As I slowly mark of the days on my calendar to visit the soon-to-be opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter, more details of the park are funneling out to eager Muggles. The magical attraction will officially open on June 18th and yours truly will be visiting in October (just in time for Halloween) and doing an in depth park review.
Until then, several lucky fans have been privileged with a sneak peek into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter park offerings. Namely the food. The new beverages have been the highlight of anticipation when it comes to indulgences. Butterbeer was created to appease curious fans and J.K. Rowling herself. She was said to have had a say in the creation of the series’ staple beverages. (Side Note: an alcoholic version has NOT been created. However, the report confirmed a similar beer was created for the Hogs Head Pub called “Hog’s Brew.”)
So how does the non-alcoholic drink taste? Mugglenet’s Eric Scull reports:
“It was thick, the fuzz, then rich, then colder and thinner at the bottom. A few
more drinks and I was sure that the substance I was drinking was from another
world. I don’t know how they did it, but the butterbeer feels like it changes
density as you drink. It’s chilled, too – the butterbeer will be kept just above
32 degrees when it is served in the park. As for the taste, it is described
as a cross between “butterscotch and shortbread” – I think that’s probably
accurate.”“It is a solid beverage, a solid “brew” if you
will, that has a consistent taste and is not too sweet or strange. It holds its
flavor the whole way through, and let me just say the cream on top is excellent
for giving the drinker a butterbeer mustache. A frozen ‘icee’ version of the butterbeer will also be available in the park.”
Another popular concept is pumpkin juice. It’s mentioned several times through the book and has been created to be a cold and refreshing drink. I was personally worried it would turn out to be pumpkin pie in liquid form, but the review spoke highly of the beverage. (Side note: Neither beverage will be sold outside the park or shipped out. You can ONLY get it at Universal! UGH!)
“I mention apple cider because it is the only thing I can
think of to compare it to. It does for pumpkin what apple cider does for apples.
It is a sweet, delightful drink that tastes of cinnamon and ginger, pumpkin
accentuated and my, oh my is it tasty.”
Read More of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Food=Taste Explosion! After the Cut. Click “Read More…” Below
Food was also not forgotten. British eats may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those who love the fare, it will be a delight of rustic dishes and a literal feast.
“For main courses, the park will be serving British-themed food using European
recipes: shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, Cornish pasties and leek soup. We were told that, in the kitchen of the Three Broomsticks, they have a smoke machine for the meat and a corn smoker for cooking corn fresh (while it’s still in the husk!). The park will serve a meal called “The Big Feast” – which is a platter designed for four people – consisting of half chickens, ribs, sweet potatoes and corns on the
cob. Even two of our friends who flew to Universal from overseas (one British, one Irish) were impressed at the authenticity of the European-style foods. They were raving about the sweet potatoes!”
For the health conscious and kid friendly eaters, the park thought of that too.
“It was with special care on his face that Mr. Florell told us there would be kids portions of all of the dishes offered in the park, and that each of them (Fish and Chips, chicken with salad, etc…) were under 300 calories.”
Strawberry-peanut-butter ice cream heads up the desserts.
“The strawberry peanut butter ice cream is realized in the Potter theme
park and is better than you’d think just by reading about it. It far surpasses
any ice cream with peanut butter chunks I’ve had from a supermarket.”
Cauldron cakes were also sampled:
“Cauldron cakes, like chocolate cupcakes only molded like real cauldrons, are an
example of the finesse in practice at the Wizarding World’s kitchen. They’re
cauldrons with a handle overtop – I don’t know how they bake it.”
I am beyond anxious to return with a review of my own. I will be taking a few Harry Potter connoisseurs and a Potter novice to get the feeling from two perspectives. Currently my vacation plans are being handled by World of Vacations (Click HERE to see what specials they are currently offering!) Special thanks to them for setting up my initial travel plans! More to come! Click HERE to see photos from inside the park’s Hogwarts castle!
