Behind-the-Scenes

Discover the Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Toys at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes

April 9, 2020

Two years before the orange doors of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes officially opened in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida, Maria Kazaros and her team were already hard at work to bring novelty jokes and pranks inspired by those of Fred and George Weasley to life.

As a senior buyer on Universal Orlando Resorts’ merchandise team, Maria essentially is involved with product development, taking the idea of something and turning it into something tangible. Or, as is the case with her role developing merchandise for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, taking the idea of something and turning it into something magical. 

“One of the hardest parts in the beginning was just, how do you bring things to life from Harry’s world,” Maria explains. “We spent many months watching the movies, reading the books, brainstorming, doing work sessions. And we brought in some of the fans to see what they liked. Those fans care and they know what they want, so that helped us all in figuring out what the merchandise in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter would be.”

Of course, while the source material for the Wizarding World (as seen in the Harry Potter film series) is plentiful and rich in detail, it can be tricky taking something you see in a movie and figuring out how to make it into an operational toy. 

“One thing that I do is I rely on my product partners who are experts in the industry and know how toys can go from nothing to something,” Maria says. “I ask a lot of questions or just come to them and say, ‘I want to make this, can I?’ And then we’ll sort of reengineer it and I get to create my vision, so to speak.” 

Maria has been with the company since 1999, starting out as a store manager in a handful of merchandise locations until joining the merchandise development team in 2001. Maria says she enjoys working with toys because it allows her to be a problem-solver.

“It’s challenging to take something non-magical, like a pen, and make it magical,” Maria says. “Or something that is magical, like The Monster Book of Monsters, and make it something real for people to interact with.” 

Walking through Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, there is a lot to interact with. From the toilet-in-the-front-window flushing at the flick of your interactive wand, to all the Extendable Ears and Skiving Snackboxes your heart desires, the entire shop is packed to the ceiling (which, be sure to look up at for a surprise) with Weasleys-inspired items and tie-ins to the movies.

“I still watch the movies over and over because there’s so much that you can still catch from them that you haven’t seen,” Maria says.

To be honest, I also watch the Harry Potter movies over and over, so what’s the difference when Maria does? When I watch a scene with the Marauder’s Map, I am simply enjoying the magic of it all. Maria on the other hand…

“The Marauder’s Map was a fun one to figure out,” Maria says. “You hit it with the wand and the footprints go around, just like in the movies.”

One of Maria’s top priorities when developing merchandise for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is ensuring everything feels authentic — taking the notch up on what people expect from an everyday toy. And as for the merchandise in Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, there is a unique chaos she aims to capture.

“When you think of that scene in the movie, everything is moving. Dolores Umbridge on the unicycle moves in their store and moves in ours. So that’s one we actually created and brought to life from the movies.” 

What’s your favorite piece of Wizarding World merchandise? Let us know in the comments below and show it off by tagging us on Twitter @UniversalORL and Instagram @UniversalOrlando.

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16 Comments

  • Reply Ron May 14, 2020 at 12:03 pm

    What about the kids or adults that want to do the magic? I would love to see a line of quality magic tricks that could be demonstrated by in-store magicians and taught/sold to your guests. Speaking from years of experience working in theme park magic shops, this adds a personal, learning experience, for the guests, and builds a repeat clientele coming back to buy more magic.

    • Reply Michael Atencio May 14, 2020 at 8:44 pm

      I completely agree. Too bad the Marauder’s Map can’t sense the room it’s in, in 3D and map it as the person walks through. Then it becomes personalized.

  • Reply Brian Heimer May 14, 2020 at 12:04 pm

    The trading cards in the chocolate frog boxes of course!

    Can’t wait to get back to the Wizarding World!

  • Reply Amy Lewis May 14, 2020 at 1:10 pm

    I really enjoy the overall experience of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! When I arrive at Universal, the first order of business is to obtain and devour one pumpkin pasty and a bottle of pumpkin juice. During these uncertain times, I often find my mind wandering down I-75 to the magical place that has found its way into my heart. The reason that I visited Universal for the first time was to immerse myself in the books and movies that I so dearly loved. With that said, the parks began to grow on me from the very first visit. Thank you for all that you do and I look forward to the re-opening of the parks.
    Best,
    Amy L
    Detroit, Michigan

  • Reply Kathie May 14, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    I’d love to see coding kits that work with the interactive wands. I know there are some people in the coding community that have done this, but I’d love a kit that my kid could use that wouldn’t have to be piecemealed together.

  • Reply MrsWeasleysTwin May 14, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    One of my favorites is my Monster Book of Monsters wallet!

  • Reply Darren McClean May 14, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    I would love to see the Fanged Flyer and Sneakoscope back have travelled from the uk twice but not been able to get them. Had booked again for this summer. Children so excited but not sure we can come now ( Covid 19). Would make my children’s year if they could got one. Love universal soooo much. Hope you are all well. God bless. Darren

  • Reply Paul Pogodzinski May 14, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    It would be great if items from the shop were available online to purchase while the parks are closed.

  • Reply Minerva May 14, 2020 at 10:03 pm

    Please bring back the Cycling Umbridge. So many people are Umbridge collectors. My favorite shop.

    • Reply Amber June 10, 2021 at 6:58 pm

      Yes! I agree I want one so much!

  • Reply Chloe Moore May 16, 2020 at 6:42 am

    We loved getting our personalized shirts from Harry Potter!

    • Reply Amber June 10, 2021 at 6:57 pm

      What? Personalized? Where did you get these?

  • Reply Pancakeman Dumbledore May 16, 2020 at 9:25 am

    Your work is nice. I’d like to visit UOR in the future. I like Harry Potter very much and visit USJ every month. Harry Potter studio tour of London was also visited. But it isn’t visited yet in UOR. It’s pleasant to visit.

  • Reply Pancakeman Dumbledore May 17, 2020 at 3:49 am

    Hello! I like Harry Potter very much. I have gone out to play about 20 times a year in local USJ. I visited Harry Potter studio tour of London. But I don’t visit a WWW & USO yet. A goods of the WWW I like is Extendable ear. When seeing for the first time, I laughed at a unique digital goods. I’d like to visit a WWW in the future.

  • Reply Delilah Coleman May 17, 2020 at 11:41 am

    I’ve never been. So when this is all over I wil definitely try and make my way there! This will be my first vacation…

  • Reply Hermione May 18, 2020 at 9:19 am

    One of my favorites is my Wand!

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