Hogwarts Castle Reveals Itself Again: Scrim Drops on the Main Tower at Universal Orlando
Top Universal Orlando news, Tuesday April 28, 2026. After about a month behind scrim and scaffolding, one of the most photographed icons at Universal Orlando is starting to peek through the wraps. On Sunday April 26, crews pulled scrim off the majority of Hogwarts Castle's main tower at Islands of Adventure, exposing the freshly repainted clock face and the crisp, weather-appropriate gray on the tower's stone.
What dropped over the weekend
Aerial photographer @bioreconstruct caught the scrim-down moment first. His caption from Sunday afternoon was the cleanest summary anyone has posted so far:
"Scrims removed from the refurbishment of the main tower of Hogwarts Castle. Scaffolding likely to be removed soon."
By Sunday, Inside the Magic, Disney Dining, Disney Fanatic, and WDW News Today had all picked up the photos. The scrim is fully off the main tower base, the clock face is exposed, and the shorter adjacent tower's roof has been repainted. Scaffolding remains in place, but per the secondary outlets, it's expected to come down "in the near term." A right-side scrim panel is still up while crews finish the matching surface.
Why anyone cares
Hogwarts Castle is, by some distance, the single most-photographed structure at Islands of Adventure. It's the visual anchor for every Wizarding World marketing piece and the closing-shot money frame in essentially every vlog from Hogsmeade. When it goes behind scrim, every wide shot of Islands of Adventure suffers. A month of "the castle is wrapped" content from creators is finally about to flip back to "the castle looks better than it has in years."
Worth noting: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the dark ride housed inside the castle, has remained operational throughout the refurbishment. The work is exterior only.
When does it fully wrap
This is where the reporting splits. Disney Dining has cited a May 21, 2026 completion target, with the date picked up by other Orlando outlets since. Inside the Magic noted that "Universal Orlando Resort has not issued a construction timeline for the repainting of Hogwarts Castle." Universal hasn't put a date on it publicly, in other words, but the trades are calling May 21 based on what they're hearing on property.
That tracks with what's visible. If scrim came off the main tower this weekend and only the right-side panel is left to finish, three more weeks of finishing work plus scaffolding teardown is a reasonable timeline. Expect a steady drip of "even more scrim is gone" updates from aerial photographers in the next week or two.
For visitors right now
- The ride is open. Forbidden Journey continues to operate normally throughout the refurbishment.
- Hogsmeade is fully open, including all the shops, the train platform, and Hogwarts Express service to Diagon Alley.
- Photo angles are mostly recovered per the photos circulating online: the main bridge and the Lost Continent side look clear, though the right-side scaffolding is still visible from parts of Hogsmeade Village.
- If you're hoping for unobstructed wide shots, the trades are pointing at late May (right around Memorial Day weekend) as the realistic "all scaffolding gone" window.
Sources
- Inside the Magic: New Photos of Hogwarts Castle Refurbishment (April 26 scrim drop)
- Disney Dining: Hogwarts Castle Refurbishment Update
- WDW News Today: Hogwarts Castle Behind Scrim (with May 21 target)
- Disney Fanatic: Scaffolding Photos
- @bioreconstruct on X (primary aerial photographer for the April 26 reveal)
Image credits. Featured: Anna Fox via Flickr, surfaced by Inside the Magic. Inline: Andrew Boardwine via Inside the Magic.
