Universal Hollywood’s Wizarding World is jumping into the nightly entertainment game — a first for a Harry Potter park.
“Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle” will premiere June 23 and run multiple times per night throughout the summer.
Los Angeles media were invited to preview the show this week. A 27.5-point surround sound system has been installed to give attendees an immersive listening experience as they enjoy a unique Harry Potter medley created by John Williams himself.
“It’s going to give them a sense that they are wrapped by the orchestra, not just watching something at a distance,” said Universal head Stacey Quinealty. “You’re going to feel all of this live motion.”
From The Los Angeles Times:
Imagine this: Night has fallen over Hogsmeade, and guests are sipping Butterbeer and exploring the fictional village conjured by J.K. Rowling in the books. Hogwarts goes dark, and the sounds of the dark forest beckon guests closer to the castle.
And then the words Potter fans dreamed of hearing from that famous hat: “There’s nothing I can’t see, so try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be.”
The words from the Sorting Hat launch a spectacular five-minute show in which the iconic imagery of the houses of Hogwarts — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, for the unaware — takes over the castle and the formidable mountain it rests upon.
The nighttime show is likely an expanded version of the spectacle Universal Hollywood put on for the Wizarding World land’s grand opening last year. Hypable was there and captured the following video:
