New magical goodness at Universal Studios Hollywood's Wizarding World of Harry Potter

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood has some new magical goodies in store for us, and we got a chance to check them all out.

There are a number of ways to consume Butterbeer. You can have it cold, frozen or hot in beverage form (or, if you’re of age, fill it with alcohol at Hog's Head bar). You can have Butterbeer Potted Cream. You can have Butterbeer fudge. Or, you can now have Butterbeer ice cream. It’s being served at the carts in Hogsmeade and at Three Broomsticks. Though I couldn’t try it personally (dietary stuff), my buddies assured me that it was a delightful mix of butterscotch and shortbread. Are you drooling yet? Of course you are. 

Speaking of food, there are three new items at The Three Broomsticks. The Ploughman’s Lunch features an imported selection of ham, salami, country pate, English cheese, homemade pickles, and a warm scotch egg served with bread, cranberry chutney and grain mustard. 

The Cheese Toastie with Chicken has grilled English Cheddar cheese with chicken, crispy bacon, mustard and sliced tomato topped with a sunny side up egg, and a fresh salad or potato wedges. 

The Sunday Roast Sandwich is a freshly baked baguette with warm prime rib, caramelized onions, English Cheddar, horseradish sauce and homemade garlic pickles with either a salad or potato wedges. Aren’t you fancy!

Want to do a little spell casting? If you’ve got an interactive wand (which you can get at Ollivander’s), you can cast spells by following the instructions on the plaques on the ground.

If you’ve been studying like a Ravenclaw, you’ll get to see something cool happen. This summer, there are two new spells you can cast. First up, you can cast Incendio, which will make oil lamps light up in a store window. (Sadly, it won’t set anything on fire.) 

Next up, you can unlock a door with Alohomora. Not just any old door, though. It’s hard to see in the photo, but when you cast this, giant locks unlock and a dragon tries to get out. You can see his breath coming out from under the door. Maybe you should be careful with this one. 

Gladrags Wizardwear has some new items for you as well. Severus Snape’s robe (sniff) is available. It’s pretty pricey at $495 (all items are the price before local tax), but it’s always—sorry—good to stay on Snape’s good side. 

We’ve also got Hermione’s gown from the Yule Ball in adult and children’s sizes. The grownup size will set you back $375, and the kid size is $99.95. 

There are a bunch of new jewelry items from Alex and Ani, though we couldn’t get too close to those. Prices vary.

There are also a bunch of new charms for $20, and 15% of the proceeds go to the Lumos Foundation. 

Or you can pick up some pretty snazzy purses. The House purses (they were sold out of Ravenclaw, which, as a member of that House, I was upset about) go for $38.95. 

There are also purses that look like House robes, which sell for $48.95. 

Finally, the Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle are back, though we were there in the morning so we didn’t get to see them. If you’re not familiar with the magical shininess, here’s the deal: once darkness descends on the theme park, Hogwarts is illuminated by a crazy light show that showcases Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. It’s all set to music from Academy Award-winning composer John Williams. He did the score for the films and has created a special musical arrangement for the light show. 

Are you excited about the new magical goodies at Universal Studio’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Wands at the ready, witches and wizards!