Still waiting on your Hogwarts letter? The wait is over. Platform Nine and Three-Quarters isn’t only a relic of the films: You can make your own visit right in downtown Dallas. After over twenty years since its first film premiere, the magic of Harry Potter still mesmerizes fans all around the world. Featuring behind-the-scenes information with authentic props and costumes from the movie, ‘Harry Potter: The Exhibition’ landed in downtown Dallas to welcome both original Harry Potter fans and those who are new to experiencing the Hogwarts World. ‘Harry Potter: The Exhibition’ is an ongoing worldwide travelling exhibition, known for recreating iconic scenes and welcoming visitors with interactive games and experiences. Currently on view in Dallas, the exhibition launched on Oct. 24, 2025 and will end on Apr. 12, 2026.
Upon arriving at the exhibition, visitors are greeted with the golden snitch wristband that officially lets them into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. The wristband records their name and Harry Potter-specific information, including their Hogwarts House, magic wand, magical pet and patronus. This information is later employed in the interactive games visitors complete throughout the gallery of more than 20 rooms—from brewing potions, potting a mandrake to casting magical spells.
Every room features a different part of Hogwarts, and visitors are required to scan their personalized golden snitch wristband to enter each room. After passing through Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, visitors step into the first room, where the first North American edition of ‘Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone’ book published in 1998 is featured, along with a luggage trolley used by Daniel Radcliffe in the movie. Fun fact: The trolley was acquired at a flea market by the set designer of the film!
Regardless of whether you are a dedicated Potterhead or just a muggle, this phrase is one that everyone can recognize: ‘I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good.’ In the Marauder’s Map room, staff test visitors’ Harry Potter knowledge with three questions: a spell to reveal the Marauder’s Map, a spell to conceal it and a spell that Harry uses to repel dementors. Once they pass the Harry Potter pop quiz, they will see their names appear on the screen of the Marauder’s Map. The map is also followed by the movie clip of Harry secretly roaming around the Hogwarts hallways.
Every room features different parts of the house along with fan-favorite video clips directly from the movie as well, making the experience all the more immersive and engaging.
From this point forward, it’s officially all about the Hogwarts school experience. Visitors step fully into student life at Hogwarts—from their Hogwarts House common rooms to classes they can attend at Hogwarts. Upon entering the Hogwarts House, they get to take a closer look at each house’s costumes, props and details, alongside the actual sorting hat from the movie and each house’s flag with stained glass windows. The highlight of this room, in my opinion, was viewing the actors’ authentic wardrobes, including Harry, Ron and Hermione’s. At the photo station, visitors can take a picture with an on-screen sorting hat on top of their head and earn 10 points for their Hogwarts House.
Next up: The Great Hall. Its iconic architectural elements—such as floating candles near the ceiling and long tables with elegant utensils—emanate a cozy yet grand atmosphere, and visitors optimize their experience by standing next to Professor McGonagall’s figure and enjoying the wintry backdrop. From there, visitors go through all the distinct classrooms, from Potions, Divination, the Herbology greenhouse to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Each room offers hands-on experiences, including casting spells with the wand they chose in the beginning, potting a mandrake and using their digital wand to defeat a boggart.
Deeper into the exhibition lies Hagrid’s Hut and the Forbidden Forest, where visitors summon their patronus charm, experience the forest’s darkness and meet centaurs. The overall exhibition employs a multi-sensory design for each room and experience; this plays a key role in maximizing the visitors’ experience at Hagrid’s Hut, where each antique piece of furniture is woven together with a distinct aroma mixed with woodsmoke, tea and stacks of grass and hay. This altogether presents the visitors with a sense of coziness and mystery that makes it hard for them to leave.
One of the most interactive experiences across the entire exhibition awaits in the Quidditch room, where Harry’s first broomstick, the Triwizard Tournament cup and Quidditch uniforms worn by the actors are displayed. After extensive viewing, visitors finally get to stretch their bodies by scoring points for their house through a ball-toss game. Every time the ball goes into the hoop, it produces a different musical pitch, an additional sensory element in enriching the playful Quidditch experience.
Beyond the Hogwarts classrooms and other spots popular among Hogwarts students, there are also multiple specialized rooms, including the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge’s pink-hued office, the Cupboard Under the Stairs and the Horcrux room. Among these rooms toward the end of the exhibition, the Cupboard Under the Stairs, in particular, offers a unique photo moment for visitors, where they can squeeze into Harry’s childhood claustrophobic bedroom in the Dursleys’ house. Moreover, for those extremely rare Voldemort’s fans (this is, after all, a judgment-free zone), the Horcrux room showcases Voldemort’s robe, Tom Riddle’s Diary, Marvolo’s Gaunt Ring, Slytherin’s Locket and more. After visitors travel through all of these rooms, the exhibition finally concludes, leaving them with amazement and excitement from all of the interactive games and immersive experiences of Hogwarts. At the very end of the gallery is a merchandise store, where visitors can secure their magical keepsakes, including house apparel, jewelry and edible treats like chocolate frogs and butterbeer.
On the whole, the exhibition succeeds in providing visitors with a rich, detailed experience of the wizarding world through meticulous details of movie scene recreation as well as a series of authentic costumes. In particular, the chronological structure of the exhibition played a key role in building an immersive experience: starting from the Platform and Hogwarts House to various magic classes and the Horcrux room enabled visitors to live through Harry’s journey from start to end.
Moreover, the sensory elements and interactive games in between the rooms further elevated the experience by making it feel more three-dimensional and detail-oriented to visitors. That said, based on my experience of the exhibition, the final section where niche rooms, like Umbridge’s office, Ministry of Magic and Harry’s Cupboard are located, felt slightly rushed and cramped compared to other sections of the exhibition. Additionally, after the first couple of months since its launch, most of the Gryffindor merchandise has sold out, which could turn away some Gryffindor fans. Still, the exhibition is well worth both the price and time for anyone wanting to go back to the time when you were first drawn to Harry Potter and for devoted Potterheads seeking new ways to celebrate their fandom. The exhibition closes in April, so head to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters now and catch the train! As any Hogwarts student knows, the platform won’t wait forever.
