The Best Costumes From Universal's Harry Potter Celebration, 2016

Last weekend Universal held their annual Harry Potter Celebration, a special event included with regular admission. Though it's not exactly packed with new activities, the Celebration does include a great cast Q&A, a "Sorting Hat Experience," and a special Expo area filled with promotional items and movie props.

The best part for me, though, are the guest costumes. Unlike party-pooper Disney, which recently banned costumes on anyone over age 14, Universal actively encouraged Potter fans to dress for the occasion - with a few "guidelines," of course:

The rules were mostly common sense stuff: no face coverings, nothing offensive, and if you carry a homemade wand, it can't be too pointy. (These are all my paraphrases, of course.)

I'll be covering the events portion of the weekend - including the fan-organized tributes to Alan Rickman - in a future post. But for now, costumes!

 
 The Weasley's have never been more adorable. In fact, these two are in my top favs from the whole weekend.

 (I decided to give my pics a vintage vibe with the editing, btw. It just felt right.)

 

A dapper witch and a Blue Cornish Pixie! Hee! (Those ears are faaabulous.)

 A quidditch player and a reporter for the Daily Prophet:

The reporter had a press badge on her hat, and a custom skirt covered with Daily Prophet articles!

This group had their own Dobby and magical supplies cart:

I was delighted to see two or three Lion-Head-Lunas over the weekend:

And here's the Snape-in-Neville's-grandmother's-clothes who REALLY stole the show:

He put on the same stunned expression for every photo, which was hilarious.

I hate to admit it, but I'm stumped on this mashup:

He looks like he's dressed from Assasin's Creed, but her hair thingies are totally Avatar, right? Help!

These two gents grabbed John to be in the picture, too:

Don't they look the picture of two wizards out for a pint? Ahh, I love it.

(Btw, if you "get" John's t-shirt, please tell him in the comments. We made it ourselves, and then he was convinced it just confused people. I say more people understand "the rest" reference than he thinks. PROVE ME RIGHT, GUYS.)

Gender-swapped Dumbledore:

And can we stop for a sec to appreciate the age range of fans in costume? I'm pretty sure there were more people over thirty dressed up than under! Gah, that makes me happy.

This lovely witch made her own custom robes:

Keeping in character, this Slytherin prefect was a bit annoyed when I asked his group for a photo:

He had a gorgeous velvet vest on, though. Stylin'.

Another Dumbledore with Luna:

I wish I'd taken all my costume shots in Diagon Alley - it's the only place where I don't want to crop the background!

Rowena Ravenclaw with a stylish Narcissa and Bellatrix:

I spotted some familiar faces from Leaky Con, including this girl who dresses as the Snitch:

Her face is metallic gold and she's wearing a bald cap. Now that's commitment!

Another awesome Lion-Head-Luna - this time in Quidditch gear:

And a fun couple beside us at the cast Q&A:

This fellow had his own plush Mandrake baby:

And so did this Professor Sprout, who had a crocheted Mandrake purse!

Oooh, she's friends with Delores Umbridge?? SAY IT AIN'T SO, PROFESSOR.

Two Epbot readers recognized me on Saturday, which was fun and unexpected. The first, Jen, spent most of the day with us, and here's the other, Shawna:

 ...as Narcissa Malfoy, with her kids as Luna & Draco.

She found us during the Alan Rickman tribute. More on that in my next post.

Presenting the world's cutest Dobby:

THAT HAT!! And she's carrying a book with a sock in it!

More awesomeness: a gender-swapped Scamander from the upcoming movie, Fantastic Beasts:

Her coat is embroidered with four different animal outlines - I think that's the peacock? Or maybe the dragon. Anyway, so pretty.

Here's a reference shot of Scamander:

 Cool, right?

Arg, I'm so bummed my focus went screwy on this next one:

... because that's the best Harry & Ron I've seen! 

(And a young Lupin beside them!)

In fact, those two were SO good that Universal's security told them to stop posing for pictures. o.0 They weren't the only ones being harassed, either; these three had to hide behind the building before I could take their photo:

The two on the left are Cosplay Craziness, if you want to follow them on FB! Great couple. (And yes, of COURSE Barty Crouch also cosplays as The Doctor. ;))

Afterward John talked with security about the situation, and it seems they were only concerned with traffic flow and having other guests mistake the cosplayers for Universal employees. Understandable concerns, but it's still not cool to make people afraid to stop for any photos.

K, moving on...

These ladies had the BEST feathery capes:

Hedwig and Fawkes!

Hedwig had aviator goggles on her head, and Fawkes' feathers were metallic red and gold. Shiny.

Another wizarding family and a Beauxbaton's student:

Oh! And two more of my top favorites:

They made everything they're wearing, and even the cape linings were gorgeous. Look at his hat!! Plus his watch chain is made of gears, for a slightly steampunky touch. I approve.

I found the four (femme) House founders inside the Expo:

I had to use the flash - but that just makes it more dramatic, right?

They're all stunning, and I love how they each posed in character.

I also found a second Snape-in-Neville's-grandmother's-clothes:

... and his expression is even more hilarious. Ha!

And finally, two ladies who made the most incredible Snape and Sirius:

Sirius is even holding a small Peter Pettigrew, in Scabbers form.

It was dusk when I took this, and I love the moody feel of the Alley around them.


Hope you guys enjoyed your virtual visit! I'll be posting more pics from the weekend's events soon, so stay tuned for those.