Any Other Potter Fans?

I’ve been a Harry Potter fan since I was 10 years old… so, naturally, when I saw that Fossil had a limited edition Harry Potter automatic watch, I had to buy one.

I’ve been a Potter fan since I was 10 years old. At that point the books had been out for a couple years and the third book had just come out. A few friends read the books, but I was resistant to yet another fantastical book series - I never did like the Narnia books or anything like that as a kid.

That year we had a girl from England in my class, Hannah Langton. Her family had come to the US for a few years for her dad’s job… one day, for some reason, her father came into our class during our hour long reading session (it was 4th grade so every day we had time allocated to read). He decided to read us Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, complete with his authentic British accent. He made it about four chapters in before time was up, but that’s all it took. I was hooked.

My dad went out and bought me the first book the next day. Seeing how quickly I was making it through that book, he came home a few days later with the second and third book, and around that time the fourth came out. The following year the first movie came out, and that pretty much solidified my fascination with the wizarding world. I’d re-read all the books prior to reading the next book that was released, and I would do the same with the movies. I’m a bit old for the robes, wands, and other memorabilia that are sold now, but boy if I was an 11 year old kid I would have a field day! But I digress…

A few years ago it came to my attention that there was a new book out with a play to go along with it. However it was broken out into two separate plays, with tickets to each costing around $170. With my wife having no interest in Harry Potter, I couldn’t justify $680 for the four tickets.

Well, for Christmas my wife surprised me with tickets to the play, which has been condensed into one show post-COVID. As it turns out, there is also a Harry Potter exhibition going on in NYC until February.

So yesterday we drove into Manhattan, as we do monthly for one thing or another, ready for a whole day of Potter activities. I should add that my wife has watched all the movies in the past week so that she would be able to partake in the fun too. We started off in the morning at the flagship store near the Flat Iron building - my second favorite piece of architecture in New York after the Chrysler building.

It was fun roaming around the store again (I have dragged my wife there once before), the temptation to buy a wand or other trinket is always high. But then my logic kicks in and I ask myself what the heck I would do with a prop replica of a wand. So instead we participated in a scavenger hunt in which you have to find twelve movie props hidden throughout the store, and then stopped at the Butterbeer bar for a drink.

After a quick lunch at Eataly - no, it doesn’t quite fit in with a day full of magic… unless a prosciutto di Parma sandwich from one of the best Italian markets in the area is your idea of magical - we visited the exhibition in NYC.

The Harry Potter Experience was great. There were tons of activities for kids, which made me feel a bit old and awkward - think of visiting the Liberty Science Center as a childless adult. But I did enjoy seeing and reading about more movie costumes and props, such as this robe worn by Voldemort upon his return in the Goblet of Fire movie… perhaps in my next life I’ll be a set designer or costume designer, because this is really fascinating stuff to me.

For dinner, my wife found a wonderfully authentic British pub to visit. Their beer selection on tap was delicious.

And their selection of pub food was fantastic, such as Bangers and Mash, or Fish and Chips. Next time I’ll have to try the Shepherd’s Pie.

After some great food and plenty of beer, it was time for the main event. I’ve been wanting to see this play since 2018, and I was all prepared with my new Harry Potter Fossil watch.

All in all, yesterday was a fun experience to have with my wife, and it made me feel like a kid again. I’ve got no idea when to wear this watch again, but I’m sure when I do it will be another magical experience.