The Curious Case of Vancouver’s Harry Potter Experience

It's not what we need. But is it what we deserve?

In some ways, the forthcoming interactive fantasy production “Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience in Vancouver” feels like a fitting, if ridiculous, close to a helter-skelter year in municipal politics and Vancouver Park Board shenanigans. The Park Board is hosting the production, presented by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences, in Stanley Park this fall. And it’s already facing local criticism for its affiliations with a controversial author.

The immersive forest exhibition featuring light displays and animatronic installations is based on the popular “Harry Potter” film series. Between 1997 and 2007, U.K. author J.K. Rowling published a series of seven fantasy novels for young people and achieved massive commercial success; the height of their popularity coincided with the release of eight movies based on the books between 2001 and 2011.

A version of the production is currently running in Brisbane, Australia; the Park Board announced last week that Vancouver’s production would take the place of the Stanley Park Train starting Nov. 7.

Tickets went on sale Wednesday and are $86 for adults and $70 for kids. The show has been the subject of controversy because of how it produces yet another revenue stream for Rowling, whose strident actions that undermine transgender rights make her a polarizing figure in progressive communities.

Though Rowling denies that she is transphobic, she has, for years, advocated against trans-inclusive spaces, against gender-affirming care for young people and against the right for individuals to identify as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth.

She continues to double down on her views.

Last year, she reignited an argument with “Harry Potter” movie stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, both of whom spoke out against Rowling’s stance on gender identity in 2020.

Last month, she clapped back at “Harry Potter” movie director Chris Columbus for telling Variety magazine that he disagreed with Rowling’s views on trans identity. This has prompted some Vancouver city councillors to ask the park board to reconsider the event. “I am calling on the park board to rethink this event and make it right,” OneCity councillor Lucy Maloney posted on BlueSky this week. “Vancouver is a city for all its people. Trans people included.”

Councillor Sean Orr from the Coalition of Progressive Electors echoed Maloney’s concerns on X.

On Thursday, Qmunity, a Vancouver-based resource centre for queer, trans and two-spirit people in B.C., posted a statement on social media calling on allies to urge the park board to cancel the event.

"In B.C., we've already seen violence justified in the name of 'protecting' people from trans women, a dangerous narrative that puts all women and children at risk," the statement reads. "We cannot allow public funds or civic spaces to fuel a global campaign against trans rights."

So far, however, it looks like the show will go on. Reporting for CBC on Tuesday, Justin McElroy pointed out that the park board has been at work on a revenue-raising strategy called “Think Big” since 2023.

McElroy noted that park board commissioners were presented with a staff report earlier this summer that mentioned the role that third-party entities could play in providing a steady revenue stream for the site of the former Stanley Park Train.

“Re-imagined themed attractions involving third-party entities present a more compelling business model,” read one slide from the staff report.

“The Stanley Park train site is a prime location in the Park Board’s premier destination with interest from external partners to manage the site.”

To the nostalgia factory!

“Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience in Vancouver” is billed as an all-ages, family-friendly event, but a quick breeze through the logistics suggests otherwise.

There are steep entrances and exits to what the website describes as a “bushland hiking trail,” which would be prohibitive to people using mobility devices such as wheelchairs, scooters, strollers or walkers. Tickets for two adults and two kids would be over $300 before tax — and that’s before partaking in the branded hot chocolate, other snacks or souvenir merch.

One conclusion to be reached from the physical and financial constraints presented to would-be attendees is that families aren’t really the production’s target audience. It will likely draw gainfully employed, able-bodied grown-ups in their 30s with a certain “je ne sais quoi” about the last five years in the social justice and pop culture zeitgeist. Millions of people grew up with and adored the magical world presented in Rowling’s books and movies, and may now be keen to relive their childhood memories on a night out with friends.

Part of the appeal of the “Harry Potter” series also lies in an extended “will they or won’t they” relational arc between two of its characters, and PG-rated romantic intrigue. For some fans, the series has offered a space for them to explore their sexuality through fan fiction.

The sexual tension marketed across the “Forbidden Forest” Instagram page is palpable. The event is portrayed as an ideal date night.

The nostalgia market — in other words, commodified yearning that capitalizes on our collective cultural obsession with reviving the recent past — is lucrative, particularly among Millennials grappling with the fast-moving, arguably poisoned social river of this moment.

It’s understandable, especially now, to long for a simpler time, even if that simpler time never really existed. The chance to turn back the clock is part of the appeal of the reunion tour; the British rock band Oasis recently demonstrated this to great effect.

And Oasis fans spent money. Heaps of it. On everything from tickets to travel to clothing.

Rich Robinson, the head of leisure and hospitality for U.K. banking giant Barclays, told the Guardian these spending patterns represent “a fundamental shift in how consumers determine their financial priorities.”

Millennials, many of whom are locked out of home ownership and a sure foothold in a volatile economy, have turned to the experience economy as a way of making meaning out of life. If the future holds no promises, it makes sense to maximize our precarious time on this planet by chasing peak experiences and making core memories.

“Just as we saw with the Eras Tour, fans are willing to go to great lengths when there is an emotional connection. It isn’t just about attending the event,” Robinson said.

For Oasis, for Taylor Swift and now, for the “Forbidden Forest Experience,” the main event is, in many ways, a sideshow. Equally important is making reels for the ’gram in the enchanted forest, or the ways in which event attendance could offer a pricey conceit around which to solidify a situationship. For some, purchasing a block of tickets could be a welcome excuse to reunite with old friends.

It will be interesting to see how the “Forbidden Forest Experience” plays out. Will it be a runaway success and offer the steady revenue the park board needs?

Or will it — like Canada’s largest bouncy castle set to rock the social media feeds of many Metro Vancouver residents last month but was shut down due to safety concerns — end up a bust?

Whatever happens, “Forbidden Forest” is a very Vancouver portrait of the city’s politics, hopes and wild contradictions, all at once.