MuggleCast 201 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music begins]
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[“Hedwig’s Theme” plays]
David Heyman: Hello this is David Heyman and I’m the producer of the Harry Potter films and this MuggleCast.
[Show music begins]
Andrew: Because I nearly died from all the sugar in the Butterbeer, this is MuggleCast Episode 201 for June 23rd, 2010.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: Welcome to MuggleCast Episode 201. It’s Micah, Eric, Matt and I this week. So we got a lot of good feedback about Episode 200, which was nice. Eric and Micah’s great interview with David Heyman.
Eric: Woot.
Andrew: I saw him at the theme park the other day actually.
Eric: Did you thank him for us?
Andrew: No. [laughs] You know, I…
Eric: Great, that’s still on the list of things to do then, is to thank him for that interview.
Andrew: He was with his kid. His adorable little daughter. I didn’t want to bother him with business. But yeah, speaking of the Wizarding World. Of course, it had its grand opening and there’s been tons of news. I was down there visiting it for you all. You’re all very welcome.
Micah: I’m sure you were.
Andrew: I was happy to do it for all of you.
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: And so we’re going to talk about everything that happened there between the public grand opening, the VIP grand opening, some visitor reviews, and much more. So let’s get started. I’m Andrew Sims.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Eric: I’m Eric Scull.
Matt: And I’m Matthew Britton.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: Micah Tannenbaum, what is in the news this week?
News: Theme Park Opening
Micah: Well, you mentioned it – the theme park is finally opened.
Andrew: Woohoo!
Micah: It’s pretty unbelievable to think…
Andrew: I know, isn’t it?
Micah: …we got this news – what is it? – probably three years ago we started hearing about them planning to make this park and it’s gone from concept to final product.
Matt: Yeah, I think it’s been over three years actually.
Andrew: It was May 30th, 2007 when they made the midnight announcement…
Eric: Wow.
Andrew: …from within Leavesden studios. I remember watching it. It was a live stream with Stuart Craig…
Micah: Oh, that’s right.
Andrew: …and some other Universal guy.
Micah: From Dumbledore’s office.
Andrew: And yeah, they announced it and that was the big announcement.
Micah: Okay – well on Wednesday night – I guess it would be June the 16th?
Andrew: That’s right.
VIP and Public Openings
Micah: There was a VIP event which Andrew was very lucky to be able to attend, down in Orlando. And this was sort of the big event. This was what everybody was focused in on – yes, the public opening happened a few days later – but this is where all the stars were going to be. John Williams was there.
[Matt sighs]
Micah: Warwick Davis conducted the frog choir very well, and J.K. Rowling was there. And Andrew, as you had mentioned we had talked about this – I think it was yesterday or over the weekend – that anybody who was a part of the Potter series, any big name out of the Potter series was there on Wednesday night.
Andrew: Yeah and a lot of behind the scenes primarily and all the – some of the bigger movie stars were there like Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton. Emma Watson was noticeably absent and we saw a couple rumors about why she wasn’t there but I don’t think any of them were very credible.
Micah: She probably had some other commitment.
Andrew: Yeah, but the highlight I would have to say of the VIP Grand Opening was not J.K. Rowling because J.K. Rowling, actually – she was there, but she didn’t go up on stage or say anything.
Matt: She didn’t participate.
Micah: Which was odd.
Andrew: Yeah…
Matt: She wrote the damn books.
Eric: Yes, Matt, yes, she did.
Andrew: We know that she’s somewhat – she likes to keep her appearances on the down-low. You know, she showed up for the event. I think the highlight was John Williams.
Matt: It had to have been!
Andrew: There were rumors that he was going to appear and sure enough he did. He conducted – led the Orlando Philharmonic and they played a collection of Harry Potter songs that he composed. And I was right there at the stage, front row, and it was incredible. I can’t even tell you guys how awesome it was. Especially the second part, where basically what happened was John Williams came out, did a song, then some Universal people started talking, then the whole cast came up on stage. And prior to this little part of the event starting, Universal gave everyone these special wands and we could tell when they were handing them to us that they had this little lights on the end, but we couldn’t turn them on ourselves. So I was like, “Hm, okay, so are they actually going to be turning these on for us?” Well sure enough, we get to this event, Dan Radcliffe tells us all to say – oh, tells us all to point at the castle and say, “Lumos”. We try two times, neither of those times worked. The third time we try, “Lumos maxima”. All of our wands come to life. Somehow they programmed these so they could turn our wands on for us. They light up, Hogwarts lights up and that’s when John Williams starts conducting the orchestra for the second time and it was this choreographed mix of Harry Potter compositions, along with the fireworks lighting up behind Hogwarts. It was the most incredible thing I think I’ve ever seen, in doing all this MuggleNet coverage stuff. It was so cool.
Micah: Yeah, but there are also actually some images that were on sort of the base of Hogwarts? I don’t know if a lot of people saw that. Was that like a video montage? What were they doing there?
Andrew: They were very small video – they weren’t video clips so much but it was like Harry moving his head, stuff like that. You know, it wasn’t like full-on clips from the movies. But I think they would say different little things like “You’re a wizard, Harry” and stuff like that. Popular lines.
Micah: Right.
Matt: Oh.
Andrew: Those were kind of corny I thought. The highlight was just seeing John Williams conduct with the fireworks. Like it was all in sync. It was just beautiful.
Micah: That dude must have been hot though.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: I mean, he’s what? In his eighties, in a tuxedo outside in – what? – ninety-degree weather.
Matt: Micah, Micah, it’s John Williams. The guy is never going to die.
Eric: [laughs] Are you kidding? He’s cryogenically frozen as we speak. He was just thawing, they brought him out.
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: But yeah, I think that’s one thing that the video didn’t convey was how hot it was outside.
Andrew: [laughs] Well, I was going to save this for later but I have to say, when you do go to the Wizarding World, bring the lightest clothing possible, because the Wizarding World is in the back of Universal Orlando – the Islands of Adventure. So by the time you just get back to the Wizarding World, you are already drenched in sweat and – so just be ready to be hot.
Eric: Oh.
Andrew: And there are a couple lines that you have to wait outside for. It is hot, hot, hot. I practically wanted to go naked, I was so hot most of the time.
Eric: You almost did…
Micah: Too bad there are no water rides.
Andrew: But I got to say, I feel bad for the wizards and witches and the Durmstrang students and the Beauxbatons students. They are in full, heavy clothing…
Eric: Are you sure?
Andrew: …and they are drenched in sweat, yes, and they have…
Eric: Because…
Andrew: …to smile and take pictures and look happy when I know they are miserable, these poor people.
Eric: I heard that they made a lot lighter costumes for them, that they’re a lot lighter than they actually look, that they’re…
Andrew: Yeah, but a sweater is a sweater. You cannot…
Eric: That’s true.
Andrew: I mean, the detail that’s in this. Trust me, their face, just drenched in sweat.
Eric: Really?
Andrew: And the worst part of it is, they have to stand outside waiting for people to take pictures with them and the sun is just beating down on them. Oh, horrible. Anyway …
Eric: Well, they’re the ones that live in Orlando.
Andrew: Right. So that was the VIP grand opening. And like I said, J.K. Rowling – she walked right by me. I didn’t say anything to her. Mainly because there was this guy right over my shoulder who was taking pictures right in her face with flash. It was extremely obnoxious. And Neil was there, her husband. Like I mentioned earlier, some other Harry Potter celebrities were there. Chris Columbus, the director of Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, so that was cool to see him. Lots of behind the scenes people. Neil Blair, J.K. Rowling’s – I think that’s her lawyer or he is the guy behind Bloomsbury, or something like that. I can’t remember exactly, but he’s a big name in Potter behind the scenes. And some other notable names as well. But anyway, so the public grand opening, that was the one where all – where everyone could finally get into the park, whether – you didn’t need anything special. You could go in if you had a ticket to Universal. We found out that five thousand people waited in line. And we have pictures on MuggleNet of the people who were probably waiting in line since very early in the morning. The amount of people who attended was incredible. And it’s a testament of how popular Harry Potter still is and how many people are truly interested in this theme park. We heard there were wait times up to eight to nine hours.
Matt: Oh my God!
Eric: That is insane. Waiting in the heat?
Micah: Wow.
Andrew: And think about – yeah! In heat.
Matt: In humidity.
Andrew: These…
Eric: They were letting in what? Yeah.
Andrew: These people were waiting eight to nine house were the people who got there when the sun was already up and when it started to heat up in Orlando and they have to stay outside to wait in line.
Eric: Yeah, I heard even that they were turning people away because of the wait times.
Andrew: Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Eric: And then when you get into the park, there is a two hour line…
Andrew: You wait in more lines.
Eric: To get into, yeah, to get into…
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: …to get into the Three Broomsticks or to get into Ollivander’s.
Andrew: But not to put down the people who did show up to the Grand Opening because that is a great day to be there. In terms of all the excitement. And some people were getting a little upset or aggravated because they were waiting so long. But it was a very special occasion to be there.
Micah: Right.
Andrew: And I know quite a lot of our listeners were there. So…
Micah: Yeah, also there was that day in between sort of like the VIP opening and the public opening where you got the opportunity to sit down with or listen to or interview with some of the cast and crew.
Andrew: Right. Yeah, that was actually a lot of fun. That was in the Three Broomsticks and we interviewed the cast and I got to say, through everything, the VIP grand opening, the interview day on Thursday and a couple other times I was in the park they could not stop giving out free Butterbeer. And first of all, the Butterbeer is delicious. But not only that, I think every serving has a lot of sugar because my chest began tightening up and I started getting really sick from all this freaking Butterbeer I was drinking.
[Eric laughs]
The Forbidden Journey
Andrew: …and I know, wah, wah, wah, free Butterbeer, sugar, wah. But I don’t know. It was intense. So I just want to make a couple comments about the theme park. First of all, Forbidden Journey. Incredible ride. Eric talked about the queue. That alone is worth it. You experience…..
Matt: Well what’s in the queue? I mean, not to spoil too much, but, I mean…
Andrew: Well you get to see Dumbledore’s office and Dumbledore’s in there, and he looks like he’s actually there. The Defense Against the Dark Arts room – is that it, Eric, where the trio are?
Eric: Yeah, where the trio are, yeah.
Andrew: Yeah, it looks like the trio are there. They do a little effects in the room.
Eric: But I think the stand-out for me in the queue is the founders of Hogwarts which I heard is now properly synchronized and all that but – in the portrait gallery.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah! And the portraits look like they would be canvas portraits, like oil paintings.
Eric: They look like oil paintings.
Andrew: It’s really impressive.
Eric: It’s – I don’t know how they did it.
Andrew: And they’re moving. That’s the thing, they’re moving.
Matt: Now…
Andrew: And talking.
Matt: …do they converse with people in line?
Andrew: No, but they talk with each other.
Eric: And they bicker.
Andrew: And each one is on a different wall.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: So you sort of look around the room and watch them talk to each other. It’s really cool. So, and apparently we also heard that the maximum wait time in that queue is up to five hours.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: So – [laughs]…
Eric: See I knew that.
Andrew: …get comfortable.
Eric: I knew that when we walked through it, it was going to be insane, that they weren’t – it was just going to be ridiculous.
Micah: But is it worth the wait?
Eric: Yeah, talk about the ride. Tell me about the ride. Come on.
Andrew: It is worth the wait, I think.
Matt: How long is the ride?
Micah: How long did you wait?
Andrew: Psh, I’m a VIP, Micah.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: Straight to the front. No…
Eric: Are you kidding? Are you kidding? He was there maybe a minute but they gave him free Butterbeer thirty seconds in so…
[Andrew and Eric laugh]
Andrew: After we all helped Dan Radcliffe lit up – light up the castle everyone went in. So I wasn’t waiting too long but I did walk the entire queue. The ride is about four minutes but I’ve got to say, you’re ready to get off that. And I get very queasy very easily.
Matt: Yeah you do.
Andrew: That ride takes you in every which direction you can imagine. You lose all sense of which way is up. It throws you around. It’s not too scary, very high tech. These robotic arms that you ride in are huge! I stuck my head out to look at the one next to us. It is gigantic! And seriously, you’ll be on your back, you’ll be facing straight down, you’ll be facing straight to the side. It is intense, this is an intense ride. Not like a roller coaster intense, but just in the way it moves you around, very smooth but very – I don’t know – aggressively. Very…
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: …intense! Very intense feeling.
Eric: You’re lucky you didn’t lose your head! You stick your head out of the arm…
Andrew: I know!
Eric: …that’s serious!
Andrew: Yeah, really, I should have been a little more careful about that but…
Eric: Nearly headless Andrew there.
Matt: Well what are you supposed to be in exactly, on the ride?
Andrew: Well you’re not in anything in particular. You’re just…
Matt: You’re not on a broomstick or anything?
Andrew: No, no, it’s nothing like that. But basically it takes you through Harry’s life. But I’ve got to be honest, and like the reviews said, the plot of the ride doesn’t make too much sense, but like I commented – like I said on Episode 200 in order to cram all this stuff in Harry’s world into this four minute ride, it has to be relatively – they’ve got to cram a lot of stuff in! So, I don’t think that’s too much of a problem because it still is a really cool experience. It’s just a lot going on. [laughs] I’m still not sure what happened!
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: I just know…
Micah: Well what were some of the standouts that you liked from the ride itself? Some of the events that took place?
Andrew: There are these giant virtual screens, and between the robotic arm and the giant screens, you feel like you’re moving around. You see Harry riding on his broom, and you’re sort of riding with him. So, that’s cool. You’ll see Death Eaters which pop out. Those are kind of cool. I have to ride it again. I only rode it once. It’s just so much to process, and – [laughs] – I was just trying not to throw up.
Eric: Were there other actors besides the trio and Dumbledore or was it just those four?
The Flight of the Hippogriff
Andrew: Yeah, you then – well, I know at the end of the ride everyone – you do see a lot of people at the end. You see a couple people during the ride, but you will see giant groups of people at the end. I don’t want to spoil it too much. Flight of the Hippogriff, that’s another ride. It’s sort of a kiddie-ish ride, but I got to say it was very smooth. I thought it was going to be rickety. It’s very smooth. It’s very short, but it’s a very fun little thrill. Great for kids. Great for – I liked it, and very short wait time. So, you’re not going to wait there for an hour just for a 60 second thing. When I was there during one of the soft openings it was about five minutes, and there were a good amount of people walking around the park. So, that shouldn’t be bad.
Micah: What was interesting was the interview with Warwick Davis where he got to ride his first roller coaster ever because he was tall enough to ride this one.
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: Oh that was what he said?
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: Oh, but actually back to Forbidden Journey one second, speaking of limits and stuff, there is an issue which myself and other webmasters thought was going to be a big problem with the Forbidden Journey ride. There is a limit to – there is a weight limit for this thing, and it’s mostly based on the size of your gut. One of the other webmasters, Jeff Guillaume, and he’s all public about this, he’s writing about it on his site, HPANA.com. He has a very large gut, and he was not able to ride Forbidden Journey. And it was a bit of a surprise because he’s not very heavy. He’s just – it’s just all in the gut area. If your gut is too big you can not be on this ride, and it’s a shame. And I think a lot of people are going to run into that problem, and they need to add some new robotic arms that can – maybe instead of putting four people on one arm, they put two. So that way it can handle the weight, I guess.
Eric: I read his post too, and it’s more of, I guess, a dimensions thing. Weren’t they advertising that a football player had been on the ride or something?
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. A very tall person can do it. It’s just – like I said, it’s all in that gut area because this thing comes over your head and connects to where your crotch is. And if it doesn’t reach all the way down, it’s because your gut is in the way, and then you can’t ride it. So it was very surprising and I think a lot of people are going to run into that problem. So…
Micah: It’s a good thing, Andrew, you and I have been going to the gym.
Andrew: Exactly. Well he was joking that he was going to make a fitness team that’s going to get in shape by August.
[Eric laughs]
Dragon Challenge
Andrew: And then they’re all going to go ride the ride together. [laughs] But so anyway, Flight of the Hippogriff is good and I did not ride Dragon Challenge because that’s a big roller coaster.
Matt: The Dueling Dragons you mean?
Andrew: Dueling Dragons.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: No. Isn’t it called Dragon Challenge now?
Matt: Oh. They changed it?
Eric: Yeah. It was Dueling Dragons, and then – yeah.
Micah: Yeah. The name is changed.
Andrew: Right. Same ride, new name.
Eric: Well it goes up above Hogsmeade now, doesn’t it? Oh. You didn’t ride it, right? Okay.
Andrew: No, but I think you can get some decent views. But just…
Micah: Did you at least walk through the queue and…
Andrew: Yeah. I saw some…
Micah: … see all the stuff just there?
Andrew: No, I saw some pictures and it’s basically set up like the Triwizard Tournament tents…
Eric: Oh, cool.
Food and Drink
Andrew: … from what I could tell. So, on to the drinks and food. Butterbeer. It is – like I said, like Eric said, it’s perfect. I mean, the froth with the Butterbeer liquid itself, it’s a perfect combination. It’s just so delicious. The Hog’s Head ale is a new – it’s an alcoholic drink. Good, but pretty strong. I can only handle one.
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: In the Three Broomsticks, you can get lots of meals and they’re all decently priced. I got the fish and chips. Oh, my God. It’s so good, and they’re going for the authentic, British food here. And that includes the quality, the taste, and the actual food. So this is legit stuff. It’s not cheap, crappy, fattening, greasy, theme park food. It’s what you would get if you were in the Wizarding World, or if you were actually in the U.K.
Eric: So let’s throw out estimates here, Andrew. How much – how many fish and chips do you think they sold the first day with eight thousand people going into the park?
Andrew: [laughs] Probably a lot.
Eric: Like, how many pounds of food do they keep in that kitchen? That seems…
Andrew: I don’t know. I mean, I imagine they had to be ready, but it’s got to be a lot. But it’s not just fish and chips. They have many other meals.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: That’s just the one that I tried.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: One other drink, pumpkin juice I tried – very good. It’s mainly apple juice, actually…
Eric: Really?
Andrew: …but they added some real other – another ingredient that is real. It wasn’t some fake chemical or something. So that was good. Chocolate frogs – delicious. But they’re ten dollars a frog. I mean, it’s a good bit of chocolate.
Matt: Wow! Do they actually jump out of the box for that price?
Andrew: No, but…
Micah: Yeah, exactly.
Andrew: …it does come with a wizarding trading card.
Eric: Oh.
Andrew: And it’s a hologram, so it moves when you turn it left and right.
Matt: Which one did you get, Andrew?
Andrew: I got Rowena Ravenclaw.
Eric: That’s awesome. Keep that, that’s going to be a keeper.
Andrew: Yeah, it’s…
Matt: I’ve got about six of her.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: If you go into Honeydukes, they have so many different candies, and they’re all unique to the park. And I’m pretty sure most of them are straight out of the books. You can just go crazy in Honeydukes alone. A lot of calories, though. And fat, by the way. So you may want to just have little samples.
Eric: Do they all have nutrition facts on them?
Andrew: Yes they do. They have chocolate wands which I didn’t try, but I want to try those next time. So that’s about it for that. The shops of course, there was Filch’s Emporium. That you can visit when you – after you ride Forbidden Journey. You can also get a photo of yourself on the ride.
Eric: Yeah, I’m really interested. How is that? The Filch’s Emporium – is that different?
Andrew: It’s small, it’s crowded.
Eric: Okay, because the promo of that made it seem like the most exciting shop because it just seemed so vast.
Andrew: Well, I wish it was a little bigger. I mean, they have plenty of merchandise in there, it’s just very tight and there’s going to be so many people in there that you can’t move around!
Matt: Well it’s also a confined park, they’re limited on space.
Andrew: Yeah, but you could – they could have added some room for that.
Eric: Yeah, it’s Hogwarts. You could just…
Micah: Yeah, that was one of the things I wanted to ask because I have a friend who is down there who works for NBC and he had said that the one thing that he was so shocked at was how small the park actually is, so is that true? I know it’s a part of another park, but did you feel it was kind of small? I know you were there when there wasn’t as many people around.
Andrew: I was there on – the VIP grand opening – it was pretty crowded and when they were doing a soft opening on Wednesday, I think it was pretty crowded. I think if you go into this knowing it is just a land, it’s not a full on theme park. They keep calling this the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. People have the impression, “Oh, a theme park!”, it’s going to be Disneyland or something. I was not disappointed by the size, it was just right, and I know that sounds a bit sexual but I’m talking about the theme park here, it was just right.
Matt: Wow!
Eric: Wow! Somebody is in denial there.
Andrew: Hogsmeade – good size. The area outside of Hogwarts is pretty spacious.
Micah: Yeah, what else do they have going on as you’re walking around the park?
Andrew: There’s the frog choir, there’s the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons – they do a little dance thing.
Eric: That’s right outside the gates, right?
Andrew: And there’s wizarding – oh, the other thing, the Hogwarts Express conductor. This guy – there’s like three or four of them actually, but this guy is the smartest guy. You can have a conversation with him for a solid – I had this conversation with him for a solid half-hour about everything Harry Potter. He stays in character though, that’s the thing. So if you take out your iPhone, he’ll look at it like it’s the craziest thing he’s ever seen in his life…
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: And he’ll be like, “iPhone, why don’t they call it a mePhone?”, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And he’s just very intelligent and he knows the books. He will reference stuff. If you ask him a question, he will have an answer for you. So talk to him. He’s an attraction in itself and there’s no line.
Matt: That’s awesome.
Eric: That is really cool.
Matt: Because he’s basically intro-ing you into the world of Harry Potter.
Andrew: Yeah, and there are witches and wizards that will walk around the park and act like couples and they will be talking to each other about their day, but the crazy thing is that they’re not talking to you. They will just walk by you and you will overhear their conversation…
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: …about their day at Honeydukes or whatever, or their day at the Ministry. It’s so weird! It was borderline creepy!
Micah: That’s pretty awesome.
Andrew: Yeah, so that was very cool, too. It gives you a very authentic feel.
Matt: Did you go up to them and ask how they’re doing?
Andrew: You know what, I was thinking of saying something to them, but I was enjoying just overhearing them. I wouldn’t get too close to them either, because I was like, “are they having a real conversation?”
Eric: Yeah, are they just really crazy fans, thinking they go the Ministry in the morning?
Andrew: Are they talking to themselves?
Matt: Andrew, you should have run up to them and started saying an Unforgivable Curse or something and see what happens.
Andrew: Yeah! I bet they would – we should try that when we’re at Infinitus. I really think – because I was overhearing just to see if they were talking about like, if they were talking out of character or they were talking in character. And they were actually talking in character. So that level of detail was amazing, too.
Eric: Andrew, when you were in the Three Broomsticks, did you look up and see the twisting ceiling?
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, Three Broomsticks – and I wanted to mention that. That restaurant is very big, actually. I was pleasantly surprised by that because I thought everything was going to be cramped, but that was a very nice size. Three Broomsticks and the Hog’s Head pub – I mean, you could just chill in there!
Micah: Air conditioning…
Andrew: I have plans to just chill in the pub.
[Micah laughs]
Andrew: Yeah, air conditioned, of course. They have a nice back patio, too, so you guys will be very comfortable in there. Unlike other areas. So lots of merchandise, bring plenty of money in your wallet. It is very…
Merchandise
Micah: Or plastic.
Andrew: …expensive. Other than the food – the food is decently priced, but the merchandise is very expensive.
Matt: Well, you would just assume that, too. I mean, it’s a theme park.
Eric: But how expensive?
Andrew: Yeah, but you know what…
Eric: What are we talking about? Give examples.
Matt: Well, it’s ten dollars for a two-inch long chocolate frog.
Andrew: A chocolate frog! [laughs] Yeah. I mean, I was sort of comparing it to Disney prices, because I go to Disneyland a lot. It’s actually a little bit more, I think. And I think they’re really hoping to bank off the merchandise.
Matt: I think they already paid for the park on the first day.
Andrew: Like a t-shirt, I think I paid twenty-five to twenty-eight dollars for. I think it was like twenty-eight!
Eric: Oh man…
Andrew: And it was just like a woman’s t-shirt.
Eric: Oh. Well that’s…
Micah: For yourself? For your mom? For your sister?
Matt: Is it for you? Or…
Andrew: Well, the woman’s shirt was for myself.
Micah: Oh, okay.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, I needed something light and small, so I bought that.
Eric: You bought a woman’s shirt?
Micah: Did you buy a woman’s shirt for your mom, too? I mean…
Andrew: Yes, I did.
Micah: Okay.
Andrew: Of course. So that’s all I wanted to touch on. Overall, it was amazing! An amazing grand opening week. I think overall all the fans have been very excited. I’ve seen some interviews with the fans. They are so passionate, so excited for this park, and it’s so exciting to see. Do you guys have any questions before we move on from the Wizarding World?
Expansions
Eric: Did they talk about building on to it?
Andrew: Somebody asked that. They said they have no plans right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if like a year from now they start getting some plans underway.
Eric: What about building another one?
Matt: In perhaps London…
Eric: Maybe in California.
Andrew: You know, I thought about the one in Universal Orlando. I thought that was…
Matt: You mean Hollywood?
Andrew: …or Universal Hollywood, but somebody brought up a good point to me. There’s like no space around Universal Hollywood, so they really couldn’t.
Eric: Really?
Andrew: Unless they build it like in the air…
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: I don’t think they’d be able to.
Matt: The one in Hollywood isn’t really that great, actually.
Andrew: Yeah, it’s kind of small.
Matt: It’s subpar to everything in Orlando as well.
Micah: Yeah.
Matt: It’s not even like how Disneyland is compared to Disney World. It’s at a different scale, too.
Micah: Right.
Andrew: Yeah, so – go ahead, Micah.
Micah: No. Somebody brought up London, too, and we had posted that article about the mayor of London. I think it was kind of a tongue-in-cheek article that he wrote, but to me I’m all for creating a park in England somewhere for Harry Potter because I think those fans should have the same opportunity and shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars to fly across the Atlantic. But I’m just not sure that it would draw the same people.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Not the same people, that’s not what I mean. It won’t bring in the revenue that it would over here being a part of Universal Orlando and I just don’t know…
Matt: Well yeah. It’s also surrounded by a tourist area.
Micah: Exactly.
Matt: It’s right next to Walt Disney World, it’s right next to Sea World, and of course Universal Studios.
Micah: Yep, I agree.
Matt: That’s a tourist location that people go to go on vacation with the family. There just really isn’t that size of a tourist market in London.
Micah: Yeah. People go to Orlando with the intent to go to Universal, to go to Disney World, to go to Sea World, like you said, Matt. So people go to London to look at all different things there as well, but I don’t know. And from a temperature standpoint, would that work, with the weather the way that it is in England?
Andrew: Well, it does rain a lot in Orlando as well.
Micah: I know, yeah.
Andrew: It’s just very hot, but no, I agree. I think you’re right. And when I was walking around that park, there were a lot of English people there.
Eric: Really?
Andrew: Like from the U.K. Yeah, I was actually surprised.
Eric: Like authentic or fakes…
Andrew: And I’m not just talking about – yeah, I’m not talking about the wizards and witches. I’m talking about actual tourists who were there, and they were speaking in their English accents, and they were there.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: Even internationally, people come to Orlando from international countries because it is the place to go. There’s a ton to do in Orlando.
Micah: Yep. And like I said so we don’t get hate mail, I’m all for creating a park over in England if that’s something that would be realistic, but – I see all the comments: “Oh it’s not fair that it’s in America,” but you know what? I don’t know what else to say. People forget that although it is a product of J.K. Rowling, at the same time a lot of the revenue has been generated here in the United States.
Andrew: In America.
Eric: In America. Plus, the park is authentic British. It tries so hard to be authentic British. When you go to London, what is it going to be? It’s not going to be an American Harry Potter park; it’s going to be a showcase of what’s already in Britain. There are so many cobbled streets in London. In Charing Cross Road you can walk all those historical places that are 700 years older than anything in America. Plus, plus, plus, there’s no reason to do that kind of thing because the Harry Potter books to Americans, I think, encompass a lot of that old Great Britain stuff that is just already existent over there in London.
Andrew: So that’s about it for the Wizarding World. Obviously all of us will be there next month for Infinitus 2010. That’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ll be doing a live MuggleCast there, exciting announcements about that coming soon.
Micah: You had a couple of visitor reviews here…
Andrew: Oh yeah. That’s right.
Micah: From people on Twitter.
Andrew: I asked people on the MuggleNet Twitter to send in their reviews of the park if they had visited already. And idefine777 said:
“Loved it, especially Forbidden Journey, ride and line. But store restaurant lines were hours long, so we couldn’t go in any of them.”
Wow. Restaurant hours long. I did not know that.
Eric: But what about the Butterbeer trolley? Was there a line for…
Andrew: Oh! [laughs] So there’s a Butterbeer trolley right out in the middle of…
Eric: Could you get frozen Butterbeer, too?
Matt: It was actually there, though. Wouldn’t they put that aside to reduce traffic?
Andrew: No, it wasn’t too big. There’s plenty of room around it. It’s not like it would cause a traffic jam but yes, Eric. You can get frozen there, too. I would have to say if you’re going to have to pick either frozen or liquid, I would definitely go with the liquid. Frozen is kind of hard to consume.
Matt: But it’s hot!
Andrew: And by the way, the prices, I think it’s like five or six bucks with the mug. But then, it’s $2.50 for refills in your mug. So it’s not a bad deal. I’m going to bring my mugs back and get that $2.50 discount…
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: Yeah. How many did you bring? Did you bring two?
Andrew: I brought two.
Matt: Yes!
Andrew: And those were free mugs, so WOOO!
Eric: Hey, look at that. You’re actually making money.
Micah: I know, cost effective.
Andrew: Exactly. I wish I’d brought – I should have taken more mugs…
Micah: Should have for all our listeners.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Oh Andrew…
Andrew: I really could have. I can’t tell you – I can’t emphasize enough how many it would be – you know those waiters that walk around with a tray? And then they hand out hors d’oeuvres? That’s what they were doing in the Wizarding World, but they had Butterbeer. [laughs] It just would not stop. So what were you saying, Matt?
Matt: What does the castle look at night?
Andrew: [gasps] The castle really looks beautiful, and they used the illusion of perspective to make it look really gigantic – and don’t get me wrong, it’s big. But they really elevated it so you have to look up to look at the castle. It looks gorgeous. The VIP grand opening night they put spotlights on it – you guys may have seen my pictures on MuggleNet. I mean, it really does look gorgeous.
Eric: Cool.
Andrew: So that’s all there is to say about that. So a couple other reviews – Catherine says:
“I went on Friday, the whole experience was fantastic. Forbidden Journey is the best ride ever in my humble opinion. Glad I have an annual pass.”
And finally, Kristina says:
“I went all day yesterday…”
Meaning Monday.
“We waited two hours to get into the Wizarding World. It was packed but so accurate and so, so fun.”
So as you guys can see, there’s still some pretty long lines for the Wizarding World, but yeah, that is pretty surprising for a Monday. So I mean overall I really think Universal hit it out of the park. This is a Disney level theme park they created. I mean, the amount of detail in this is incredible, and it’s all thanks to J.K. Rowling and the film creators and Universal. I mean all around, just an amazing job. All right Micah, what else is going on?
MuggleCast 201 Transcript (continued)
News: Filming for Potter Complete
Micah: All right. Well, speaking of the series continuing on, the films are finally finished as far as all of the production side of things is concerned. I’m sure there will be post-production and all that technical crap, but as far as principal filming, it’s all done. And that was sort of the other big news that came out the last couple of weeks since we did Episode 200, literally right before the theme park opened. It was back on June 12th that we got word that that was the final day of shooting for Deathly Hallows. And Rupert brought his ice cream truck for everybody to get – I don’t know what he serves on the truck. But I thought that was kind of cool. We got some tweets from different actors who were there on the final day. I know an interview recently both Dan and Matt Lewis said that they were headed back for two more days, but it was very small stuff, a lot of tech related things that they were working on. But I guess June 12th cut was called for the final time.
Andrew: Yeah. Pretty surprising and there’s a lot of – well, not surprising, but a bit sad. And as many of the cast pointed out at the Wizarding World it was kind of good timing how filming was ending at the same time the theme park was opening. So it’s kind of bittersweet.
Micah: Right.
Eric: All the actors kind of freed up, yeah.
Andrew: So it’s pretty nice and it’s a perfect way – the theme park is a perfect way for fans to really experience the films in person. But back to Deathly Hallows…
Micah: Yeah, that was part of it, too. They said that for Hogwarts to finally be real for them…
Andrew: Right.
Micah: …because it was never created…
Andrew: Right.
Micah: …it was always a green screen or those little sculptures that they made into something real. The rooms, obviously, they were able to walk through, but the actual castle itself – to see it, to experience it, they thought that was really cool.
Eric: I love that picture of the Phelps twins riding the Hippogriff, is it? With the kids.
Andrew: Yeah, with Dan Radcliffe, too. It’s a really cute photo.
Micah: Michael Gambon was there for as much…
[Eric laughs]
Micah: …you know what we have given him on this show for many, many episodes.
Andrew: You know what though, in the press conference he was really into it, it was a great interview, he was very funny. I think he was excited.
Micah: Well, he was the one who said that he wanted to go to Ollivanders and get a wand, and I think he actually did…
Andrew: He did get a wand and Warwick Davis commented that he saw Michael get his little wand, and it was so cute. He called it cute.
[Eric and Matt laugh]
Micah: Did you go to Ollivander’s…
Andrew: You know what, I didn’t go to Ollivander’s…
Micah: …Andrew, did you go?
Andrew: …I wanted to wait to do something with you all because that’s how much I love you…
Micah: Oh, well that’s very nice of you…
Matt: Aw, we’ll all go in, and we’ll see who gets chosen.
Andrew: That and when we were supposed to go on in our little tour, I was having a sugar overload, and I was ready to collapse, and I needed some protein so I went to the Three Broomsticks and got fish and chips.
Micah: Oh, so the real truth comes out.
Andrew: I mean…
Eric: Still, it’s still sweet. He’s still a saint.
Andrew: Butterbeer prevented it. All right, so is that all?
Micah: That is all for this week.
Eric: I just wanted to comment. Andrew, I forget to tell you. On your footage of everybody – John Williams conducting – there’s this moment when Warwick Davis, who’s conducting the frog choir, turns around after they’ve just finished. And he’s got this smile on his face, this huge grin, and it is literally the best moment I think I’ve ever seen on film is him grinning…
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: …so watch it there. And you caught that. I just want to say when I was watching that – and I didn’t catch the live feed – gasp shock – but I caught that video afterwards. And honestly, his grin is just otherworldly…
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: …and he is so happy to be there and it’s…
Andrew: Well he said at the press conference the next day that he really did enjoy doing that, and he also particularly enjoyed being up onstage with John Williams when the fireworks were going off. And in my pictures you can see him standing there watching the fireworks. It’s really nice. So anyway, that does it for news. We are going to hold off on starting Goblet of Fire chapter-by-chapter for a couple more weeks because Episode 202 will be our big Deathly Hallows trailer discussion episode. We’re expecting the trailer at the end of June and at that time – I heard a rumor that it’s going to be June 28th. Not so sure how legit that rumor is, but we do believe it will be out by the end of the month and we will be doing a trailer episode. Then after that it will be our episode from Infinitus, and then after that we will have our…
Matt: It’s anyone’s guess.
Andrew: …we will – No. We will resume Chapter-by-Chapter. So for this week we’re just going to go through a few e-mails. We got some great ones that are worth discussing, ranging from book analysis to some other stuff as well. So Eric, can you read the first one from Erin.
Eric: Sure. This is the Mailbag Segment of MuggleCast. I don’t know if I’m supposed to…
Andrew: MuggleCast. Mailbag!
Muggle Mail: Felix Felicis
Eric: [laughs] All right. This one comes from Erin, age 17 from Canada. She says:
“Hey guys! Last night I was reading ‘Half-Blood Prince’ when Ron asked Hermione and Harry if they could just make a vat of Felix Felicis as it would be pretty handy. Harry looked up the instructions in his potions book and discovered that it needs to brew for six months. I was wondering how Slughorn managed to have a cauldron of it to present to their potions class when he only had accepted the position of Potions Master a month or two before school started up. Did he have a vat of Felix Felicis already? And if so, why would he have it? I only just started listening to MuggleCast. You guys are great. Keep up the good work, Erin.”
Andrew: Do you guys think Slughorn would have possible just had – would have been able to get into a stash at Hogwarts?
Eric: Did he have a vat of Felix Felicis? I thought the vat was of Amortentia, and he only had a vial of Felix Felicis because he was only giving away a vial of Felix Felicis. The vat was of the Love Potion. And I’m going strictly by movie here, but the Love Potion is what’s in the cauldron and Hermione…
Micah: Well, it still needs to brew for six months according to what Erin is saying here, so regardless of whether it’s a vat or a vial…
Eric: I think it’s a big difference. You can probably buy vials of Felix.
Micah: Well, yeah. That’s one of the answers we could give to this question. He could have just gone out and bought it. I don’t know if it explicitly states in the book if he had created it himself.
Eric: Right.
Micah: Have to look that up, but one of the reasons why maybe he had some of this stuff is he was on the run from Death Eaters. He didn’t feel completely comfortable with what was going on.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: So perhaps he had a little Felix around. Just in case.
Eric: And now that he was safe at Hogwarts he could give it up.
Andrew: Yeah maybe.
Eric: But I do think – I mean it is stated in the book that too much luck is bad. You just start laughing uncontrollably or something when you have too much Felix Felicis.
Andrew: Yeah. I don’t know if I would want too much. After seeing Harry in the movie especially. How happy do I want to get? I would just be depressed after all that happiness. How could I ever be happy again?
Eric: After a while, I think it’d be – it says in the book. After a while, it just begins to mess with you.
Matt: You start to get addicted.
Andrew: Micah, could you read the next e-mail?
Muggle Mail: Hermione in Ravenclaw
Micah: Yeah. Next e-mail comes from Miranda, 13 of Texas. She says:
“Dear MuggleCasters, I was listening to some earlier episodes since I’m a very new listener, and saw that y’all had pointed out that Hermione was in Gryffindor when she is obviously extremely smart, and it seemed like she belonged in Ravenclaw. Do you think that her being put in Gryffindor is foreshadowing? In most of the books, Hermione is using her brain more than her bravery. For example, she was probably the only student, let alone first year, in school who could have figured out Snape’s protection on the Sorcerer’s Stone. In ‘Deathly Hallows’ however, she helps Harry with the journey with looking for the Hallows and Horcruxes and really shows her bravery and what she’ll do to help a friend. She even skips a whole year of school, which any new reader reading the first few books wouldn’t believe if you told them. So do you think J. K. Rowling putting her in Gryffindor for bravery instead of Ravenclaw for brains was foreshadowing to the latter books where Hermione – or later books – where Hermione shows her bravery on top of her brain-power to her friends with defeating Voldemort. Sorry this is a tad lengthy, but it just came to mind while I was listening. Love the show, Miranda.”
Andrew: I think it could have possible been that the Sorting Hat just saw what could become of Hermione when she matured.
Eric: Well, she does talk about it. She does say that the Sorting Hat almost put her into Ravenclaw. I forget if she says why it didn’t, but at the same time I think that it’s – I think that this is very possible. Also though, I did forget about that Snape’s challenger for the Sorcerer’s Stone, about his logic puzzle, which didn’t make it into the movie, but was in the book. And that’s true, she is smart, and I think her being in Gryffindor – obviously Gryffindor is is the setting of the book and in order to be apart of the trio I think she had to be in the same house as them, but I think it does show her underlying bravery that is called upon in Book 7.
Muggle Mail: Songs in Memory
Andrew: Next e-mail is from Matt, 15, of Colorado:
“Hey guys, I’ve been recently going through your old episodes where you go through “Deathly Hallows.” In your analysis of ‘Deathly Hallows’ you played a song in memory of each death in the book, and I was wondering if you could do the same in ‘Goblet of Fire.’ I know there aren’t many deaths, but I thought it would be a good idea.”
You know, I had forgotten that we did that.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: That was a great idea.
Eric: It has to be that one that Robert Pattinson wrote for the first Twilight movie. Where he’s playing the piano. That’s got to be Cedric’s death song.
Andrew: Well in all seriousness, what – Micah Tannenbaum, if you could assign a song to Cedric Diggory to recognize his death…
Micah: Well, he’s not the only that dies in the book. I mean – come on.
Eric: Barty Crouch Sr. gets like transformed into a bone. Who…
Micah: Frank Bryce.
Eric: Who was it who was…
Andrew: Oh yeah…
Eric: Frank Bryce the house keeper, grounds keeper rather.
Andrew: A song about Frank feeling lonely perhaps.
Eric: [singing] I’m so lonely. Don’t have nobody to call my own. Woo!
Andrew: But yeah we should work on that we should do that for maybe the rest of the characters that died in other books as well because…
Eric: That’s a good one.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: That’s a good idea.
Andrew: Maybe we can do it at the end of the Chapter-by-Chapter. Or maybe while we do Chapter-by-Chapter, Goblet of Fire if somebody dies in a chapter we can play a song.
Matt: That’s what we did.
Micah: But yeah that’s what we did.
Andrew: Oh.
Matt: That’s exactly what we did.
Andrew: Well, we were brilliant.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: I thought we had did them all at once.
Eric: No.
Andrew: No, no, no, no. Yeah so.
Matt: I forget did we really play a different song…
Micah: Yes.
Matt: …every time a different person died? Wow we did. Well he have one coming up don’t we. Frank Bryce dies in chapter 1 doesn’t he?
Andrew: Yeah so…
Matt: We better get cracking.
No MuggleCast Mix
Andrew: Well we’ll pick out a good song for him. Okay, so, Matt can you read the next e-mail from Bianca.
Matt: Okay Bianca writes:
“I would just like to say that I am feeling very hurt right now. Eric made me want to cry when he didn’t show his MuggleCast mix on the 200th episode. I waited and waited and now I don’t get to hear it. I am very hurt and will stop subscribing to MuggleCast if Eric doesn’t show us the mix. Okay no, I don’t think anything in the world could stop me from listening to your show I just wanted to let you know how very disappointed I was with this episode, though the interview with Heyman was great. Love the show, and Andrew’s my fave, Bianca.”
Andrew: So Eric…
Eric: Wow.
Andrew: …do you have an update about the MuggleCast mix?
Eric: I’m sorry that the announcement was noticeably absent for some people from 200. I did, I’m still working on the MuggleCast mix. Okay, it’s still in production. I’m just going to say that, it was created, and I did announce on MuggleCast, it was being created for the celebration of 200 episodes of MuggleCast, but I did not say that it would be released on Episode 200 and that’s a small distinction but at the same time I already knew that 200 was going to be a really long episode so – basically the MuggleCast mix, the Remix II is still on it’s way, we will find a time between the other episodes that we have coming up, obviously we have a few very high-profile episodes coming up of MuggleCast and the MuggleCast mix will be slipped in there somewhere…
Andrew: Okay.
Eric: It is still up and coming.
Micah: Bianca somehow I think you’ll manage till it’s released.
Matt: Oh she can’t hear you she already unsubscribed.
Micah: Oh that’s right, she unsubscribed.
Eric: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: All right Micah can you read the final e-mail today in our MuggleCast mailbag.
Muggle Mail: Potter in the Future
Micah: The last e-mail comes from Helena Sheffield, 17 of Cambridgeshire and she says:
“Hi MuggleCast, you were discussing in Episode 199 how the world of ‘Harry Potter’ will continue after all the films have been released. Obviously, I can’t answer that for definite, but I have a Saturday job in my local library in which I naturally take special care over the ‘Harry Potter’ books. We have at least 4 copies of each one – including ‘Beedle the Bard’ – and I have never seen even one of each of those books all together. I think this is a testament to J.K. Rowling’s phenomenal ability to capture young children’s imaginations and could suggest that it will be a very long time before ‘Potter’ dies out. I know I’ll never get tired of it, and I’m pretty sure that they will last for years and years to come. Anyway, I think you guys are so funny and I look forward to each episode every week. Keep up the outstanding work! Love, Helena.”
Andrew: Thank you Helena, that’s very nice and I thought that was a great way to sort of get an idea of new readers, new Harry Potter readers.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: I think that is a perfect way to see who is still reading them.
Micah: Or who is just steals them and never returns them to the library.
Eric: Yeah I was going to say you have an habitual Harry Potter book thief. But that is – like you said, it is great insight into – to know how many copies they have exactly and how she has never seen them – even one copy of that all together. That is very well worded. It gives us a great idea.
Andrew: Helena should put a little sign next to the Harry Potter books and say, “If you want some analysis of these books, listen to MuggleCast.” Only in a British…
Micah: Yep.
Debate: Did Ron and Hermione Have a Happy Marriage?
Andrew: …accent because she is – or in an English accent because she is in the U.K. Okay, so that does it for the mailbag. We’re now going to do a fun segment we haven’t done in a while, and this is our debate segment. And…
Matt: Awww.
Andrew: …I was browsing…
Matt: There is no Ben.
Andrew: …CoSForums.com the other day, and – first of all, CoSForums.com is an amazing resource for Harry Potter discussion. There is always some great discussion going on over there. It is MuggleNet’s sister site. Definitely check it out if you want to join in on some discussion: CoSForums.com. But anyway, they were debating a topic that I thought we should debate: Did Ron and Hermione have a happy marriage?
Micah: Of course they did.
Andrew: Now…
Micah: What kind of nonsense is that?
Andrew: …how – wait one second, Micah. Wait one second. So here is how we’re going to do this: Micah and Matt are arguing yes, they did have a happy marriage, and Andrew and Eric are arguing no. We’re going to start with a 90 second opening argument from each side, and then we will have – let’s do 60 second rebuttals. And then we’ll put a poll up on MuggleCast.com, and you guys can decide who wins the debate. So, since Micah could hardly contain himself, Micah, why don’t you and Matt start? You have 90 seconds to tell us why Ron and Hermione had a happy marriage. Go ahead.
Micah: Well – I mean, of course they had a happy marriage. They are the centerpiece couple of the series, right? I mean, how could they not go on and live happily ever after? They have two great kids, Hugo and Rose. They don’t seem like they are much trouble. They are both gainfully employed. They don’t have to worry about Voldemort ever coming back. I think they are financially well-off, which is something that may have been a little bit of a problem for the Weasleys and more specifically Ron growing up. And they get to experience both the magical world and the Muggle world because Hermione has her parents – I’m sure want to see the grandkids from time to time. So there is no reason to think that things are anything less than perfect.
Matt: Right. And they grew up together. I mean, they definitely have chemistry. They didn’t become in a relationship before they knew each other. And they were obviously compatible since they were ten years old and it didn’t seem to change because they had kids together, which shows they enjoy their company together if you know what I mean. So, I – so like Micah said, they were completely compatible, and they are the centerpiece of the series.
Andrew: Anything else to add? Twenty seconds.
Micah: No.
Matt: They love each other! That’s what – the series is about love and love your fellow lover.
Micah: Just give us the trophy now.
Andrew: All right. Now Eric and I will take 90 seconds to tell you all why they do not have a happy marriage. Eric – oh, you want me to start? Okay. Here we go. So there is something that – when I read this thread on CoS Forums, it really struck me because I couldn’t believe that I had never thought about it before. When you consider throughout the Harry Potter book series, when you see how poorly Ron is treated by Hermione, she is just nothing but brutal towards him because quite often she does not agree with Ron’s way of thinking, his way of life, etc. I mean, this poor guy has to deal with Hermione breathing down his throat, his every little move throughout the seven books that we read. I cannot believe that once they got married, things were all suddenly patched up. And Ron suddenly did everything right and Hermione didn’t bother him? Yeah, right! There are problems left and right in this relationship. I am not surprised we haven’t seen them on Dr. Phil or some equivalent in the wizarding world, some television show equivalent. It’s nonsense! Go ahead, Eric.
Eric: Yeah, they named their kid “Hugo”. I mean, there has got to be some kind of pain, unhappiness in that marriage just begging to get out. [laughs] I mean, that’s not…
Andrew: Yeah, how can you mutually agree on Hugo? Ridiculous!
Eric: I think it was a long fight. I think it was a really long fight, and out of spite one of the two of them was, like, “Well, why not Hugo?” And she was, like, “Fine!” And he was, like, “Fine!” And she was, like, “Fine!” Then he was, like, “Fine!” And then they named their kid “Hugo”. And Hugo has to grow up knowing that he was just one of Mommy and Daddy’s spite-fests.
Andrew: All right, time’s up. Micah and Eric, go ahead. Do a little rebuttal. You have 60 seconds. Go ahead. Micah and Matt, sorry.
Micah: Matt, do you want to start or do you want me to?
Matt: You can start. I have nothing to say…
Micah: Yeah.
Matt: …because none of that made sense, what they said.
Micah: Well – I mean, whether they had a happy marriage, I don’t think you can determine that from their kids’ names. I mean, that…
Eric: Well, no – I mean…
Micah: …seems…
Eric: …Andrew said…
Micah: …a little bit…
Eric: …that she was – I’m sorry, I’m not supposed to interrupt this. But…
Micah: No, no, you can. We can open the floor here, why not?
Eric: He said that Hermione is really controlling, and she wasn’t really happy with Ron very often before they were married. So why should we assume that even after Lord Voldemort, that their personalities were still meshing?
Micah: Well, the whole reason why she was treating him like that is because she wanted him to realize that he actually liked her. And she wanted it, that was the bottom line. I mean, let’s face it. That’s why she was acting that way.
Matt: Well – and also, Ron and Hermione, they both complete each other with their certain characteristics. She – I mean, she is a little controlling because Ron needs some controlling in his life. He definitely needs some person behind his back to tell him, “Look, this is dangerous what you’re doing,” or, “This is reckless.” She is a mother, she is nurturing, and she loves Ron because she cares about him. That’s why she is so protective.
Andrew: All right. Well, to rebut that, I just think that is a very poisonous relationship. When…
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: …Hermione is constantly telling Ron what to do and what not to do, she is a very know-it-all, I am perfect, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah attitude. And back to the name, yes, a name can be very reflective about the – on the relationship of the couple. I mean, a very happy couple could not possibly ever pick a name like “Hugo”.
Eric: [laughs] We are going to get so…
Andrew: If you are a happy…
Eric: …many e-mails. “My name…”
[Micah laughs]
Eric: “…is Hugo.”
Andrew: If you are a happy…
Eric: “I used to listen to the show, but now I am unsubscribing.”
[Micah laughs]
Andrew: If you are a happy couple and you cuddle in bed at night, and you are, like, “Let’s name him ‘Hugo’.” Another person is, like, “Yeah, let’s name him ‘Hugo’.”
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: That is bullocks!
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: There was a fight.
Eric: There… [laughs]
Andrew: But other…
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: …than that, in all seriousness…
[Micah laughs]
Andrew: …I do think that – the whole name thing aside, I do think their relationship throughout the book series was a bit reflective of what you could expect later on. I don’t think…
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: …Ron grew up…
Matt: Well…
Andrew: …too much. Those kind of – his way of life was sort of – it’s not something you grow out of.
Micah: Yeah, but you could say the way that she treated him could have changed once they entered that relationship.
Andrew: True.
Micah: You never know. I mean, that is teenagers acting towards each other, as opposed to how they would be as adults. You don’t really know.
Eric: Well, at what point did they become adults?
Micah: Aside from King’s Cross.
Eric: I mean, after Voldemort? During Voldemort?
Micah: Well, they are married, right? I mean…
Eric: Oh.
Micah: …they have kids, they are in their thirties, as far as we know. And so that makes them adults, hopefully.
Andrew: All right. Well, that concludes our debate. Feel free to e-mail in and let us know what you think, and we’ll read…
Micah: Yeah, who won?
What if you had Polyjuice Potion?
Andrew: …some of your e-mails on Episode 202. All right, another fun segment this week: What if… you had Polyjuice Potion? Who would you become in the wizarding world and who would you become in the Muggle world?
Eric: Ooh.
Andrew: Eric Scull, tell us who would you become in the wizarding world and Muggle world if you had Polyjuice Potion?
Eric: Oh geez, I would become Bill Weasley.
Andrew: [laughs] Why is that?
Eric: To have Fleur as my wife for an hour…
Andrew: Ahhh!
Eric: For an hour, that is just…
Andrew: [laughs] For an…
Eric: That is just enough time, man. To have Fleur…
Andrew: Oh my.
Eric: …as my wife, that is awesome. That would be awesome, so Bill Weasley.
Andrew: And what…
[Micah laughs]
Andrew: …woman in the – or what man would you become in the Muggle world so you can get an attractive woman?
Eric: I don’t know. The Muggle world is – it is less easy. I don’t know, man. That is – I didn’t even see that you had thrown in this little addition here. I need to think. I need to think. Who would I become in the Muggle world? I would be the – I just don’t – I would be the guy – no, no, I wouldn’t. I don’t know. I just don’t know.
Andrew: Oh, well, that is a bit…
Matt: Oh, okay.
Andrew: …of a disappointment. Go ahead, Matt. How about you?
Matt: In the Harry Potter world – or the wizarding world of Harry Potter, I would probably choose to be McGonagall. At least for a day. I would just love to have that epic-ness in my body for at…
[Micah laughs]
Matt: …least a short time.
Eric: Wait a minute. Whose epic-ness would be in your McGonagall body?
Matt: McGonagall’s epic-ness. I would have to steal some of her essence.
Eric: Yeah. Oh, that is true. Yeah, you don’t want to screw with McGonagall.
Matt: No. I mean, she would definitely – I mean, I would – she would have to give it to me willingly because she would kill me if I got anywhere near her.
Eric: You would have to woo…
Matt: She would transfigure me into…
Eric: You would have…
Matt: …into a piece of hair.
Eric: …to woo McGonagall into giving up her essence to you. You can…
Matt: I can…
Eric: …do that.
Matt: …do that.
Andrew: And…
Eric: You definitely can do that.
Andrew: And how about in the Muggle world?
Matt: Oh, Lady Gaga.
Andrew: So in both situations, you would turn into a woman.
Matt: That’s right. I am a feminist.
Eric: Who is…
Matt: What can I say?
Eric: …Lady Gaga…
[Micah laughs]
Eric: …dating? I think I would probably – yeah, that in the…
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: …Muggle world.
Matt: I don’t know. Lady – she doesn’t need…
[Eric sighs]
Matt: …to date anybody. She is…
Eric: I would be…
Matt: …Lady Gaga.
Eric: Okay, I would be one of the background males who has to fawn over her in the video because then I…
Andrew: The tour.
Eric: I fawn over her now, but at least then I would be ten feet from her. So…
Andrew: Now, Micah, how about you?
Micah: Well, I think there are some obvious choices here that people are going to go for. One would probably be Aberforth.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: Two would probably be Rodolphus Lestrange, giving – seeing how much time I pay talking about Bellatrix. But I would go with Arthur Weasley.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: Arthur Weasley.
Eric: You would be a…
Micah: I like…
Andrew: Okay.
Micah: Just a cool guy.
Eric: Cool guy.
Andrew: And how about in the Muggle world?
Micah: Craig Ferguson.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: Oh.
[Eric and Micah laugh]
Andrew: Yeah, you like him, I know.
Micah: Who also…
Andrew: Well…
Micah: …has a very attractive wife.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: But yeah…
Andrew: Well…
Micah: No, he is very funny.
Andrew: …for me…
Micah: What about you, Andrew?
Andrew: Well, in the wizarding world I would have to say – I would like to be someone in the Ministry because I am very fascinated by how the Ministry works. So I think it would be fun to be Minister for Magic for a day, especially during the crazy time. So I wouldn’t mind being Fudge for a day, I would say. And I would like to see how effed up things were, and the little tricks he were pulling behind the scenes, and what his mind set was like around his tenure. And as for the Muggle world, I wish I could be a rock star. I wish I could be Bruce Springsteen, I guess. So – but hopefully I wouldn’t transform mid-concert or something, transform back mid-concert.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: Because that would be bad.
Micah: You just want to look at yourself in the mirror if you turned into Bruce Springsteen…
Andrew: And say…
Micah: …all day long.
Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul
Andrew: …”I was born to run.” Okay, so – well, that is how we play “What If?” And we have done that before in different styles, but that was sort of a different one where it involves us.
Now it is time for Chicken Soup and I’ll read – this one is from “Komali.” It is from Kamalie, 19, of Lakeland, Florida:
“Hey guys, it’s been a hectic week with the ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ grand opening going on but I wanted to let you know about my Chicken Soup moment between it all. On Wednesday, June 16th, me and my friend Tabitha knew the celebrity grand opening of the park was going on, and we decided to go and maybe catch a glimpse of the stars. We arrived at the gates of the Islands of Adventure at 8:30 PM and we’re told we could go no further. We decided to wait because to leave the park, the guests had to go by the entrance. Around 12 PM, we saw someone come out and he seemed so familiar, but we were shy to say – 12 AM, she means – but we were so shy to say anything to him. We made eye contact and then he kept on walking. We later discovered that it was Chris Columbus and we could not believe that we didn’t stop him when we had the chance. Morale was low but we decided to keep waiting for a bit longer and we were glad we did. We saw someone else come out and again he seemed familiar, but we were hesitant to bother him. I decided to take one for the team and shouted, ‘Excuse me sir! What is your name?’ When he turned around and said, ‘Andrew,’ we were in shock!”
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: [continues]
“I have been a listener of MuggleCast for a while and I recognized his voice immediately. It was you, Andrew Sims! I just wanted to say thank you for stopping and taking a picture with us because you definitely made all our waiting worthwhile.”
So, yeah. I met – there was a bunch of girls out there. Not just these two, but many. And we talked and I told them how cool the grand opening was and showed them my Forbidden Journey picture and took a couple of pictures. It was a lot of fun, so shout-out to Tabitha and Kamalie. Sorry, hopefully I am pronouncing your names right. And to everyone else who was there. It was very cool meeting you all. So that was a little Wizarding World Chicken Soup. And I can’t wait for Infinitus too to be with the MuggleCast listeners inside the theme park. It’s going to be insane.
Matt: It’s going to be great. Just the whole feeling of everybody who is a fanatic of Harry Potter is all together in the World of Harry Potter.
Announcement: Infinitus 2010
Andrew: Right. And also, birthday shout-out to Amy. Her birthday is on July 1st, and her friend Ashley – they are both in Knoxville – wanted us to shout-out. So, happy birthday to Amy. And a couple of announcements before we wrap up the show today. Don’t forget we’re going to be at Infinitus2010.org. It’s going to be at that theme park we’ve been talking about practically this entire episode.
[Show music begins]
Andrew: Visit Infinitus2010.org for information. We’re going to be doing a live MuggleCast there and we’re going to have exciting news about our podcast hopefully very soon. We’re sorry…
Micah: We will…
Andrew: …for the delay.
Micah: …be doing a podcast.
Show Close
Andrew: We will be doing a podcast. We have some exciting details to announce but we’re still waiting for approval. So that’s why there is a little hold-up on more details. And like I said earlier in the show, we expect the first Deathly Hallows trailer to come out – for Part I, to come out at the end of June. I heard a rumor, the 28th. I would say at the latest, the 30th, obviously because that is the last day of the month. So, keep an eye on MuggleNet. We’ll obviously post the trailer there. And we’ll also do a live trailer episode on UStream talking all about the trailer. And we’ll post a date and time for that as well on MuggleNet.com.
Eric: And Micah, when does the LEGO Harry Potter game come out?
Micah: It comes out June 29th…
Eric: Heck…
Micah: …here in the United States.
Eric: …yes, it does.
Announcement: Community Outlets
Andrew: So we’ll do a review of that as well if the live show is after the release of the game. Don’t forget to visit MuggleCast.com for all the information you need about this podcast that we do every other week. You can subscribe and review us on iTunes, which we really appreciate. You can follow us on Twitter and you can like us on Facebook. We also have links there so you can vote for us on Podcast Alley. Visit our FrapprMap. Visit our Last.FM page. Subscribe to our RSS feed and much, much more. Also, use the site to e-mail us. Just click on “Contact” at the top of the site. Thanks everyone for listening! I’m Andrew Sims.
Eric: I’m Eric Scull.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I’m Matthew Britton.
Andrew: See you next time for Episode 202! Buh-bye!
Micah: Bye!
Matt: Bye!
Eric: Sounds good! 202!
[Show music continues]