< Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter || Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Owl Post It is nearly midnight at the Dursley home, and Harry, crouched under his bed covers, is reading A History of Magic and writing a summer homework essay on witch burning. Uncle Vernon locked Harry's school trunk in the cupboard, and Harry had to pick the cupboard lock and steal his books, quill, parchment, and ink, in order to do his homework. As usual, Harry celebrates his birthday alone. Other than Ron's botched phone call, which ended with Uncle Vernon hanging up on him, Harry has heard nothing from his Hogwarts friends all summer. As Harry prepares to go to sleep, Hedwig and Errol (the Weasley’s owl) arrive with presents. Ron sends Harry a Pocket Sneakoscope and a Daily Prophet article about Ron’s father winning a contest. The Weasleys used the prize money for a trip to Egypt; the article's photo shows the entire Weasley family, including Ron's pet rat, and Percy wearing his new Head Boy badge
. Hermione, vacationing in France with her parents, sends Harry a Broomstick Servicing Kit. Hagrid's gift is a strange book titled The Monster Book of Monsters. It almost seems alive, nipping at Harry and nearly waking the Dursleys as it scrambles around the room before Harry subdues it. Another owl delivers the usual Hogwarts' letter with instructions about classes, textbooks, and supplies. Professor McGonagall has included a permission form that a parent or guardian needs to sign, allowing students to visit Hogsmeade, the Wizarding village in which Hogwarts is located. Harry doubts he can persuade the Dursleys to sign it, but for now, he is happy that his birthday has been remembered by his friends. Harry must endure yet another unhappy summer at the Dursleys. His confinement there only reinforces what little connection Harry retains to the Muggle world and how he longs to return to Hogwarts, the only place he feels he truly belongs. Although Harry's first eleven years at the abusive Dursleys were unhappy, he survived relatively well, unaware then that he actually belonged somewhere else
. Now, knowing that another world exists where he is happy, has friends, and is accepted for who and what he is, his confinement to Privet Drive is intolerable. He was prematurely liberated the previous year by Ron and the Twins, who rescued him in the flying car and took him to their home, but it seems unlikely Harry will be as fortunate this summer. He has not been totally shut off from the Wizarding realm, however. Reading A History of Magic is one means by which he remains connected. Also, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid have remembered him, sending gifts and letters. Ron's present, an inexpensive Sneakoscope, likely will play a significant role in the plot, as may the photograph of the Weasleys in Egypt. Hagrid's gift is also notable, though it seems more aligned to his own interests than Harry's. And while Harry is left confused as to why Hagrid sent such a "ferocious" gift, the "Monster" book, as well as Hermione's present, may also foreshadow upcoming plot elements. Readers might notice a minor mistake in early editions of this book
. The textbook that Harry is reading, A History of Magic, is said to be by Adalbert Waffling. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we are told that A History of Magic is by Bathilda Bagshot. Adalbert Waffling is the author of Magical Theory, according to Book 1. This mistake is pointed up by Bathilda's becoming a more important character in book 7. While it is possible, as in the Muggle world, that these are two separate books by different authors that just happen to have identical titles, and that Magical Theory is another book by Waffling, it seems in fact to be only a minor mistake, corrected in later editions. Study questions are meant to be left for each student to answer; please don't answer them here. Intermediate warning: Details follow which you may not wish to read at your current level. The Weasley family photograph, though seemingly mundane and insignificant, is actually what spurs the majority of the book's action
. When Harry's convicted godfather, Sirius Black sees the picture in the Daily Prophet, he recognizes Ron’s rat as being something other than a pet; this compels him to escape Azkaban prison, apparently intent on murdering Harry, but actually for another purpose. Ron mentions that the Sneakoscope is cheap and probably faulty, it having gone off two times when he believes it should not have. Harry's thought that it had reacted to the Twins, and later Ron, behaving in an untrustworthy manner, leaves us wondering whether Ron's assessment is correct. It will go off twice more, and though the warnings are again disregarded, the Sneakoscope is, in every case, correctly signaling an untrustworthy person's nearby presence. Hermione's gift, a broomstick servicing kit, while unimportant to the plot, may represent just how significant Harry's brooms are to him, as well as foreshadowing a major subplot involving Harry's treasured Nimbus 2000 broom. When it is accidentally destroyed, he will receive an expensive replacement from an anonymous benefactor, only to have it confiscated by concerned Hogwarts staff, though it is eventually returned when it is declared to be safe
. This cycle's effect of loss and recovery will be felt by Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as well as the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and it could also be seen as a metaphor for Harry's own life. Unknown to Harry just yet, Hagrid is the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher. The Monster Book of Monsters is his chosen "set book" (textbook), and he has partly selected it because he finds it humorous. The book can only be opened by stroking it, whereupon it purrs and relaxes. No one will be able to figure this out, and the entire class will have bound their textbooks with belts and ropes to prevent attacks. This is hardly surprising; the Flourish & Blotts staff, who as booksellers should know such details about the books they sell, are equally unable to tame the vicious tomes and keep them securely cageWalking through The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, it’s not hard to let the experience overwhelm your common sense. In fact, if it weren’t for the roller coaster hardware, it would be easy to lose yourself and forget that you’re not walking the actual streets of Hogsmeade.
Well, okay: the throngs of people and the dichotomy of the beastly hot weather of Orlando and the “snow” on the town’s roofs also help keep you grounded in reality.This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. to report an issue. I confess: I’m a bit of a Harry Potter fanboy. I ordered the first book from a store in the UK when its popularity first started to become a phenomenon, but it hadn’t yet been published on the western side of the Atlantic. Since my kids are nine and nearly-eight, that means I’ve been a Harry Potter fan for longer than I’ve been a dad. I don’t think of the seven books as great works of literature — I acknowledge the validity of many of the criticisms that have been leveled at the series — but it cannot be denied that there is something there that captivates people. The wildly successful movie series has, whatever its faults, immersed Potter fans in J.K. Rowling’s world to the point where any theme park would have to be meticulously crafted to meet their (our) expectations.
All of that, then, makes it all the more remarkable that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter pulls off the feat. Every detail is finely crafted to enhance the experience, with the unfortunate but (I suppose) necessary exception of being unable to pay for Butterbeers and souvenirs with knuts, sickles and galleons. According to my family’s tour guide, Rowling had approval over absolutely every aspect of the attraction, and it shows, perhaps most in the things visitors aren’t allowed to touch: the marvelous displays in the shop windows, the upstairs “rooms” at the Three Broomsticks and Dervish & Banges, and, of course, the rides. Ah, yes, the rides, about which much has been written. The “family” ride, Flight of the Hippogriff, is fun enough even if very short (yet fast enough to lose me my clip-on sunglasses). The Dragon Challenge, the most thrilling of the thrill rides, is good only for those with strong constitutions — I discovered to my distress that it is certainly not for me, as I felt every one of my thirty-seven years catching up with me after finishing it (my wife didn’t want to go, and my kids were too short to go on the ride).
But of course the Hogwarts ride, called “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,” is the centerpiece of the attraction, and I must say it is very well done. The story is that muggles (meaning you, of course) are being allowed into the school for the first time, and so before the ride you’re brought through several rooms in the castle, spoken about by paintings of the four founders of the school, and allowed to meet Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Hermione, sort of. The projections of the characters are less well-done than they might be, but if you can’t suspend your disbelief a millimeter further than you already have by that point in order to invest in them, you shouldn’t go. The ride itself is a bit jerky, but is the only way to see into parts of Hogwarts (and its grounds) you otherwise can’t. Not far from Hogwarts is a sort of stage area where a chorus of “students” and large “frogs” sing the Macbeth-derived song from the Prisoner of Azkaban movie and various a cappella tunes, and actors dressed exactly as the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students from Goblet of Fire perform acrobatics.
Ah, you may say, but what about the wand ceremony at Ollivander’s? Now, I must tell you that my family was treated to a V.I.P. tour by the folks at Universal, which means that we were able to bypass lines all over. It also means they arranged for a special private wand ceremony for my kids, with the “wand keeper” knowing their names and everything. I won’t spoil the experience for you by describing its details, but suffice it to say that I, a devout skeptic and realist, was so taken by my kids’ experience unfolding in front of me that I completely forgot to record it on my iPhone. My wife had actual tears in her eyes at at the end of it, and I do believe my kids for a moment believed that something genuinely magical had happened. We bought the wands that had “chosen” them, of course — despite the $30 price on each, it seemed almost impossible not to after that. The merchandise is wonderful if (of course) expensive. Items for sale there include quaffles and bludgers, chocolate frogs, remembralls, sneakoscopes and shirts with all manner of designs — and that’s just scratching the surface.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to buy a whole lot more than your budget will allow. The Three Broomsticks’ food is good, and not nearly as overpriced as I expected. And the famous Butterbeers are quite tasty if very sweet (they seem to be nothing more than cream soda with a bit of butter added), and I can say unequivocally that the frozen version is very refreshing on a hot, humid Florida day. I can’t promise that every Harry Potter fan will enjoy going, of course: the lines were very, very long, and Florida weather can be a bit temperamental. But it is as magical an experience as I’ve had in longer than I can recall: I really felt like I was in the world of the books and movies, and I know my kids would gladly have spent our entire vacation there.Go early in the day, or during the school year on a weekday, to try to avoid long lines. Make sure you go back at night, because the beautiful buildings are yet more beautiful lit up in the dark. And if you can in any way afford a V.I.P. tour, get one, and not just for the Potter attraction (ask if Katrina is available: she’s great!).