‘Harry Potter: The Exhibition’ casts a polished spell in Denver

The South Broadway attraction brings Harry Potter props, costumes, games and immersive rooms to Denver.

Denver is having a very Harry Potter summer. Between the touring production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that swung through the DCPA, the Colorado Symphony’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone concerts on June 20-21, an upcoming drone show and now Harry Potter: The Exhibition on South Broadway, the franchise has been hard to avoid.

That saturation also comes with baggage. J.K. Rowling’s public anti-trans politics have made every new Harry Potter project a more complicated invitation, and and local LGBTQ+ critics have argued that fans should think twice before spending money on franchise events.

The exhibition does not resolve that tension. What it does offer, for those still willing to enter the wizarding world, is a polished, generous, impressively detailed and clearly designed to delight both children and adults who grew up waiting for their Hogwarts letter.

The Great Hall inside Harry Potter: The Exhibition. | Photo: Toni Tresca

Opening-day magic

I attended the exhibition on Friday, June 26, and was surprised to find a line stretching outside the former Ace Hardware at 417 S. Broadway. The building has previously housed DCPA Off-Center theatrical projects (before they closed their original immersive programming arm), but this was the first time I saw it buzzing with such excitement. Fans arrived in robes, house scarves and Potter-themed outfits, ready to be among the first through the doors.

Outside, the venue announces itself with Harry Potter: The Exhibition signage and windows covered in a starry backdrop with the Hogwarts house crests. Inside, a large photo-ready display frames a golden snitch near the entrance. Before the ribbon was cut, Mark Lach of Imagine Exhibitions gathered several young “little wizards” to help open the attraction, noting that the Denver edition includes 25 galleries, 25,000 square feet of experiences and more than 100 authentic props and costumes from the films.

On Friday, June 26, Harry Potter: The Exhibition opened with a ribbon cutting. | Photo: Toni Tresca

The pre-show is the weakest stretch. Guests begin in a queue lined with concept art, including sketches of Hagrid, Harry and the goblins of Gringotts, before being offered a photo that can be purchased at the end.

A first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone sits inside a Gringotts-inspired vault, and luggage belonging to James Sirius Potter is displayed nearby. Visitors are encouraged to enter their names into a digital kiosk before a guide goes over some trivia and encourages everyone to shout “Alohomora” to unlock the door to the next part of the exhibition, which is a room with the Marauder’s Map spread across the floor and walls.

It is cute, but a little hokey. At first, I worried the whole thing might lean more toward a branded waiting room than a fully built experience. Luckily, once the exhibition gets past its crowd-control setup, it finds its footing quickly.

The Marauder’s Map room in Harry Potter: The Exhibition. | Photo: Toni Tresca

Props & costumes & house points, oh my!

Guests exit the Marauder’s Map room and enter the moving portrait hallway, where figures move and interact with visitors. The first major room centers on the Sorting Hat, where guests can choose or confirm their Hogwarts house. I came in as a Slytherin and saw no reason to defect.

Around the room, each house gets its own display of costumes, props and behind-the-scenes information. Gryffindor has the sword. Ravenclaw has Luna Lovegood’s costume and a copy of The Quibbler. Slytherin includes Draco Malfoy’s costume alongside Cursed Child pieces tied to Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter. Hufflepuff gets Cedric Diggory’s robes.

People look at costumes and props inside Harry Potter: The Exhibition. | Photo: Toni Tresca

From there, the exhibition moves through a satisfying buffet of recreated locations. The Great Hall comes with floating candles, of course. The wand shop, Dark Arts classroom, Potions, Divination and Herbology rooms each include interactive tasks, usually through digital kiosks paired with physical set pieces. Hagrid’s hut is built for photos, the Forbidden Forest provides a darker change of atmosphere and the Triwizard Tournament section includes a life-sized dragon, the Triwizard Cup and the Golden Egg.

The entrance to Hagrid’s Hut in Harry Potter: The Exhibition. | Photo: Toni Tresca

The Quidditch room is one of the clearest kid magnets, with brooms for photo ops and a game that lets visitors throw balls through golden hoops. Later, a portkey sequence sends guests into the wider Wizarding World, where the exhibition expands to Fantastic Beasts with Newt Scamander’s case, Eddie Redmayne’s costume and key props from that series.

That balance between artifact and activity is the exhibition’s greatest strength. Kids rushed from station to station, eager to earn house points, pull mandrakes and play mini games. Adults lingered over the costumes, props and wall text, which offered a closer look at the craft behind the films: the handmade details, distressed fabrics, buttons, lace, scorch marks and production choices that can disappear onscreen.

The interactive potions game. | Photo: Toni Tresca

A fan experience first

Not every room lands with the same force. The digital games are fun, but they are clearly built for children and superfans who want to collect points more than for casual museumgoers. The Fantastic Beasts material, while handsomely displayed, does not carry the same charge as the Hogwarts rooms. And anyone with little attachment to the franchise may wonder why they are spending this much time looking at robes, wands and fake textbooks.

Still, the craft is strong throughout. The Ministry of Magic section includes a recreation of Dolores Umbridge’s aggressively pink office, complete with costume and photo opportunity. Privet Drive lets visitors squeeze into Harry’s cupboard under the stairs in the Dursleys’ house. The Chamber of Secrets gives way to a Voldemort display, complete with Ralph Fiennes’ costume. The final rooms focus on Harry and Voldemort’s final battle and include costumes worn by Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Dumbledore in the final film.

Costumes worn by Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. | Photo: Toni Tresca

By the time guests pass a Dumbledore quote about different places, different tongues and shared hearts, the exhibition has done what it came to do. It has not resolved the discomfort of loving a story now tied to Rowling’s politics. It has, however, created a well-produced fan experience that understands why people loved this world in the first place.

That makes the recommendation fairly simple. If you have mixed feelings about Rowling or no real relationship to Harry Potter, this probably is not worth your time. If you grew up with the books and films, have kids who are discovering them now or want one more dose of Hogwarts before the coming HBO remake, Harry Potter: The Exhibition delivers — no love potion required.