SINGAPORE – It is hotter and more humid than fans of J.K. Rowling might remember from her Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts books, but a chunk of the Wizarding World is now here, in a jungle in tropical Singapore.
The Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience launches on Sentosa on Feb 3, and will feature the same elements as the ones that have opened in the United States and United Kingdom, according to organisers.
The experience, which was also held in Belgium, is making its Asia-Pacific debut in Singapore. An experience in Melbourne, Australia, will be launched later in 2024.
On a preview tour held on Feb 1, guests roamed the roughly 1.3km trail, located along the Sentosa Coastal Trail. The start point is close to Siloso Point Station.
Embedded along the trail are 14 “elements”, referring to items from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts worlds that guests can see or interact with.
Some elements are static while others move, such as the one with Aragog the Acromantula, a giant talking spider, which emerges from its cave. Another magical beast, the Hippogriff, will bow if a guest bows to it first.
At other stops, guests can wave wands and say magical phrases to create special effects. Those who install an app will find quizzes and facts about the magical beasts on their mobile phones.
Mr Jonathan Heng, 34, a project manager with Fever, the live-entertainment discovery platform that is among the organisers of the experience, says that effort went into adapting it for the tropics.
“On Sentosa, there is jungle. The foliage is much denser, and there is much more variety in plant life here,” he says. Rather than fight the foliage, the lights, sounds and elements took advantage of the local flora.
“We use the tall trees here to catch the light differently from other cities. We did it in a way that had very minimal impact on the existing plants,” he adds.
At one stage of the trail, a unicorn appears to be walking between the trees. Instead of using one large electronic display to show the movement, several smaller displays are synchronised to look like one.
“Using smaller panels lets us minimise the footprint on the floor of the forest,” he says.
The experience is open only at night to maximise the effect of the lights and sounds, says Mr Heng.
It will take 45 minutes to just slightly more than an hour to walk the trail, and there is a place to rest and recharge with Harry Potter-themed snacks and Butterbeer ($14 a cup), a butterscotch-flavoured non-alcoholic drink made famous in Rowling’s books.
Other foods available at the experience include the Chocolate Frog Mud Cake ($12 each) and Hogwarts House Surprise Buns ($8), a steamed custard-filled bao with a mystery colour inside that tells those who bite into it the house in Hogwarts to which they belong.
For Mr Heng, his favourite item on the menu – developed with the help of a local chef – is the Chocolate Chili Ice Cream ($12).
“It’s a chocolate soft serve, with chilli on the rim, so it’s spicy,” he says.
Book it/Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience
Where: Coastal Trail, Sentosa
When: Feb 3 until April, 7.30 to 11pm (last entry at 10.15pm)
Admission: From $47 for adults and $38 for children, inclusive of booking fees; group and family bundles are available
Info: hpforbiddenforestexperience.com/singapore
