Calling all wizards, witches and muggles! Harry Potter: The Exhibition enters its last week in Atlanta

Harry Potter: The Exhibition is about to head into its final week here in Atlanta before it closes on April 16. The exhibition is an immersive experience located in Downtown Atlanta that allows fans to interact with the Wizarding World. With props and costumes directly from the set to interactive experiences that bring you even closer to this world than you’d ever been before, this exhibit certainly doesn’t fail to bring the magic.

The world built by J.K. Rowling has grown well beyond the original book series, giving fans so many opportunities to immerse themselves— from the Wizarding World website (formerly known as Pottermore) where fans can get sorted into their houses, to the recreation of the physical world in Universal Studios. So how does a traveling exhibit bring a new side to this rich and growing narrative?

As someone who has had experience with the world in more ways than one, I was really excited to see what this exhibit had in store. I confidently say, it did not disappoint.

When you first walk into the former department store now turned Wizarding World space, your greeted by a member of staff and given an RFID wristband. This wristband is key to personalizing this experience and really making yourself feel as though you’re part of this world. I began by filling out my profile that was linked to the bracelet by picking my Hogwarts house, Patronus and preferred wand to use at specific activation points in the exhibit.

After filling out my profile and getting a picture taken, I was welcomed into the Wizarding World. The first space I walked into was a giant screen projecting a Marauder’s Map. I tapped my wristband on the machine by the door and walked up to the screen to find my name pop-up alongside my fellow Potterheads who were in the experience with me.

We were then guided into the next room of the experience, where we passed down a hallway of moving portraits and were welcomed into the room known as houses, a detailed exhibit on all the Hogwarts houses. This included stained glass windows with each houses’ crest, costumes from notable characters in each of these houses and even a chance to take a photo with an AR sorting hat that is then saved onto your RFID memories.

The rooms that followed in this first part of the exhibit were dedicated to intimately recreating the different rooms of the Hogwarts castle. One moment you’d walk through the Great Hall where candles hung from the ceiling and McGonagall’s costume from the film would be on display right next to it, the next you’d walk through different classes to cast your own Defense Against the Dark Arts spells or even make your own vile of liquid luck. Careful, you don’t want it to explode in Seamus Finnigan’s face.

Even the smallest details in this display were inspired by the stories on the screen, and put together in a way where you as the fan can experience every part of the narrative from one room to the next. You’re brought into this world as though you’re a character in the story but interacting with the technology and adding to the narrative by accumulating points for your house.

Different rooms took deeper dives into characters in the universe, such as the Death Eaters and other dark wizards. A whole room was dedicated to the Triwizard tournament where the actual cup from the film was on display. This narrative expanded to tell the story of so many other characters beyond the “Harry Potter” narrative—this included the “Fantastic Beast” films and “the Cursed Child” musical.

The whole exhibit wraps up in the Pensieve room where fans can look back at clips from the film showing the moments they just got to live through. These memories can be saved with printed photos and an extensive gift shop.

As I mentioned earlier, the Wizarding World is such a rich environment that has been brought to life in more ways than one. When I sat down to speak with Imagine Exhibitions CEO, Tom Zaller, I was even more in awe of the experience, hearing the behind-the-scenes stories of how it came to be. “One of the things we wanted to do was make it communal,” Zaller mentioned when talking about his goal for this project. “What I’ve specialized in over the years is taking the experience to others.”

Zaller has worked in this industry for 25 years and has created many well-known experiences. The goal for his team was to create an experience that is more than just an interactive display with new kinds of technology to enhance the story. “The world of ‘Harry Potter’ lends itself so well to this type of experience,” says Zaller, “I think one of the things that we’re able to do was create some more intimate moments.” What the Imagine Exhibition team has created with this exhibit is a personal experience for each fan to put themselves in a scene or moment that they admired on the screen and be a part of this story in a way that has never been done before.

The last day to view the exhibit in Atlanta is April 16, before they pack up and open their new location in New York City. Unless you’d like to ride your broomsticks, or perhaps travel through the Floo Network, I would highly recommend catching the exhibit during its final week here in Georgia.

Click here to find out more information or book tickets!