A Magical New Corner

Anyone who’s been involved in the design and development of a theme park project will tell you – these projects don’t happen overnight. Years and years of effort and expense are poured into every square foot of a park, from initial concept to site planning; construction permitting to vendor selection. Early work may have commenced on a project a decade or more before anyone steps foot in the finished product.

So when the first Fantastic Beasts film was announced in 2013, Universal would likely have already been working closely with Warner Bros. to plan for the series’ inclusion in their theme parks. Here, after all, was a brand new corner of the Wizarding World to explore, and a concept that could see the franchise expand beyond the places seen in Harry Potter (of which, frankly, Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley pretty much represent the only “theme-park-able” ones.)

The question was, what places in Fantastic Beasts would prove to be the most “theme-park-able”?

When you think about it, that quality of adaptability to the theme park formula is rare! To be able to make the jump from screen-to-park, a place has to have a lot going for it. It has to be important and distinctive; it has to be “immersive” and “in-universe”; and, importantly, it has to be functional – with restaurants, shops, and restrooms; practically-possible elements; structures to disguise massive showbuildings from view. (Hence why Star Wars‘ Tatooine and Harry Potter’s Godric’s Hollow quickly fall off the board.)

Ah, but Fantastic Beasts would indeed offer a new corner of the Wizarding World that would be instantaneously theme-park-able. Despite serving as a “globe-trotting” series without the steadiness of a recurring, beloved place like Hogwarts, the second entry – The Crimes of Grindelwald – did offer a locale that fit the bill: Place Cachée.

Best described as Paris’ counterpart to Diagon Alley, Place Cachée (which, literally translated, means “Hidden Place” in French) differs from its British sister in some key ways. For one, this Parisian street (depicted as a spoke coming off of the Arc du Triomphe) is accessible to all – even Muggles…

…But for those magically-inclined, a bronze statue at the street’s entry would sweep away the dress hanging over its pedestal, allowing them to pass through a portal that shifted the street’s appearance to reveal its magical shops. For another, it’s barely been seen on film (and because Fantastic Beasts was an original screenplay and not based on a book, it’s scarcely mentioned in any Wizarding World canon).

But from its brief appearance in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and uncovered extended lore, we do know a little about it. We know that it’s distinctly Parisian (thanks to its Mansard roofs and its views of the Arc), that it serves the school supply needs of future students of Beauxbatons (not Hogwarts), and that it’s got all the requisite shops any self-respecting Wizarding World land needs: wands from Baguettes Magiques de Cosme Acajor, Wizarding confections from Confiserie Enchantée de K. Rammelle, animal companions from Le Corbeau Mystique, cauldrons from Monsieur Sanfin Chaudrons…

In other words, like its British sister, Place Cachée checks the boxes. It is indeed distinct (it both instantly communicates “Paris” and, by way of its contents, “Wizarding World”), immersive, and functional as a theme park land. It’s unique, but familiar; canon, but sketched-in and flexible; “epic”, but (like Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley) quaintly dense. But of course, there’s one serious issue to contend with…

Let’s face it: despite Warner Bros. hopes, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them did not become the next Harry Potter. Neither fans nor the general public seemed to connect with this spin-off series’ cast, its pre-Potter timeline, or the new Wizarding World lore developed for it. In short, Fantastic Beasts didn’t really land, and definitely didn’t stick… Which means that neither its characters nor its locations seem very recognizable. And that left Universal in a bit of a Parisian pickle… So how did they handle it?

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Place Cachée

Of course, as of this piece’s writing, Universal hasn’t made anything about Epic Universe official outside of the single piece of highly-redacted concept art it shared at the park’s 2019 announcement (in which the upper-right-hand plot guessed to be a Wizarding World is especially difficult to interpret)… That means that technically, the existence of a third Wizarding World is strictly a rumor. (To that end, we don’t know if its name will contain “of Harry Potter” or even if “Place Cachée” will be the subheading when “Paris,” “France,” or “Montmartre” might be friendlier to English-speakers).

That said, extensive reporting by the spectacular Orlando Park Stop (who have the most complete and cohesive Epic Universe coverage online) on the unannounced land has been de facto confirmed by construction on the ground, where a French streetscape matching Place Cachée is taking shape. And thanks to their extensive and incredibly-detailed reporting, we also know something about what this land will contain…

Based on Park Stop’s reporting, this corner of the Wizarding World will indeed take us to Paris. Like all of Epic Universe’s four main lands, Place Cachée will be accessed via a portal found in the park’s central, celestial hub. (This portal could incorporate the bronze statue from the films, assuming Universal feels that it’s a recognizable enough symbol of the area, which it probably isn’t, so who knows?)

Once inside the land proper, guests will find themselves at the Arc du Triomphe with the “hidden” streetscape of Paris beyond. Given that Place Cachée is the French equivalent of London’s Diagon Alley, it’s no surprise that this street will be filled with Wizarding vendors, shops, and restaurants. (And frankly, given that Place Cachée is not discussed in the books nor heavily shown in the films), Universal has some nice leeway here to experiment with what those shops and restaurants can contain.

Like Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, you’d be smart to bet that Place Cachée will contain a high capacity restaurant (which, following the Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron formula, will likely serve hearty French Wizarding food) and plenty of shops selling in-universe wares. We wouldn’t be surprised to see this parcel of the Wizarding World stocked with Beauxbatons (and certainly, Hogwarts) robes, school supplies and Quidditch gear, plus exclusive wands (likely in uniquely triangular wand boxes), candies, and more.

Park Stop also reports that a theater will be part of the land’s main draw. Permits call for the performance space to include 642 seats. To put that in perspective, that would see this theater hold more guests than Disney’s 550-seat Muppet*Vision, but slightly fewer than the 700-seat Bourne Stuntacular at Universal Studios.

As for what will go in that theater, it’s difficult to guess. A traveling circus called the Circus Arcanus (above) plays a significant role in The Crimes of Grindelwald, and it’s easy to imagine a combination of puppetry, magic tricks, and projection making for a compelling high-capacity circus show for the land… But even if this land started life as an ode to Fantastic Beasts, we’re not sure the final product will reflect that timeline or its events… Speaking of which…

One of the strangest rumors Park Stop reported early in the initial plans for Epic Universe was that this Fantastic Beasts-centered land would contain two anchor attractions: a Fantastic Beasts ride set in the beautiful art nouveau headquarters of the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France (above), and a second, mega-E-Ticket attraction set in the British Ministry of Magic in London. Yes, that this land would essentially have two attractions both set in Ministries of Magic of two different countries.

Obviously, that’s a strikingly odd proposition, because even if you use a little Wizarding World “magic” to move between Paris and London, these two attractions coexisting (and being set within the Fantastic Beasts films and Harry Potter films, respectively) would also require a jump in time, from the 1920s to the 2010s.

It seems that ultimately, Universal decided to go forward with only one of the two rides meant to anchor this land. Perhaps due to the Fantastic Beasts series’ cancellation, it looks like the reported French Ministry attraction has been shelved. (However, Universal is still building the cul-de-sac and streetscape facades that would’ve served as its entry, suggesting that a second ride may come… one day.)

Instead, this Paris-set Wizarding World will be anchored by an E-Ticket ride set in London’s Ministry of Magic. At first glance, it sounds downright silly – especially since a London-set Ministry of Magic ride was long-rumored to join Diagon Alley back at Universal Studios Florida, which makes a whole lot of sense.

But our guess here is that Universal has made the call to proceed with Place Cachée, but not to explicitly set it in the 1920s and ’30s or to tie it to the happenings of Fantastic Beasts. Instead, we’re guessing that Universal’s story will be that we’re visiting the French Wizarding World during the timeline of the events of Harry Potter – nearly a full century after Place Cachée’s (brief and forgettable) appearance in The Crimes of Grindelwald.

In other words, you won’t need to know anything at all about Fantastic Beasts, its characters, its story, or its setting… You only need to know that Paris – like London – has a street of Wizarding shops, and that this land has a must-see E-Ticket adventure… What is it? Read on…