I think that’s what the world is, and what going to Hogwarts is and represents for so many people, that there is this home… it’s a tangible and physical experience, and I think that’s cool.”