Harry Potter - The Expo is a must see !! - recap by Irina

Hello lovelies,

It is a fine Sunday evening here and I am sleepy because I almost did an all-nighter reading a book (#acotar, sorry-not-sorry, he he ).

Today I am writing about another event and an absolute “MUST” suggestion for you, especially if you are a Potterhead like me (Before you ask, I am Gryffindor). If somehow it hasn’t reached your ears – “Harry Potter™: The Exposition” is currently in the Netherlands (Utrecht). And if by some chance you still haven’t went there or have been wondering if it is worth your time (and money) – this event recap is all for you.

LUMOS

To start with the practicalities, the Expo is located at the outskirts of Utrecht at a big cinema building (Cinemec) and a regular ticket price is worth the experience if you are a big Harry Potter fan (full price adult ticket is something around 18-20 euros). It can be reached by the city bus, by car and there is a train stop 5 min walking from the building. Prepare yourself for a big amount of people and some waiting in line, but overall, there is enough space and the amount of people is being regulated strictly to reach a balance between people entering and leaving the place. Overall, everything just screams at you “GO GO GO” with the volume of a Mandrake taken out of its pot :D

And after excitedly jumping in one spot and humming the Hedwig song for (let’s say around) 15 minutes (for the horror of the sane person accompanying me) and getting lucky enough to be the last one who was let to pass from a current batch of people (hahaaaa *at the person behind me who had to wait more*) I entered the magical world of our beloved wizards… And the journey began..

The expo is displaying beloved props and costumes from the filmset and I must say it was rich enough to make me gasp every 1.3 seconds and acquire photos with the determination of an Asian tourist (no racism here, just stating facts! They are skilled indeed). And because I can’t keep it absolutely 100% spoiler free as to what you may see there – let’s say that all the important magical objects (both good or evil; singing or screaming; green or red or blue or yellow), beloved creatures (some of which would do anything for a sock), pieces of clothing (from ball dresses to Quidditch robes and *OMG, the material of Voldie’s robe is absolutely stunning (sorry for spoiling, can’t help myself)*) – a lot of it is there for you to see and experience.

The whole journey ends at a props store which to my opinion is the one thing that could have been better presented, even though I still managed to buy a Hogwarts badge (he he, see photo). 

I am including (random I must say) photos as teasers without (hopefully) revealing too much, but still making sure you don’t miss getting excited enough to visit.

And if you really are wondering if you should go – I must say it is worth the money and your time; it is not grand or enormous, but just enough to make you lose yourself in our beloved magical world with the friends and foes we grew up with, far away from our muggle world and far closer to dreams and “entering a world that’s entirely our own”.

NOX

Go and find your magic, lovelies!

Irina :)

>>Check here the official website of the event for tickets and more info 

P.S. If by any chance you feel you miss some Harry Potter goodies in your daily life I took the liberty of (randomly taking Harry Potter merch from the bookstore and moving them so I can make a photo, he he..) choosing those as a suggestion for you from our beloved bookstore – Boekhandel Dominicanen. My personal favourites are the feathers; I promise they are not Umbridge manufactured!!

#saynototorture
#number1vilaininHarryPotterinmyopinion
#stopwiththehashtagsIrina

P.P.S. A big “Thank you” to all of you that I got to meet yesterday and talk books (and how many of you actually bought a copy of “Tales of the Peculiar” based on my suggestion, we sold out all but one copy and I love you all for being that adorable!!). And to those of you who probably have no clue what the “f” I am talking about – I spent 2-3h on Saturday @ Boekhandel Dominicanen talking about YA books, introducing more people to the Dome (and occasionally helping German tourists reaching the Bisschopsmolen bakery or crashing the dreams of people about the release date of the next book of “A Song of Ice and Fire” (more known as “Game of Thrones’) – I am still sorry, lovely random person for that.. Yes, it was great meeting you all, I promise I will do that soon again :)))