Discover Magical Creatures at the 'Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest' Experience

Have your wand ready.

The Forbidden Forest has always been strictly forbidden to all Hogwarts students, but it is now welcoming muggle fans of the Wizarding World to explore what curiosities are hidden within.

The latest attraction, Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience, has two locations in the US—Westchester, NY and Leesburg, VA, where those wishing to be witches or wizards can interact with magical creatures and even cast some spells. Parade was lucky enough to check out the New York location and we have all the details for those who want to take a trip by train, car, or Floo powder.

Let's start with price! Tickets are $63 on weekdays and $84 on weekends (including fees) plus another $8 for parking. There are kids tickets (5-15 years of age) for $52 for weekdays and $73 weekends. While the exhibit is open to all ages, it's suggested for children 12 or older as some parts might be a little scary and intense.

My personal opinion is if your child isn’t scared of the dark or creepy Halloween decor, they should be fine (maybe take the path that avoids the spiders, which is an option for adults, too).

<p>WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.</p>

WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.

While the price is on the steeper side, hardcore fans will get a lot out of the experience as it’s filled with references from the books and movies. Some of the motifs were similar to the ones at the Harry Potter Studio tour in London. If you're considering going, think of it this way—it's cheaper than flying to the UK! Just get ready to spend more money once you’re there as it the attraction has an awesome gift shop and lots of food inspired by the Harry Potter and even Fantastic Beasts.

Some of the savory treats we tasted included the cornish pasties, sausage rolls, steak and ale pie, along with a vegetarian pastry, which was among the favorites. Sweet treats included lemon poppy seed cake with icing, chocolate doughnut, Aragog chocolate cupcake, and a Deathly Hollows sugar cookie. There are other treats available like fudge, special marshmallows and, of course, Butterbeer. We got some bottles to enjoy on the trail. If you go on a cold night, there’s hot chocolate as well.

To start you off on your journey, an instructor will give you the rules of the land and ask you a few questions. It might be good to do some 'light’ brushing up of some spell names before going–and yes, that's meant to be a hint. The journey concludes with some of the most emotional scenes in the Harry Potter series, and though we won’t spoil it for you, just know it was awesome to see it in person.

<p>WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.</p>

WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.

There were plenty of highlights such as casting your patronus (mine was a raccoon!), bowing to a Hippogriff (and hoping you get one back), and seeing some of the scenes from Harry Potter play out right in front of your eyes. For those arachnophobes like Ron Wesley and myself, yes, Aragog and his crew are there but as mentioned earlier, you can choose to skip that part of the trail if you wish. Even with my distaste for arachnids, I still suggest you muster up the courage and check it out.

And if you're wondering if this is a good date night idea, the answer is yes. There are some cute couple photo opportunities that involve magical mistletoe.

So grab your cloak and your wand because tickets are on sale now for this limited time experience.

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