Last night I got to go to the Harry Potter Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. This was part of Ethan's birthday present! Nancy came with us, as did Ethan's friend Justin and we had a great time. (Justin is the biggest HP fan I know and this was not his first time going to the exhibit!) It was a bit harrowing getting up there. The traffic was INSANE once we hit the main city limits; I forgot how bad traffic gets on a Friday night in Seattle. Once we got there, the line just to pay for the parking space was making me nervous too. But in the end we got up there and it all went off without a hitch!
I always love being in downtown Seattle. It's not so fun getting there, but once you're there it's a great place to hang out. The Space Needle looked beautiful as usual and so did the arches at PacSci. Sadly, Warner Brothers prohibited ANY type of photography. As I said to someone else, who asked if I had taken any photos, "No way! The Ministry of Magic was all over that place!" The hosts who were walking around all came from the UK with this tour so it was fun to hear them all speaking with accents. It certainly added to the authenticity of the event.
The evening started with the Sorting Hat (of course). Justin QUICKLY raised his hand when they called for volunteers and he was chosen first! He was, as predicted, sorted into Gryffindor House! Then we all moved on past the Hogwarts Express into the main area where all the props and costumes were located. We got to see thousands of props and costumes from the first five films. It was fun recognizing so many different props. But there were many things I didn't remember. Nancy and I agreed that a HP marathon is in order! We wanted so badly to take pictures of things so we'd remember to look for them in the movies.
One of things I'd heard from people was that they were blown away by how tiny the costumes looked. I will second that sentiment! Hermione's costumes looked especially tiny. While Harry's and Ron's seemed to get bigger over the years, hers did not. Her beautiful Yule Ball dress from year 4 (Goblet of Fire) was TEENY TINY... the waist was so small! It's hard to imagine that she fit into it! Harry's and Ron's beds also looked very small to me. By contrast, we got to see the actual costume worn by the actor who was used for Hagrid's body! We had no idea, until a host told us, that a real person wore it! It was HUGE. It really gave us a sense of just how gigantic Hagrid really was. I know that for me personally, while reading the books, it was a bit hard for me to wrap my head around that. I remember in Sorcerer's Stone his hands were described to be the size of "trash can lids" (or "dust bin lids" if you read it as Philosopher's Stone.) Now I can finally "see" it!
I loved seeing it all! Fun, fun, fun and worth every penny!! We were not able to get photos, as I said, but I took some photos of the things Ethan and I got from the gift shop. Let me start by saying that most everything in there was HIGHWAY ROBBERY!!!! They wanted $40 for a Marauder's Map, $45 for a wand (made of plastic, I might add), $28 for a t-shirt and $60 for a hoodie! Now this wasn't a special hoodie or anything... just a typical hoodie that said Harry Potter across the front. CRAZY! Ethan found a quill and ink set for $10 and I told him he could get it. I felt lucky that of all the crazy expensive stuff in there, he soooo badly wanted the $10 item! As for myself, I got a VERY cool mug that has a secret Marauder's Map on it! I'll let you take a look at the pics below to see yourself. The map shows up once you put hot liquid into the cup. I'm currently nursing a cold, so I have plenty of need to use my cool mug for my honey lemon tea. Lucky me!
Thanks Nancy and Justin for coming along... what a fun evening!!
No comments:
Post a Comment