SnitchSeeker attended the Wizarding World of Harry Potter evening celebration on Wednesday night. 76 photos taken by me exclusively for SnitchSeeker, from the festivities, can be found
here.
The evening started with a stroll down the red carpet, something that was very surreal, considering I'm used to being on the other side of things; interviewing guests, rather than being one myself. Prior to getting there, the weather had been thundery, with a bit of rain, but as I entered Hogsmeade, it stopped and remained dry for the rest of the night.
All around witches and wizards stood in costume (some in waiter garb, others in robes), some serving refreshments, such as the fare served at the Three Broomsticks (treacle fudge, cauldron cakes, apple pie etc...) others providing drinks, including Butterbeer (frozen and regular) and Pumpkin juice. Fairly early on I encountered a witch and wizard couple, who welcomed me to Hogsmeade. The husband enquired as to whether I was muggle, to which I responded, "Yes, I'm afraid you've sniffed me out." He chuckled, "Don't let my wife find out I've been sniffing you!" Being stood not far from him, she heard every word, and dragged the poor fellow into Honeydukes, telling him off on the way. Another couple came along soon after and asked if they could help take a photo. They seemed bemused by the technology ("The pictures don't move!") and were enthusiastic about the muggle tradition of saying 'Cheese!' before every shot.
Shortly after, the special guests started arriving on the red carpet. First David Barron and David Heyman, followed by Warwick Davis and his family. Then came Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright, Tom Felton and James & Oliver Phelps. Along the way, they all stopped to do interviews, pose for photographs and sign autographs for lucky contest winners. Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint brought up the rear, but not before J.K. Rowling whizzed by, with her husband, skipping the media and going straight in (where she spoke to the children).
Going further into Hogsmeade, witches and wizards were on hand, giving out wands, which would turn out to be vital for later on in the ceremony. Towards Hogwarts itself, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra were sat on a stage, with the castle shrouded in darkness. As everybody gathered around to wait for the show to start, David Heyman and J.K. Rowling walked by, again, headed for the platform by the Hogwarts gates. A choir, made up of Hogwarts students (from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw), armed with giant toads, assembled at the front of the stage. Students from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang marched through the middle of the crowd, holding school flags.
Back on the stage, Warwick Davis addressed the crowd and led the students in a rendition of Hogwarts March (from the
Goblet of Fire score), followed by Something Wicked This Way Comes (from the
Prisoner of Azkaban score). They then dispersed and John Williams took to the conductor's stand, waving to the crowd as he did so. The orchestra played Harry's Wonderous World, from the
Philosopher's Stone score.
Shortly afterwards, a horn could be heard. The Knight Bus pulled up at the front platform, with Bonnie Wright, Tom Felton, James & Oliver Phelps, Matthew Lewis and Michael Gambon inside. Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint arrived via the (non-flying) Ford Anglia. With the wands that had been handed out earlier, the crowd was instructed by Dan to cast 'lumos' in order to light up the castle. The attempts proved futile so instead he told us to cast 'lumos maxima'.
As I did so, the wand I was holding in my hand lit up, as did the castle. The orchestra began playing once more as projections of the Harry Potter characters (from the entire film series) appeared on the castle walls, along with dementors and dragons. Fireworks lit up the entire park, in all the colours of the rainbow, in time to the music. I stood in awe, watching, drinking it all in, the stupidest grin on my face and tears in my eyes. Those minutes were truly both emotional and magical, seeing the castle as it is described in the books, in person, lit up against the dark night sky.
As if that moment couldn't get any better, it was announced that we were all to go on the Forbidden Journey - according to our schedules for the week, this wasn't supposed to happen until Thursday afternoon. So you can imagine the excitement as everybody rushed forward and queued up, eager to get inside the castle and experience it for themselves. The ride was really aerobatic, with scary real-life elements (a dragon, spiders, the whomping willow and dementors) combined with immersive videos (Harry, Ron & Draco playing quidditch, Hermione guiding you, Hagrid asking you a question and finally Hogwarts students & professors cheering your return) that made you feel like you were really living the story. I have to confess, the first time it was almost too scary for me, and though I saw bits of everything, I did have my eyes closed for the vast majority of it (however, that was not my last go on the ride)!
Both exhilirated and exhausted, I headed to the Three Broomsticks for a quick Pumpkin Juice and Cauldron cake before heading back to the hotel for the night.
SnitchSeeker still has more to come from last week, including press conferences with the Harry Potter cast and crew, daytime photos from the park and a report on Friday's opening ceremony!
SnitchSeeker attends Wizarding World of Harry Potter evening celebration 
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And hearing John Williams play Harry's Wondrous World would've made me tear up...I absolutely love it. It always makes me feel gushy inside. 
Someone would have been in trouble...
it all!
