Last weekend I had tickets for an event called Wizard U. It was advertised as a Harry Potter wizarding experience for adults aged 21+ and would include fun activities, classes, potions, etc! Cosplay encouraged! Sounds awesome, right?

Years ago I had put together a ‘sexy Hermione’ costume for Halloween and I’ve been very excited to wear it out again! I made some photoshop comps of the costume when I took pics before I left… check em out!

All of my friends said they loved the costume! Which is great. I wish I could say I loved the Wizard U event, but that’s another story.

They said the doors would open at 1pm and that the Orientation would begin at 2pm. We got to Irving Plaza (the venue) around 1pm and there was a HUGE LINE to get in. Once we finally got inside, it was a bit chaotic, and there weren’t many signs to figure out what the different ‘stations’ were that had been set up around the venue. There was no decor either! The main events were set up on the stage, where the House Heads and the Professors would improvise skits or magical lessons with volunteers picked from the crowd. Unfortunately when random people were picked to go on stage, they were doing improv games… and when random awkward untrained people are subject to improv… it’s usually boring and not funny. For example, a Professor put students under the Cruciatus Curse and it was essentially a bunch of adults playing Simon Says on stage.

There was also wand-making in the upstairs area, but the line was so long that I didn’t even bother. I should also mention that there was almost nobody else in full cosplay, except for a Dumbledoor that I saw, and maybe one or two others. 😨

I wanted to have some Butterbeer. That was a priority for me. It was a cocktail made up of butterscotch vodka (or vanilla vodka? Both? I forget exactly what it said lol), cream soda and topped with whipped cream. As someone who has an extreme sweet tooth, I really liked it. But it was $11 for a small cup. I did not get seconds.

There was one area of Wizard U that I did enjoy, and the line wasn’t too crazy long. Probably because the signage was tiny and it’s likely that few people knew it was even happening because it was tucked away down a hall. It was Divination. There was a Professor who would tell your fortune!

The Professor did a hand reading. She said that my love line had a lot of activity, but specifically at the END of the line… so I should keep up with yoga classes because I was going to be very popular in the nursing home! LOL I loved it! It’s also probably true… 😅

Anyway, the event was supposed to last until at least 6… but I left after about two hours. It was an event that COULD have been cool but just wasn’t executed well. I wish I had the resources to try and host an event of this scale. It’s probably really hard. There’s really only one logical next step here. I must go to the Harry Potter World at Universal Studios someday!!