534-2
McFarlane Toys- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Buckbeak
Continuing my look at all the Harry Potter themed rides and attractions at the various Universal Studios Parks around the world. Previous thoughts can be found at review 314-2 Dragon Challenge, 337-2- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, 392-2- Flight of the Hippogriff & The Hogwarts Express.
Butterbeer!
Ok, so it’s less of an attraction and more of an experience, but any Universal Parks Wizarding World fan will tell you that Butter Beer is as important to the experience then any of the other rides. For those who don’t know, ButterBeer is the fictional drink of choice for many of the students of Hogwarts and is often mentioned throughout the book and movies. As such, naturally it made sense for Universal to develop a product based on this drink that could offer as part of the experience of hanging out in the Wizarding world, but there was just one problem… What was Butterbeer? In the book it’s described as a liquid butterscotch drink that is served warm in a mug or cold out of a bottle. There is also apparently some level of alcohol within, but how much is unclear. That said there is mention of it lowering inhibitions of students as well as getting house elf’s drunk, so there is that. In the real world, the actual recipe for Butterbeer is not clear, but based on the multiple DIY Butterbeer videos I saw on YouTube it seems as though it is a mix of Cream Soda, Caramel, Vanilla and butter extract. As far as I know, Universal does not offer an alcoholic variety at this point, but still has a few other options: Regular (Cold fizzy drink with topping), Frozen (Slushy fizzy drink with topping), Warm (Seasonal) and Butterbeer ice cream that I understand makes an fantastic float when combined with the original. Personally I’ve only tried the first two and prefer the frozen, especially in the Florida heat. They are a very sweet treat, but at around $6 per serving it is really hard to stomach them as anything more than a fun novelty.
Pros: Given that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is one of my favorite Potter movies I was very happy to see that McFarlane included it in the short lived action figure line. Overall the figure has an impressive sculpt and detailed paint job, poseable wings, 2 sets of claws: 1 set for standing, and 1 for flying and a flight stand/base combo. That fits into its belly section via a ball joint.
Cons: In truth I’m not sure why Buckbeak, who was only part of the 3rd movie, was released at the same time as characters from the last movie. Perhaps there were plans for additional releases from the other films that were never made, but as it is, Buckbeak doesn’t really fit in. On the actual figure, the articulation, especially on the front legs is a bit frustrating and makes it very difficult to stand. Lastly, while I love the included stand, it is WAY too long; seriously he’s like 12” in the air. The pole was easy enough to cut, but still an odd choice.
