On June 12, in an act of true gallantry and courageousness,
Rilian and I battled through the streets on Manhattan to Harry
Potter: The Exhibition. The exhibition opened on April 5, 2011
and is located in the Discovery Times Square Building on 44th
Street.
Absolutely no picture-taking was allowed, which is customary of
the exhibitions there. Instead, I’ll try to give you my best
picture of our experience through words, and I vow to be
perfectly honest.
I would like to say that I walked up to the building as calmly
and civilly as possible, but that would be a lie and I JUST
promised pure honesty.
I was so over-the-top excited that I skipped and bounced my way
into the front lobby, of course causing a slew of onlookers as
well as the embarrassment of the group of people who had dared to
accompany me.
Luckily, I had decided early on that nothing could keep me from
holding back my excitement and my company in turn would just have
to grin and bear it.
After sorting our tickets and finding our way to
the right floor, we made it to the picture
station. Everyone’s tour starts off with a
picture in front of a green screen. They will
later superimpose two images — one of the Great
Hall and one in front of the Hogwarts castle.
You have the opportunity to buy the images in
various shapes and sizes at the end of the tour.
Keep in mind — I was still bouncing from the
exhilaration of the whole situation, but the
crew was certainly ready for the diehard fans.
As I skipped my way over to take my picture, one
dedicated worker mumbled, “Oh my Godric, you guys
are excited.” Well, now I was bouncing even higher.
After taking the picture, they lead one small group at a time
into a room with one stool. Any real fan can tell immediately
that it’s a house sorting.
A female host with a British accent (still debating on whether or
not it was real) called a little boy up to the stage. Donned in a
Gryffindor robe, she asked him what his favorite house was, and
he answered, “Slytherin.” (Of all the houses!!) She then placed
the Sorting Hat on his head, and amazingly he was sorted into
Slytherin!!
She then moved onto a little girl who declared her love for
Ravenclaw (who was then magically sorted into Ravenclaw!) At that
point, I assumed our host was targeting the younger children, so
I sort of gave up any hope that someone in our group would be
picked. Sure enough, she chose another young guest who wanted to
be in Hufflepuff, and the Sorting Hat chose that exact house for
her.
Just when I had given up all hope, the host pointed to our group
standing in the back of the room and asked for one of us to be
sorted!
After trying to persuade Ril to go up on stage (but not for that
long), I dashed to the front and leaped onto the stool. I told
the host that Gryffindor was my favorite house and crossed my
fingers. She then placed the Sorting Hat on my head, while I
mumbled, “Not Slytherin...anything but Slytherin...”
And amazingly enough, I became a Gryffindor!
There was a little more fanfare before you actually got to start
looking at artifacts. They show you a video montage of clips of
all seven films, which ends with the sound of a train and leads
you to a model of the Hogwarts Express. Finally, they let you
into the exhibition and your tour officially begins.
Before I describe anything, here is my biggest (and probably
only) complaint about the exhibition. It was solely about the
movies. No mention of J.K. Rowling at all. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Not
a picture. Not a handwritten page. Not one of her many renderings
or drawings of how she pictures this world or the people and
places inside it.
Not that I really feel any pity for her. She’s J.K. Rowling.
She’s richer than the Queen. It’s just a little odd that the
woman behind Harry Potter was not present in Harry Potter: The
Exhibition.
Only good stuff from hereon in...
The artifacts were grouped into rooms, as closely related as
possible. You are not allowed to touch anything with the
exception of the objects in three interactive activities, which
I’ll point out along the way. You start out with life at Hogwarts.
There was a line of costumes that various student characters wear
throughout the seven movies, followed by a display of the boys’
dormitories with Harry and Ron’s four poster beds.
This is followed by tributes to each of the Hogwarts classrooms,
including Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms,
Potions, and Herbology. This brings us to the first of the three
interactive activities.
In the Herbology classroom, they allow you to pull baby mandrakes
out of their pots causing them to whine and scream and cry. This
activity doesn’t take long to complete and is fun for about ten
whole seconds.
But no more complaints, remember?
You travel through Hagrid’s Hut next (like you actually get to
walk through it).
Our second interactive activity appears: Though you are still not
allowed to touch a single thing, you are encouraged to sit in
Hagrid’s giant chair.
Though I did enjoy getting a sense of how tall our half-giant
friend is, it is once again entertaining for a total of a few
seconds. Without the ability to take pictures of you and your
guests in the big chair, it loses some of its charm.
After leaving Hagrid’s Hut, you’re led to believe that you are
outside of Hogwarts. There are statues and models of the many
magical creatures, including Buckbeak! (And Fawkes, though he's
in a different section.)
Though the actions of the creatures that you see in the movies
are simulated through computer animation, the designers still
created life-size models of the animals so that they would have
images to scan into their computers.
Still outside of Hogwarts, the exhibition then included a section
dedicated to Quidditch, the costumes, the equipment, the brooms,
etc.
Here comes our third and final interactive activity. You get the
opportunity to throw Quaffles through three hoops. Of all the
activities, this one kept us entertained for the most amount of
time, and even boosts your spirits with a little “Ding!” every
time you get a point.
There is a dark, creepy section after that, and I really have to
give myself credit for being a brave girl here. I wasn’t bouncing
for this part, but I did manage to keep my eyes open. There are
statues of dementors, costumes worn by the dark wizards, and
almost all of the Horcruxes.
They even have the dagger that Bellatrix used to stop Dobby. This
confirmed that the exhibition included all seven movies and was
truly complete.
You end the tour in the Great Hall. A major part of this room is
dedicated to the Yule Ball and the visiting schools from Goblet
of Fire, one of the most important appearances of the Great Hall
throughout the series.
There were costumes from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, as well as
the dress robes our main characters don at the Yule Ball. In
display cases located in the middle of the room are many of Fred
and George’s wonderful creations.
The room curves at the end, leading you out to the gift shop, but
not before displaying its most prized possession of the entire
exhibition — the Sword of Godric Gryffindor.
My group got the audio tour included in our package. At the
beginning of your tour, you are given a device resembling a phone
that you can wear around your neck.
Throughout the tour, the artifacts and display cases will have a
number on top of the symbol of an old phonograph. Whenever you
see that symbol, you dial the number into your phone and learn a
few every facts about that artifact.
If you’re planning on doing the tour anytime soon, I highly
recommend adding on the audio tour. It forced my group to take
our time with the exhibition rather than rush through it.
It also provided some extra interesting facts that you don’t get
from the exhibition itself. Did you know that Daniel Radcliffe
was actually allergic to the first pair of glasses they made him
wear? They left red marks around his face and forced the prop
department to design new pairs until they found one he was able
to wear.
Or that each actor has 6 wands made for them, 3 hard wood and 3
rubber, for stunts?
Don’t worry if you haven’t gotten the chance to get there yet—the
exhibition will be there until September 5. I myself am
considering a second go around.
Despite my one complaint, I would declare this one a must-see for
all Potter fans!
Rilian and I battled through the streets on Manhattan to Harry
Potter: The Exhibition. The exhibition opened on April 5, 2011
and is located in the Discovery Times Square Building on 44th
Street.
Absolutely no picture-taking was allowed, which is customary of
the exhibitions there. Instead, I’ll try to give you my best
picture of our experience through words, and I vow to be
perfectly honest.
I would like to say that I walked up to the building as calmly
and civilly as possible, but that would be a lie and I JUST
promised pure honesty.
I was so over-the-top excited that I skipped and bounced my way
into the front lobby, of course causing a slew of onlookers as
well as the embarrassment of the group of people who had dared to
accompany me.
Luckily, I had decided early on that nothing could keep me from
holding back my excitement and my company in turn would just have
to grin and bear it.
After sorting our tickets and finding our way to
the right floor, we made it to the picture
station. Everyone’s tour starts off with a
picture in front of a green screen. They will
later superimpose two images — one of the Great
Hall and one in front of the Hogwarts castle.
You have the opportunity to buy the images in
various shapes and sizes at the end of the tour.
Keep in mind — I was still bouncing from the
exhilaration of the whole situation, but the
crew was certainly ready for the diehard fans.
As I skipped my way over to take my picture, one
dedicated worker mumbled, “Oh my Godric, you guys
are excited.” Well, now I was bouncing even higher.
After taking the picture, they lead one small group at a time
into a room with one stool. Any real fan can tell immediately
that it’s a house sorting.
A female host with a British accent (still debating on whether or
not it was real) called a little boy up to the stage. Donned in a
Gryffindor robe, she asked him what his favorite house was, and
he answered, “Slytherin.” (Of all the houses!!) She then placed
the Sorting Hat on his head, and amazingly he was sorted into
Slytherin!!
She then moved onto a little girl who declared her love for
Ravenclaw (who was then magically sorted into Ravenclaw!) At that
point, I assumed our host was targeting the younger children, so
I sort of gave up any hope that someone in our group would be
picked. Sure enough, she chose another young guest who wanted to
be in Hufflepuff, and the Sorting Hat chose that exact house for
her.
Just when I had given up all hope, the host pointed to our group
standing in the back of the room and asked for one of us to be
sorted!
After trying to persuade Ril to go up on stage (but not for that
long), I dashed to the front and leaped onto the stool. I told
the host that Gryffindor was my favorite house and crossed my
fingers. She then placed the Sorting Hat on my head, while I
mumbled, “Not Slytherin...anything but Slytherin...”
And amazingly enough, I became a Gryffindor!
- All right, I promised to be honest. I’ll let you in
on the secret. They sorted you into whatever house
you claimed to be your favorite. Whatever. I’m still
in Gryffindor either way.
I also guess it would’ve been nice for them to sort
the whole group, especially since everyone paid the
same price.
- However, I was picked, so who cares about everyone
else?
There was a little more fanfare before you actually got to start
looking at artifacts. They show you a video montage of clips of
all seven films, which ends with the sound of a train and leads
you to a model of the Hogwarts Express. Finally, they let you
into the exhibition and your tour officially begins.
Before I describe anything, here is my biggest (and probably
only) complaint about the exhibition. It was solely about the
movies. No mention of J.K. Rowling at all. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Not
a picture. Not a handwritten page. Not one of her many renderings
or drawings of how she pictures this world or the people and
places inside it.
Not that I really feel any pity for her. She’s J.K. Rowling.
She’s richer than the Queen. It’s just a little odd that the
woman behind Harry Potter was not present in Harry Potter: The
Exhibition.
Only good stuff from hereon in...
The artifacts were grouped into rooms, as closely related as
possible. You are not allowed to touch anything with the
exception of the objects in three interactive activities, which
I’ll point out along the way. You start out with life at Hogwarts.
There was a line of costumes that various student characters wear
throughout the seven movies, followed by a display of the boys’
dormitories with Harry and Ron’s four poster beds.
This is followed by tributes to each of the Hogwarts classrooms,
including Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms,
Potions, and Herbology. This brings us to the first of the three
interactive activities.
In the Herbology classroom, they allow you to pull baby mandrakes
out of their pots causing them to whine and scream and cry. This
activity doesn’t take long to complete and is fun for about ten
whole seconds.
But no more complaints, remember?
You travel through Hagrid’s Hut next (like you actually get to
walk through it).
Our second interactive activity appears: Though you are still not
allowed to touch a single thing, you are encouraged to sit in
Hagrid’s giant chair.
Though I did enjoy getting a sense of how tall our half-giant
friend is, it is once again entertaining for a total of a few
seconds. Without the ability to take pictures of you and your
guests in the big chair, it loses some of its charm.
After leaving Hagrid’s Hut, you’re led to believe that you are
outside of Hogwarts. There are statues and models of the many
magical creatures, including Buckbeak! (And Fawkes, though he's
in a different section.)
Though the actions of the creatures that you see in the movies
are simulated through computer animation, the designers still
created life-size models of the animals so that they would have
images to scan into their computers.
Still outside of Hogwarts, the exhibition then included a section
dedicated to Quidditch, the costumes, the equipment, the brooms,
etc.
Here comes our third and final interactive activity. You get the
opportunity to throw Quaffles through three hoops. Of all the
activities, this one kept us entertained for the most amount of
time, and even boosts your spirits with a little “Ding!” every
time you get a point.
There is a dark, creepy section after that, and I really have to
give myself credit for being a brave girl here. I wasn’t bouncing
for this part, but I did manage to keep my eyes open. There are
statues of dementors, costumes worn by the dark wizards, and
almost all of the Horcruxes.
They even have the dagger that Bellatrix used to stop Dobby. This
confirmed that the exhibition included all seven movies and was
truly complete.
You end the tour in the Great Hall. A major part of this room is
dedicated to the Yule Ball and the visiting schools from Goblet
of Fire, one of the most important appearances of the Great Hall
throughout the series.
There were costumes from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, as well as
the dress robes our main characters don at the Yule Ball. In
display cases located in the middle of the room are many of Fred
and George’s wonderful creations.
The room curves at the end, leading you out to the gift shop, but
not before displaying its most prized possession of the entire
exhibition — the Sword of Godric Gryffindor.
My group got the audio tour included in our package. At the
beginning of your tour, you are given a device resembling a phone
that you can wear around your neck.
Throughout the tour, the artifacts and display cases will have a
number on top of the symbol of an old phonograph. Whenever you
see that symbol, you dial the number into your phone and learn a
few every facts about that artifact.
If you’re planning on doing the tour anytime soon, I highly
recommend adding on the audio tour. It forced my group to take
our time with the exhibition rather than rush through it.
It also provided some extra interesting facts that you don’t get
from the exhibition itself. Did you know that Daniel Radcliffe
was actually allergic to the first pair of glasses they made him
wear? They left red marks around his face and forced the prop
department to design new pairs until they found one he was able
to wear.
Or that each actor has 6 wands made for them, 3 hard wood and 3
rubber, for stunts?
Don’t worry if you haven’t gotten the chance to get there yet—the
exhibition will be there until September 5. I myself am
considering a second go around.
Despite my one complaint, I would declare this one a must-see for
all Potter fans!
| Harry Potter: The Exhibition |
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| More Pictures to Come! |
The Ford Anglia dangles above the
entrance to the exhibit space.
entrance to the exhibit space.
|