A first look at the incredibly immersive Harry Potter exhibit in NYC
Muggles, take note: You won’t need to travel through Platform 9¾ to get to Hogwarts. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is right here in New York City for a limited time!
The touring show, “Harry Potter: The Exhibition,” is finally opening this week on Friday, May 19 in Herald Square, and it’s going transport you.
NYC has had its share of Harry Potter experiences, from the one in 2011 at Discovery Times Square, to the interactive games at the Harry Potter Store in Flatiron and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway.
This one, however, is different in that it is more than a display of props and costumes. Through the use of dramatic lighting, set design, interactive technology and even scent, the exhibit will make you feel like you are actually there—in Hagrid’s hut, in potions class, dining in the Great Hall, learning how to fight the dark arts, fighting the Battle of Hogwarts and more.
RECOMMENDED: A first look at the world’s largest Harry Potter Store
Time Out New York was given a sneak peek of the exhibit on Thursday ahead of the Friday opening. And without giving it all away, we’ll walk you through what to expect when you “enroll” in Hogwarts this summer.
1. Moments come alive
Unlike previous exhibits, where visitors walk from room to room looking at displays of props and costumes set in static galleries, this exhibition showcases favorite moments from the movies all around you. Instead of something you just look at, it’s something you see, learn about, play with, sit down in and even smell.
Room after room, you’re not just looking at the actual props and costumes used in the movies from Warner Brothers, but you’re learning how they were chosen and made, seeing them in context within incredibly built sets, and you’re able to touch and be within the Wizarding settings. The show even pumps in specific scents across the galleries, from a wood-burning scent in Hagrid’s hut to an intriguing perfume in Professor Trelawney’s divination class.
“We are billed as the most comprehensive and largest touring exhibit in the world,” says Tom Zaller, the CEO of Imagine Exhibitions, which is behind the exhibit. “We want you to feel like you’re in it and set in the environment. We want you to feel like you’re making a potion in the potions classroom.”
It’s not just displays and it’s not just screens. It’s both and more.
“We took all the little spaces and made great big moments,” Zaller added.
2. You can have a somewhat personalized experience
Part of the experience is feeling like you are a student at Hogwarts yourself and to do that, the exhibit uses RFID technology. Every visitor signs into the experience (yes, you get to choose your house and patronus) gets a bracelet that they can tap on various touchpoints. In the Sorting Hat room, you get to digitally try on the hat and see your house come up. In the Marauders Map room, you get to see your name pop up on the map. You can practice your wand skills and your potion-making and get points toward your House and also fight off a Boggart. Before you leave, you see how many points your House scored during your visit and get a recap of your experience via email later.
3. You get to walk in the trio’s shoes
Throughout the experience, you’re hearing the music and clips from the movies while in the places they happen. You almost feel like you’re going through it with Harry, Ron and Hermione. That means you get to see the paintings come alive in the Hogwarts Castle Gallery, get sorted, look into a crystal ball in Professor Trelawney’s classroom, visit Hagrid’s Hut, play a basketball-like Quidditch game, walk into the Forbidden Forest, try your Patronus charm out, and actually sit at tables in the Great Hall with floating candles, where so much news is told to students over the films.
4. There are countless photo opps
6. You can learn about behind-the-scenes choices
And, of course, with so many props and costumes to see, there are ample opportunities to learn about why certain fabrics were used or how the costume and prop departments made things.
And if you want to take a piece of the Wizarding World with you, the exhibit has a gift shop full of “bespoke” merchandise specifically made for this show that you cannot get elsewhere, from fashion to home goods and more.
“Harry Potter: The Exhibition” opens on May 19 at 50 West 34th Street (34th Street and Broadway). Tickets are on sale now through October and start at $29 for adults. The exhibition also offers a VIP ticket experience with a flex schedule, a commemorative lanyard, free access to the “Harry Potter: The Exhibition” Audio Guide and a $10 credit to spend in the retail store.
