By Beth Anne DeKeizer
Eric Baker in the Delta Innovation Hub at the University of Georgia with his 2025 Grady Lifetime Achievement Award and Grady College Fellow medal.
Eric Baker has been designing, building, and bringing stories to life since the 1990s. You may know his work from children’s television to delighting visitors at one of the country’s best theme parks.
Baker met the Georgia On Your Mind team in the Delta Innovation Hub for Season 3: Build By Bulldogs to discuss his early career at Nickelodeon and how he helped bring Hogsmeade™, Diagon Alley™, and the upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Ministry of Magic™ at Universal’s Epic Universe to life.
Baker graduated from the University of Georgia’s Grady College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a Minor in Theatrical Design. On April 25, 2025, he was inducted into the Grady College Fellowship as a recipient of the John Holliman, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award.
Beginning his career at Nickelodeon, Baker designed and fabricated props for almost a thousand episodes, including Clarissa Explains It All, Gullah Gullah Island, and Allegra’s Window. Baker was also a member of the Special Effects team for HBO’s From The Earth To The Moon, which received a nomination in 1998 for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries or a Movie.
After his career in Film and TV, Baker transitioned to designing for theme parks, where he played a key role in shaping the Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Hogsmeade™ and Diagon Alley™ at Universal Orlando as the Senior Prop Manager. Baker worked on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ across multiple locations, including Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Japan.
He helped design the cutting-edge immersive experience found at the Wizarding World™ and ensured every detail was both durable and authentic to fans. Then, Baker became the Creative Director for all props and set dressing for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
Baker is now the Senior Destinations and Experiences Creative Director at Epic Universe, where he helped design and develop the Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Ministry of Magic™. He and his team were able to balance the 1920s Parisian aesthetic of Fantastic Beasts with the 1990s Britain of Harry Potter.
In Episode 7 of Season 3: Bringing Magic to Life: From Nickelodeon to the Wizarding World™, Baker discusses his entire career and his process behind designing an immersive experience at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter™. Baker also talks about guest reactions to his work on Hogsmeade™ and Diagon Alley™ and how he expects people will respond to the new Ministry of Magic™ at Epic Universe.
“ We’ve very faithfully recreated it, and I think the guests are going to cry when they go in the Ministry of Magic because it’s one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever built. It’s completely mind blowing. It’s spectacular.”
Epic Universe and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Ministry of Magic™ are now open, and guests can experience Baker’s latest work firsthand.
🎙 Listen to the final episode of Season 3: Build By Bulldogs Episode 7: Bringing Magic to Life: From Nickelodeon to the Wizarding World™, available wherever you get your podcasts.
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