Despite being a wet afternoon in New York City, hundreds of Harry Potterheads who could use a little magic right now stood on line for the grand opening of Harry Potter New York.
Inclement weather wasn’t enough to keep fans away from the franchise’s first US flagship, as seen in dozens of Twitter photos showing lines wrapping around the block Thursday.
“Note, also waiting in line in the pouring rain for the Harry Potter store to allow you admittance is not what I’d ideally like to be doing right now. I have only about 3 more hours to go. Possibly. It may be double that,” one fan tweeted.
Located at 935 Broadway in the Flatiron District, the shop is three stories and over 20,000 square feet of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts swag.
Harry Potter New York will be open Mondays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Warner Bros. announced the store based on author J.K. Rowling’s books back in April. The shop includes 15 distinct areas of Harry Potter New York, including a large-scale statue of Fawkes the Phoenix that lords over the entrance — an NYC exclusive that was handcrafted by a team of custom propmakers, who prepared a number of unique features throughout the store.
There are also plenty of photo ops for Potterheads looking to add some magic to their Instagram feeds. Fans can take photos in the London phone box where they can be transported back to the Ministry of Magic headquarters. Wand engraving, house robe embroidery and other personalized sacraments of sorcery will also be available. All told, more than 1,000 Wizarding World props will be on display, many of which were used in the films.
Plus, there’s a number of virtual reality stations to give visitors the experience of flying, as well as an up-close look at the enchanting Hogwarts campus.
For fans hungry for more, there’s signature snacks usually found only at Diagon Alley, such as Honeydukes’ Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and the magician’s staple brew, Butterbeer, for sale.
