On May 29th we took a sneak peak tour inside the brand new flagship Harry Potter store in New York! This shop opens to the public on June 3rd and there are some exciting exclusive things you should know about before you grab your brooms and fly over!
1.Vegan & Bottled Butterbeer!
Are you vegan? Or are you just wishing you could take some Butterbeer home with you? Well for the first time in the US you can now order a cold Butterbeer from the tap in the new Butterbeer bar & request it without the foam! You can also grab 3 exclusive new bottles of Butterbeer to take home with you! These bottles contain a vegan formula that is absolutely incredible. You can purchase a 4 pack of smaller 200ml bottles for $16, or a 275ml bottle with either an exclusive MACUSA, American Ministry of Magic label, or with the newly designed Butterbeer label for $6.
2. Laser Engraved Wands!
Yes you read that correctly! The New York shop is the only location you can get your wands laser engraved! Here you will find 15 character wands including Hermione, Dumbledore, Newt, and Ron with an average 15 character limit that you can customize your wand with. These can be names or phrases! We were told someone has already used their engraved wand to propose to their partner!
3. Personalized merchandise and Hogwarts Letters!
Speaking of personalized merchandise; Here you can now get your very own personalized Triwizard Tournament jerseys, Weasley jumpers, stationery, Hogwarts acceptance letters, Hogwarts house robes, Hogwarts trunks, jewelry, and more! Fill in any name and address for it to be printed instantly on your Hogwarts acceptance letter and envelope. This costs $25.00 and includes a plastic wax seal replica you seal the envelope with. Not authentic enough for you? You can upgrade your Hogwarts acceptance letter and have MinaLima, the graphic designers of the film franchise, hand write your personalized letter with real parchment and ink for $1,200.00!
4. Exclusive pins!
Any fellow pin collectors out there? Check out these four exclusive Harry Potter New York pins we found! The first is a heavier Butterbeer pin that matches the newly designed Butterbeer bar sign by the MinaLima graphic design team. This pin has two pin backings because of its weight and costs $10.00. For $8.00, the matte black crest pin has a shiny gold outline and plain text of both the New York store and Wizarding World logos. The third pin shows off the new red phoenix logo with the same matte black background and gold outlines. This pin costs $10.00 and has the crossed wands symbol on one side and the Gryffindor sword on the other.
The final pin is a prize you can only win if you complete the mobile app based scavenger hunt in the store and present your results to a cashier. This pin is a plastic layered pin, with a safety pin type backing. It is blue/gold with the griffin gargoyle stair statue in the center, and small circular Hogwarts House symbols at the top.
5. The Golden Snitch Wand!
Exclusively designed and sold only at the New York harry potter store as part of their celebration wand collection. This $33.00 wand has the shiny golden snitch molded into the handle and has some real weight to it. You can also purchase the 14 other newly designed Celebration wands, crafted to represent each Hogwarts house, unique creatures, and even the Hogwarts castle!
6. A Butterbeer cup washing station!
The new Butterbeer bar has a surprise cup washing station just around the corner from the bar! Guests can now effortlessly clean their newly purchased Butterbeer tankards after finishing their drinks. Have you ever been inside a Wizarding World park, finished your Butterbeer in your new collector tankard and then need to wash it out in the restrooms each time? Or worse, be forced to carry a sticky mess of a cup with you for the rest of the day? We hope the Universal Wizarding World parks jump on this amazing new hygiene station!
7. Two new virtual reality Harry Potter games!
The two new VR games, ‘Chaos at Hogwarts’ and ‘Wizards take Flight’ will open up in July 2021. The flagship store is 21,000sq feet with 3 floors and the entire 3rd floor will open in July and be dedicated to this new ‘Chaos at Hogwarts’ VR game. This game will most likely be a Hogwarts student group dueling game featuring pixies, ghosts, a niffler, and Dobby the house elf. The ‘Wizards Take flight’ VR game is located downstairs and will be a flight adventure on a broomstick where you will physically lean left and right to control your flight on your broomstick.
8. Exclusive Merchandise!
The very first room you enter is dedicated to the exclusive merchandise only found here at this flagship store. This merchandise shows off the various new logo designs of the store including the new phoenix symbol, the stone griffin style staircase statue, and the Dragon curled around the clock that matches the real stone building decoration on the outside of the Flatiron building above the entryway to the store. You will also find the new MACUSA, American Ministry of Magic designs here. These new design are on everything from hats, shirts, sweaters, jackets, mugs, pins, journals, ponchos, masks, lunchboxes, a backpack, bags, keychains, umbrellas, and more!
9. Real Movie Props!
Take your time exploring the shop and check out the real screen used movie props on display in well lit glass cases through every corner of the store! Details of each prop are listed on plaques containing a key symbol QR code you scan with your phone using the official Harry Potter app to learn more about each prop! You can find Marvolo Gaunts horcrux ring, the Firebolt broom, Tom Riddle’s destroyed diary, and more!
10. MinaLima exclusive NY poster print!
Don’t forget to check out the magical store within the store downstairs inside the MinaLima shop. Here you can purchase the newly designed exclusive print by the Graphic Design team of the film franchise. Each new colorful print is signed and numbered with the words “Harry Potter New York” “Opening 2021”
Are you planning to visit the new Harry Potter store in New York? What are you most excited to see inside?
As always, be sure to follow ThrillGeek on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Wizarding World updates.
Katie Aiani is a lifelong Potter fan & Wizarding World expert who has traveled the world for a variety of fandoms. You can usually find her in a theme park on a regular basis in cosplay or Disneybounding with a Hot Butterbeer or Dole Whip in hand; while exploring the newest rides, shows, merch, & historical facts.