Proposal at Harry Potter - advice needed!

[Lawrence Cohen]

Hi all!

My partner of 3 years and I are visiting Orlando in June and I plan to propose to her while out there.
She's never been before and is a huuuge Harry Potter geek so is most looking forward to that part, so much so that she somehow convinced me to fork out for early entry to beat the queues!
The plan is to propose to her at the Wizarding World, problem being that I'm not at all a 'Potterhead' and so I'm somewhat clueless!
I've read that Ollivanders is the place to buy wands so the idea at the moment is to somehow break free from her and slip a card/parchment in to the box which would read (and I've had to do some homework here!) 'I love you as Snape loves Lily. Laura, will you be my always?' I'll then offer her the wand to look at and do the whole one knee, ring thing while she's reading.
Firstly, logistically, does this sound like something that could work? As in are the wand boxes open to peruse, big enough to fit a parchment in etc? Secondly, is it just too cheesy? Are there any fans out there who could suggest something better? Something a big Potter fan would really love? Apologies for the long post, I'd be grateful for any feedback or contribution at all.

Thanks all!

 

[tink1957]

Sounds like a great plan to me...you should enlist the help of the TMs and maybe you could arrange to have her chosen during the wand show.

Congrats and best of luck

 

[Robo56]

I think Tinks idea of in enlisting the TMs and having her chosen for the wand show would be awesome. You could probably arrange to have a photo person take pics.

I think your saying about Snape and Lilly is adorable. One idea find out who her favorite Potter character is, buy that wand put the ring on the wand and your note in the box. The parchment will fit. You will have to fold it. Remember to get her the interactive wand so as you travel through Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley she can do her spells at the spell sites. That map is included in her interactive wand box

No matter what you choose enjoy the adventure congrats and good luck

 

[schumigirl]

Nice idea.........

Lawrence if you type into google marriage proposals at Potter Universal Orlando, there is a link with videos of a couple that have already happened. One includes the Olivanders idea........and a couple of others.......

I would post the link, but there's a couple of ads appear below the videos that are not suitable for the dis boards.

If none of that works you could propose in front of the Castle somewhere or there's a gorgeous area of Diagon Alley that looks gorgeous at night all lit up.......the garden out by the Knight bus is beautiful.

I'm sure the "conductor" in Hogsmeade would be able to help too in some way if it could be arranged.

Hope it goes well........

 

[Lawrence Cohen]

Thank you all for your great ideas and wishes of luck. I've followed your advice and sent an e-mail asking if they can offer any assistance at all, I'm sure they must get a thousand similar requests a day so none to hopeful but nothing ventured...
Thank you especially for the Plan B options, should this prove too difficult for my tiny brain!

 

[HM]

Some other thoughts. Things where you don't necessarily need the help of anyone.

If you could manage to get a car section of your own on the Hogwart's Express (sometimes works at night when less busy) you could ask while between lands.

You could take her on a walk down the trail that leads to Dueling Dragons and ask in front of Hagrid's Hut or the Weasley's Flying Car that are both displayed on that trail. It's often not that busy so it might be fairly private.

 

[CinderellasKastle]

Something to keep in mind if you were going to try to do it in Ollivander's, if you plan to have someone recording it, they won't let you due to copyright issues. I know a Youtube theme park couple (Tim and Jen Tracker) that tried to get married in Ollie's and couldn't because they couldn't get it recorded due to that issue. So they got married on the bridge in front of Hogwarts. So a proposal in front of Hogwarts could be nice. Team members are all over the bridge waiting to take your picture, so they'd be helpful to document it.

 

[nervous1sttimer]

We recently came back from our first Universal trip and I was surprised at how small/crowded all the WWoHP shops and stores were. Honestly, I would be concerned about having enough space in Ollivanders to do a proposal. It is super narrow in there and I know my husband had a hard enough time navigating with our daughter to get the wand they wanted, I can only imagine what it would have been like with someone down on one knee.

You might want to be more private, but if I had to do it anywhere at Diagon Alley, I would honestly do it in the middle of the roadway or on the stage near the Butterbeer stand. Make a spectacle of yourself and get some applause. There is more than enough room for people to move around you (as opposed to in a shop) and little chance of getting trampled by wannabe photographers (like on the bridge in front of Hogwarts).

 

[schumigirl]

Something to keep in mind if you were going to try to do it in Ollivander's, if you plan to have someone recording it, they won't let you due to copyright issues.

There is a marriage proposal that was arranged for Olivanders on YouTube and they were allowed to film it.......it's also on the link I suggested to OP.

 

[calablovedisney]

If you could somehow slip into Olivander's Wand Shop on your own and purchase a wand, then you could put the parchment in the box and give it to her as a gift somewhere outside of the shop. Some of the places suggested above are great options. Maybe even inside the Leaky Cauldron in front of the huge cauldron in there. It is a nice spot for photos. I kind of like the idea of it being outside somewhere(weather permitting of course). The parchment will have to be folded to fit. You had asked about the size of the boxes. They are fairly narrow, but it could work. Best of luck. Very exciting. Please let us know how it went when you return in June!!

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

--- Id slip a note to the person handling the door at Olivanders and see if you can propose in there during (before or after) the wand "show"...technically...just before they start you could be sure you are int eh front row and go down on one knee...easier to ask forgiveness than permission You could get a wand in advance and put a ring on it and present it to her...

--- or on the bridge in front of Hogwarts...You could get a wand in advance and put a ring on it and present it to her...


--- another idea is in front of the night bus...it pretty there at night and plenty of space..again, teh wand with ring would work well with this


Love the idea of "I love you like Snape loved Lily...will you be my always...?"...how sweet!

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

I think this is what Id do...

in Diagon Ally near the Leaky Cauldron you can have photos made. It inside a little photo studio. They also do videos. They let you dress up in robes. Id slip a note to the people at the counter to explain you plan to propose. They spend about 10 minutes letting you make little videos acting out scenes...they will give you directions....you could get one one knee and propose and have it on video. I think it costs $70 to buy the video. Or they photograph it for about $25. They let us a do a family photo of 4 people for $25 and it was fun and well worth it.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

There are also several little quiet spots and "alleys" in Diagon Ally...or go stand under the dragon and right after he breathes fire, pop the question

(Im having toooo much fun vicariously planning your proposal,,,,,LOL)

 

[macraven]

There are also several little quiet spots and "alleys" in Diagon Ally...or go stand under the dragon and right after he breathes fire, pop the question

(Im having toooo much fun vicariously planning your proposal,,,,,LOL)

You need to hang out a shingle and set up shop ️
Our wedding planner Disney travelers 2008.........sweet

 

[Seeker615]

Love all the suggestions. Please let us know how it all goes!

 

[Lawrence Cohen]

Hi all,

Thanks for all your great ideas, given me a lot to think about! Taking everything into consideration I think I'm going to go with the consensus and do the deed somewhere less cramped than Ollivanders. I'll stick with the wand idea but I think if I were to surprise her with it somewhere like in front of the castle, I'd get the best of both worlds. That way I can also casually film when I give her the surprise gift and maybe convince her that the parchment is a list of spells so she'll read it aloud. The difficulties lie in somehow purchasing a wand on the sly and hoping someone is around to pass the camera to but I'm sure they'll work themselves out. Besides, if it was easy it wouldn't be worth it!

 

[macraven]

sounds like a wonderful plan !

if you can make contact with a TM in advance, that might help with the passing of the camera.

Send an email to guest services and run it past them what you need.
They do answer many questions for all.
Include your phone number as there are times they will call you instead of emailing.

 

[violakat03]

I used to work in attractions at the WWOHP and I got to witness several proposals. We all LOVED seeing and being involved in them so yes, absolutely get the TMs involved! I think your Ollivander's idea would work perfectly if you can talk to one of the TMs manning the door. They all know the wand keepers and can talk to them in between shows and let them know what you'd like to do to see if they would be ok with doing it. Most of the wand keepers are really cool and I bet would go along with the whole thing.

One note, because it is tightly scripted, they would probably not cooperate with you interrupting the show. However, here's an idea: see if the wandkeeper can keep a wand with the ring in the box under his table and pull a switcharoo - after the wand "chooses" it's wizard, the wandkeeper hands it off to his assistant (an attractions TM) who explains that they can purchase it in the next room. This would be a great time to switch, and they could wait to take her out of the room until everyone else has been cleared out, leaving you room to get down on one knee!

Also, recording is definitely allowed inside Ollivander's. There were usually at least 5-6 cameras out during every show. It's professional recording that is not permitted - because a professional would be reselling their finished video, that would violate copyright as you cannot resell the show video.

 

[Squirlz]

You can order wands online and get it ahead of time if that helps.