‘Harry Potter’ debuts new house elf in first look inside Epic Universe Battle on Ministry tour

The Harry Potter franchise has debuted an adorable new house elf set to appear in a stunning new ride experience (amid a life-size recreation of the British Ministry of Magic, no less!) that merges the timelines of key Warner Bros. films with the world of Fantastic beasts in Universal Orlando Resort’s new theme park Epic Universe.

Universal on Tuesday unveiled a stunning first look inside the ambitious Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic experience’s marquee ride, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, which will take 14 riders at a time on an elevator-style, omnidirectional journey in pursuit of Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton, reprising her role from the films for new scenes in the ride), who has escaped imprisonment ahead of her high-profile trial.

Guests enter the attraction through a typically confined wizarding government building, entering the Grand Ministry atrium while traveling to the British location from the streets of Paris via the Métro-Floo Parisian offshoot of the Floo Network.

Before boarding the vehicles, visitors will traverse the grand atrium of the Ministry of Magic, where they will find a restored Fountain of Magical Brethren statue, the weatherboard, and the Ministry offices extending upward from the floor.

From there, guests traverse Umbridge’s office, the Ministry’s departments and more before attempting to bring Umbridge to justice. Along the way, they will also meet Higgledy, Umbridge’s former house elf, as she tries to clean her owner’s office before the trial begins. Higgledy will appear amidst the ornate design of Umbridge’s office, with a glittering chandelier illuminating the room, which also includes an abundance of pink and gold accents.

Aboard the ride, Death Eaters will try to stop the pursuit of Umbridge, while other creatures – including an Erumpent, as seen in Epic Universe TV commercials – will also challenge the vehicles along the track. Other locales riders are set to encounter include the Magical Archives library filled with centuries of Ministry archives, the Department of Magical Creatures, and the Time Room filled with Time-Turners.

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Ahead of the ride’s planned opening in 2025, Weekly entertainment previously exclusively confirmed that in addition to Staunton, Fantastic beasts star Eddie Redmayne reprized his role as Newt Scamander for new scenes to appear throughout the themed land.

In addition to the tour, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic will also include a live show and several dining and retail establishments along the streets of Paris.

The area marks the third Harry Potter-theme land Universal has added its Orlando resort following Islands of Adventure’s Hogsmeade area in 2010 and Universal Studios Florida’s Diagon Alley in 2014.

Other areas scheduled to open on Epic Universe include How To Train Your Dragon – Isle Of Berk, based on How to train your dragon movie series, a Super Nintendo area with the Mine-Cart Madness slide that simulates Donkey Kong’s mine carts bouncing off the track, the astrological aesthetic of Celestial Park and Dark Universe, a land that brings the world of classic Universal monsters to life .

EW previously exclusively debuted a first look inside the Dark Universe’s flagship ride, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, featuring images featuring terrifying animated characters based on Dracula, The Wolf Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein’s Monster, among a total of 14 characters set to appear inside the amusement.

Universal Epic Universe opens on May 22, 2025 at Universal Orlando Resort. See first look photos from inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic’s Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry ride above.