Guests would be remiss not to snap a photo in Harry's iconic bedroom below the stairs from 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.Photo: ALLEGRIA/Matthias Buchegger
ATLANTA—Unlike Hogwarts, muggles are welcome at Harry Potter: The Exhibition, which is anything but your typical walk-through experience.
The exhibition features more than 20 rooms equipped with gamification features, photo ops, and activities (quick game of Quidditch, anyone?) to keep guests fully immersed in the storyline from start to finish. The Atlanta pop-up also boasts an impressive gift shop and on-site cafe with a themed food and cocktail menu to boot.
Atlanta-based Imagine Exhibitions pulled out all the stops for the 60-to-90-minute event, which has taken over more than 38,000 square feet of the 200 Peachtree building in downtown Atlanta, and so far has drawn Wizarding World fans from all 50 states, plus 44 countries across six continents.
The intricate exhibit took 30 tractor-trailers and a month to bring to life in Atlanta, with production including 40 state-of-the-art projectors, RFID wristband technology, more than 50 authentic props and costumes, and extremely accurate design.
An exhibition of this size is a feat on its own, but to do it for a fanbase as longstanding and loyal as those who’ve followed the bestselling books and film series since the early aughts is arguably an even bigger undertaking. Luckily, Potterheads can rest easy knowing the experience does the famous series justice. Imagine Exhibitions made sure of it, thoughtfully planning out the flow of the exhibition to take guests on a journey through each movie—from the sorting hat where it all began to the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort.
“The story always comes first. No matter what you’re building, it all starts with the story. Hundreds of people, incredibly talented teams, working together to realize a vision that starts with that story,” said Imagine Exhibitions president and CEO Tom Zaller of the exhibition’s extensive planning and production process. “Then we go to a conceptual design. From there, we get into more and more detail, and we select the objects and experiential moments that are going to help tell the story in the best way possible while remaining within our budget and timeline.”
Naturally, Zaller says the biggest challenge his team faced was not being able to include everything. “I wanted to include everything in the world of Harry Potter, but there is only so much physical space and only so much time to make those creative and production decisions. And at the end of the day, there’s only so much budget. You have to make hard choices,” he said.
Even still, the experience includes enough detail and interactive elements to please any fan. Keep scrolling for a glimpse at the space that's open in Atlanta through Feb. 28 (and is popping up in Paris next in April)...
“We chose to use technology, but we didn’t want the technology to come first; we wanted it to be hidden so that you felt surprised and delighted by its inclusion,” said Zaller. “For accuracy, we worked with the foremost experts on the brand to ensure authenticity, and we made sure to check every detail.”
The area also marks the first place in the exhibit where guests can use their RFID wristband technology to earn points for their selected house by tapping their wristband on the designated sensor.
"In the design process, we knew that we wanted to personalize the experience, so we talked about many ways of doing that. We decided that the use of gamification was a nice way to allow a personal connection to each visitor as well as the ability to work together as a team, gain points, and receive customized memories at the end of your experience via a personalized email," said Zaller.
“There are hidden gems for fans of every level. We wanted to design it for the waders, swimmers, and divers—and those divers will certainly be satisfied by those 'easter eggs' that we’ve placed throughout the exhibition,” explains Zaller.
"We wanted to create the most comprehensive touring experience about Harry Potter and the Wizard World that included both props and costumes set in evocative environments that would transport you to relive some of your favorite scenes," said Zaller.
Consider the mission accomplished.
