The special was announced on September 17, 2012, and was shot from October 22 to November 10, 2012, in California. It was executive produced by Selena Gomez. While David Henrie originally planned to star in the special, he declined because he wanted to move on to his acting career. He was mentioned many times in this special. Even though the series ended, this movie was in production before they ended the series, making this the very last project of Wizards of Waverly Place. It first aired on March 15, 2013.