TheDailySnitcher

Staffer Diana Katz attended the preview press day of Harry Potter: The Exhibitionon Wednesday, April 29th; below is her report and the Q&A session from the round table discussion.

Enjoy! :)

So how do you put something like Harry Potter: The Exhibition into words. I can't even think of the words to describe such an experience. I must admit that with the last book being released a while back and Half-Blood Prince being pushed until July….my personal interest in the Harry Potter world has declined. But going to The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry on April 29th has reminded me why I love the world of Harry Potter so much.

The first place we walk into we are greeted by a “professor” who welcomes us and sorts volunteers into houses. They have a small platform with a stool on it and they place the hat on your head and lo and behold you are sorted just like in the movie. It was fun and I can see a lot of the fans getting into this.

After the sorting we are escorted into a dark room with all the movie posters on the walls with two empty screens, which I can only assume is for the new HBP posters (and later find this out to be true). The posters disappear and a montage of all the previous HP films begins and I start to feel the excitement in me grow. At the end you hear a train sound and “windows” from the train fly past your vision. To my left a door opens and I am blinded by a light – the front light to the Hogwarts Express (not the real one but it worked for me). Fog fills the air and I see a glimmer of a lantern in the distance. That’s when I hear a woman welcoming us to Hogwarts. It was like a dream come true. It was like you just got off the train and were going to Hogwarts. I was in love already and couldn’t wait for it to start.

I can’t even go into all the props, creatures and costumes on display. It was like a sensory overload at first just taking it all in. I am only going to cover what stood out to me because otherwise this review would be way too long and if you get a chance to go, I want you to enjoy it all like I did. The curators explained how it was set up from arriving at Hogwarts, going to your common room, attending classes, hanging out with a friend (Hagrid), heading into the dark forest and finally ending up in the Great Hall.  Â

One of the first things I look at is the Gryffindor common room beds. Standing there and looking at the beds and costumes “standing” there I just can’t believe how it looks. It’s like I am really there. The red tapestries hanging on the bed posts. The neatly made bed for Harry and the disheveled patch worked quilt for Ron. The books and quills. It was all just so strategically placed, it was just so amazing. Ron’s trunk was there displaying his Chudley Cannon’s autographed shirt, the howler his mother sent him, multiple books on quidditch and his broken wand. In Harry’s trunk there is the love potion chocolate box from the new film, marauder’s map, his glasses, acceptance letter into Hogwarts and the photo album Hagrid gave him. In the center of it all is the Golden Egg.

I loved the detail that was put into this whole experience. Hanging above is chandeliers with flicker lights to set the mood. Music and scenes from the movies play all around you completely enveloping you. As I was staring at Buckbeak I could smell the dirt and moss on the ground – when I walked into Hagrid’s hut the floor creaked like old wood and his stain glass windows exactly how they do in the films. My favorite detail was by the Angle of Death gravestone where Harry is trapped for Voldemort in Goblet of Fire. As I am standing there and admiring the set work I hear a whisper in my left ear. I can’t make out what it is but when I listen closely it is Voldemort talking, “You’re a fool Harry Potter, and you will loose everything”. It sent chills through me. I was in complete awe.

One think that I laughed at was when I caught a first glimpse of Umbridge’s desk. The whole set area surrounding is washed in pink light - it literally glows pink. And the greatest detail here was that if you look at the plates lining the walls on the right hand side, second from the bottom, the kitten is missing. 

I was really excited to see Voldemort’s robe from GOF. It was so simple and yet beautiful. I even loved that they had a small breeze on it so that it seemed to flow like it did when he walked. It really gave you the sense of it being alive almost. And for some reason I was shocked to find it had more of a green tone then I thought….that or my memory has gone bad.

The last part of the exhibit is the Great Hall. A fitting end. You walk right past the proclamations and through giant gold doors into a room filled with floating candles and amazing sites. In the center is a long school table filled with prop food and sweets. Here is a quick tour of this huge room:

To the right are Percy & Fudge’s dress suits, sweets galore from Honeydukes, a Quidditch board game, Fred & George’s school robes, a life size Fawkes, Dumbledore and McGonagall’s dress robes from the Yule Ball. You can spot Dobby hiding behind Dumbledore’s professor robe, Tonk’s & Sirius’s outfits from OOT. Cho, Cedric, Ron, Harry, Hermione and Krum’s dress outfits from the Yule ball, Krum, Fleur and Cedric’s Common wear outfits. The paper entry slips for the Triwizard Tournament, Rita Skeeter notepads and quills, Potter Stinks and more badges. And the best thing I find in this room is the Triwizard Cup which is really ornate and detailed – I want it for my home.

There are also two hands on experiences at the exhibit – and you are encouraged to do them. Pulling a mandrake – simple but fun, and they even scream and wail like they should. No one passed out though. Also tossing Quaffle, there are three hoops that you toss a quaffle through. It reminded me of those basketball games you find at carnivals. I really liked this game, even though I wasn’t on a broom, just holding and tossing the quaffle was a great feeling.

As for souvenir’s you can buy – well honestly anything you can think of they have it. The gift shop is cramped but set up like a store you would find in Hogsmeade. They even had some new candy and Bertie Bott’s beans (which I thought were no longer available). They do have some items specifically made for the exhibition that have Harry Potter: The Exhibition written on them and are only available there.

I was asked to emphasize one thing. If you are going to go to the exhibit – which I recommend fully – purchase your tickets online in advance before you go!! Tickets have been bought from all 50 states in the US and Canada. They couldn’t give us numbers but from how they were talking I would expect big crowds. And I, as well as they, do not want people driving/flying in from all over the place and then find out that there are no tickets available.Â

I promise if you go to Harry Potter: The Exhibition you will not be disappointed. I drove 6 hours from Cleveland hoping that it was going to be worth it, and I am completely ecstatic that I went and got this opportunity to do so. It truly is a one of a kind experience and I hope that many people get to enjoy it as much as I did.

Q&A Session

Q:Â Do we have any idea of what some of the other cities are where the exhibit might be going?

A: We have a lot of ideas but I cannot reveal them yet. So what I can say is there are many many institutions all over the world that we are speaking to and we’ll be announcing the next venue in the coming weeks.

Q:Â With each ticket is there a time limit for how long you have in the exhibit?

A: No, we’ve kind of watched people as they’ve gone through and seen how they’ve been enjoying themselves and that kind of thing and so we’ve got a sense for about how much time people will spend, but no there’s not a limit. Again we want people to enjoy it we want people to go in and experience it.

Q:Â After you do the tour do you think there is going to be a permanent location for the exhibit?

A: You know that has not been discussed so I would not have any insight into that. I know that in my mind, the permanent location is always back home with Leavesden but really I have no insight into that.
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