Random Thursday

Taking a break from my little book of fun facts, here are some fun facts regarding the Harry Potter park!!! I read this article on Yahoo awhile back, here's the link if you want to read it in full! Otherwise, I'll be sharing it here this week and next! 15 Amazing Secrets Hidden Inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter by Kristin Harris is the name of the article!

"1. There's a British red phone booth located right outside the entrance to Diagon Alley. 

If you go inside the phone booth and dial MAGIC (962442), you'll get a message from the Ministry of Magic on the phone. Extra secret: the phone is an exact match to the phone that was used in the movie.

2. Inside the Quality Qudditch Supplies store (where you can buy your very own Quidditch gear!) the trophies on the tops of the shelves are props from the actual Harry Potter movies.

The props manager went through 200 40-foot containers filled with props from the movies where he hand-selected what would be place around Diagon Alley.

3. Even the music you hear is the same from the movie. 

Inside Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (where you can buy ah-mazing novelty toys inspired by the books and films) the music you hear is actually the same music played in the background of the movie when they go into Weasley's store.

4. The Leaky Cauldron has 80 pieces of artwork on the walls that are exact replicas of the art from the films. 

The Leaky Cauldron, the incredible dimly-lit tavern where you can order food inspired by the films, also has luggage placed around that is straight from the set of the Potter movies.

5. The giant dragon that's the centerpiece of Diagon Alley was sculpted by Grim Court, the lead sculptor from the Potter movies. 

The dragon shoots out super-hot flames every 15 minutes, causing everyone in Diagon Alley to stop immediately and snap pics. (It's that cool.)

6. Wizards and witches can cast actual spells throughout Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, with their new life-changing interactive wands. 

When buying a wand, you'll receive a map with 34 marked locations. When you locate the medallions, you must say the spell name and do the wand gesture that's listed to make the magic happen. There are a few secret locations that are unlisted, but if you ask the expert spell-casters nearby, they might show you. Extra secret: If you place your spell map under the black light when inside Knockturn Alley, the shapes of the spells that are written in "invisible ink" will appear.

7. You can even visit the tattoo parlor! 

For the Potter movies, they built the tattoo shop from the books, but it never made it into the films. In Knockturn Alley, they recreated the storefront for the tattoo parlor, featuring all of the props from the movie set—including all of the tattoos and artwork (which are interactive and glow).

8. Inside Borgin and Bourkes in Knockturn Alley, you'll find tons of props from the Potter movies. 

The hat rack that you can see in the window of the store in the movies can be found in the shop, and a little sculpture with nails sticking in him was taken from Lupin's Dark Arts classroom in the movies. Extra secret: if you go up to the Vanishing Cabinet in the store you can hear the bird chirping inside!"

Stay tuned for the rest of the factoids next week!