Harry Potter: the Exhibition Fan Report!

When you first walk into the museum, the Flying Ford Anglia is sitting in the main lobby. You can take pictures of it and stand next to the huge "Harry Potter: The Exhibition" sign. Then you head upstairs to where the exhibit is located. You can buy an audio component that has an introduction by David Heyman, and then throughout the exhibit you can listen to the stories behind the artifacts. Then you enter (I think they said that they were letting groups in every 7 1/2 minutes).

You walk through a tunnel and then go into a room and some people get to try on the sorting hat and get sorted. The man who holds the hat asks you which house is your favorite, and then you end up getting sorted into that house (we couldn't figure out how he did that... but we got sorted into Gryffindor). Then two big, wooden doors open and you move into a room and watch some clips from the movies. After those are finished, you head into a room where the Hogwarts Express is. The effects in that room are really nice, the lights are almost completely off, except for the light on the train, and there is smoke floating around in the room. Then you are headed into the first room of the exhibit: the common rooms.

You get to see the beds that they use in the films, the robes that the kids wear, the trunks that they bring to school, their wands and the school books. Some of my favorites were: the Maurader's Map, Harry's glasses, the parchment where all the members of the DA signed, the "I must not tell lies" parchment and the Gryffindor common room notice board. After the common room, you walk into a makeshift Hagrid's hut where you see some props from his hut, including the dragon's egg from Sorcerer's Stone, and all the different animal cages that he has. You are also allowed to sit in his huge chair, the one that the trio sat in during the first film. Then you move into the different classes at Hogwarts, potions, DADA, herbology and divination. You get to see the different cauldrons used in the potions classrooms, as well as professor Slughorn's costume and wand from the upcoming movie. You can also see the crystal balls, Professor Lockhart's fanmail and costume, and there is even a section devoted to Umbridge. There was a part when they allowed you to pull on the mandrakes, and they would scream.

Here's one more account - wow, this exhibit's a must see!

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