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Witches and wizards, get excited! Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has its very first Fan Festival coming up from August 31st, 2019 to September 1st, 2019! With big news, comes big guides!
Never been to Indianapolis, Indiana before? That’s okay! We’re going to get you up-to-date on everything you need to know about the venue location, public transportation, parking, where to grab some delicious food, and more.
Let’s dive straight into our VERY FIRST Wizards Unite Fan Festival tour guide!
The Venue
This year, Warner Brothers and Niantic are holding the VERY FIRST Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Fan Festival in Indiana’s biggest city, Indianapolis! The event will take place within White River State Park. This venue is 250 acres big, and plays host to some amazing places that I’ll be listing a little bit later on. Details for the exact place in White River State Park has yet to be announced, however it will likely be held on the Concert Lawn, as it’s right across the street from the featured hotels.
What exactly does 250 acres of land play host to? Well, let’s take a look below!
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Home to the states largest IMAX screen. This theater has 6 stories of lights, camera, and action! This is the epicenter of science, art, and culture.
650 West Washington Street |
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The Eiteljorg Museum is the only museum of its kind in the Midwest, and one of only two museums east of the Mississippi that showcases both Native American and Western art, culture, and history!
500 West Washington Street |
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This hosts all 24 NCAA sports, with hands-on displays, a retro gym, and sports simulators that give you an opportunity to engage in the life of the student-athlete!
700 West Washington Street |
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This 64-acre campus is home to nearly 1,400 animals and 31,000 plants, including many threatened and endangered species.
1200 West Washington Street |
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This is a waterfront venue in the heart of Downtown Indianapolis, and one of the top Amphitheaters across all of the US.
801 West Washington Street |
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The venue opened in 1996 and has been named one of the best minor league ballparks in the United States, and is home to the Indianapolis Indians.
501 West Maryland |
There are also bike rentals, segway rentals, and an information center, all conveniently located on The Lawn, over by the Maze and the Oval.
Public Transportation
Public transportation for Downtown Indianapolis is provided by IndyGo. Be aware that if you purchase any tickets from their website, they are going to be paper tickets. Please plan ahead as they can take up to 10 business days to arrive. With all that in mind, their 1-Day full fare passes are only $4, which is really cheap if you plan on touring downtown Indy and don’t feel like walking everywhere. Alternatively, Uber and Lyft are also options if you want a more secluded ride.
Parking
If you’re driving to the Fan Festival, you need somewhere to park. Here are convenient parking options.
- Underground parking
Enter on the right between Eiteljorg Museum and IMAX Theater and Indiana State Museum on Washington Street just west of West Street. - Surface parking
Enter to the right at the light at the intersection of West Washington Street just past the White River State Park Visitor’s Center and Schumacher Way. Victory Field will be on your left. - All other parking
For all other parking, check out VisitIndy, ParkWhiz, and DowntownIndy.
(ParkWhiz allows opportunities to pre-pay for reserved parking in select lots.)
Downtown Indy Restaurants
| 1 S Capitol Ave, Indianapolis | |
| 350 W Maryland St, Indianapolis | |
| 123 Illinois St, Indianapolis | |
| 301 W Washington St, Indianapolis | |
| 11 W Maryland St, Indianapolis | |
| 10 S West St, Indianapolis | |
| 111 W Maryland St, Indianapolis | |
| 10 S West St, Indianapolis | |
| 6020 82nd St, Indianapolis | |
| 9 E Market St, Indianapolis | |
| 1928, 251 N Illinois St # 140, Indianapolis |
*Please note that there are tons of choices in Downtown Indy. These are just the more popular choices people like.
What to Pack
Indianapolis has an average weather temp of 82/62°F. 82 being the high, and 62 being the low. This has been the pattern since 1871, and I don’t expect it to change any time soon. The more you know, the better, right?
- Extra charging cables
- Power banks (Need to buy a new one? Our editor shared some top picks!)
- Backup phone (You never know what could happen!)
- Shoes suitable for walking on both cement and grass
- Clothes for warm weather during the day, and cool weather at night
- Hats for protection against the hot Indy sun
- A magical backpack
- Reusable water bottle (Refill at the hydration stations throughout the day)
- Sunscreen lotion (No aerosol containers)
- Umbrella (Rain should not be expected, but it’s better to be safe than sorry)
Discounted Event Hotel Prices
For the FIRST EVER Wizards Unite Fan Festival, WB Games have partnered up with Visit Indy to bring us some heavy hotel discounts from August 29th through September 2nd.
*Note: Staying at a host hotel does not grant access to Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Fan Festival. Event tickets are sold separately.
Taking a look at the partnered hotel list, there are three hotels on the list that are straight across the street from the Wizards Unite Fan Festival.
- Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Indianapolis
- Fairfield Inn and Suites
- Springhill Suites Indianapolis
(And 19 other hotels that are all within walking distance of White River State Park)
To book your hotel for the event, go and select the days you’re staying over here: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Fan Festival hotel bookings.
Parting Words
As the Wizards Unite Fan Festival draws near, we will update this page with even more information. Right now, only the park location has been provided. No event details have been released yet. We promise that as soon as news gets revealed, we’ll be the first to let you know. This is the FIRST EVER Wizards Unite Fan Festival, so we’re all in for a real treat. Fellow witches and wizards, wands at the ready!
Please feel free to keep checking back on Wizards Unite Hub for everything Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
Want to follow us on Twitter? Check us out @hpwuhub
Want to join our Discord server and chat with our community from all over the world, along with WB Games staff members? You can join our Discord Server here!
Here is some advice from someone who lives in Indianapolis: 1) Do not rent the E-Scooters. It is no illegal to use them on city side walks, especially on the canal. 2) There are a lot more (and better) restaurants downtown then what has been listed. Most of those restaurants are over priced anyways. 3) The IUPUI campus has several visitor parking garages the are usually empty on the weekends and right near the canal. Knowing the campus they’ll probably try have the two parking lots by the IT building blocked off to try and get people to park there,… Read more »