NEW YORK - The boy who lived, first in books, then movies and even in a Florida theme park, has a new magical home - Times Square.
If you loved the books and films, "Harry Potter: The Exhibition" is a portkey to the world behind the movie scenes.
Unlike the replicas of the "Wizarding World" in Orlando, the exhibition showcases more than 200 carefully preserved props, costumes and set pieces - some as small as Hermione's Yule Ball earrings and Quidditch's Golden Snitch, others as large as the Hungarian Horntail dragon's head and Buckbeak the Hippogriff, with its tens of thousands of hand-painted feathers.
Fans in love with the characters dreamed up by J.K. Rowling will find one emotional connection after another - the Sorting Hat, Dobby the house elf, Harry's glasses, Ron Weasley's horrid dress robes, Luna Lovegood's quirky sneakers, Professor Dumbledore's phoenix and Hagrid's magical umbrella.
While there are plenty of "Please Do Not Touch" warnings, a sign next to Hagrid's humongous chair invites visitors to have a seat. And they do, including a family of four who snuggled up in it Saturday.
Like each term at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the tour begins with a Sorting Hat ceremony starring a few excited visitors. There's an interactive herbology class exercise and the chance to toss a Quidditch ball through goalposts.
Because tickets are sold for specific times, no more than 50 to 75 visitors are wandering through the more than 14,000 square feet of the exhibit at one time, said Eddie Newquist, the exhibition company's chief creative officer.
The adult price of admission (25 Muggle dollars) may seem steep. But the answer really depends on how much of a fan you are. The tour ends, as you might expect, in the gift shop, where the prices of wands, wizard's robes and swords make the admission fee look like a bargain. When it closes Sept. 5, it heads off to Europe.
Info: 866-987-9692; http://www.discoverytsx.com/.
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