In the Harry Potter books, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is a joke shop in Diagon Alley founded by Fred and George Weasley. Their mother would have preferred that they pursued a career in the Ministry of Magic but instead they came up with many of their product ideas while they were still students at Hogwarts. Harry Potter gave them the money to start the business.
Opened on July 8, 2014, you can visit Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley in the Wizarding World in Universal Studios. The building with bright pops of orange and purple was designed to look like it appears in the movie. It is instantly recognizable by the 20-foot-tall robotic Weasley twin on the front of the building that lifts his hat to reveal a rabbit on the top of his head. He lowers the hat and then lifts it again to show that the rabbit has disappeared. On the outside of the building are advertisements for Edible Dark Marks, Skiving Snackboxes, and U-No-Poo. The windows have elaborate displays like a girl throwing up after eating a puking pastille and Day of the Dead skeletons dancing near boxes of fireworks. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes connects to Sugarplum's Sweet Shop via an interior passage.
Inside the joke shop is a colorful array of clothing, toys, and candy. Popular sweets include Love Potion, U-No-Poo, Fever Fudge, Nosebleed Nougat, Puking Pastilles, Fainting Fancies, and Skiving Snackboxes (includes Fainting Fancies, Nosebleed Nougat, Puking Pastilles, and Fever Fudge). In the movies the Skiving Snackboxes were designed to make students sick so they could skip class. One half of the sweet would make you sick and the other would heal you. Of course these are just candy. Fred and George Weasley bred Puffskeins to create miniature versions known as Pygmy Puffs which are sold here. They are handy to have because they are knon to eat earwax. You can also purchase Pygmy Puffs at the Magical Menagerie but adoption ceremonies only take place at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezies. Other joke items carried here include Bombastic Bombs, Screaming Yo-yos, Chattering Teeth, Extendable Ears, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Sneakoscopes, Chinese Fortune Sticks, Pik-A-Stiks, Boxing Telescopes, and Decoy Detonators, all of which were mentioned in the books.
Like all of the stores in the Wizarding World, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is cramped and highly detailed to make you feel as if you really are in the Wizarding World. Look for the animated exploding fireworks on the ceiling and a toy Dolores Umbridge riding a unicycle across a tightrope while balancing two cauldrons and yelling "I will have order!" This is a first floor shop but as you look up towards the second and third floors, you can see props from the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie. There is so much to see and every time I visit I spot something new. read more