The LEGO Group and Warner Bros. Consumer Products are unveiling their hotly anticipated and longest Harry Potter set to date. The new #75978 LEGO Harry Potter Diagon Alley set, inspired by the magical shopping street featured in the much-loved Harry Potter film series, promises to delight fans across the world. Below is the press-release with all the details. In addition, in celebration of the new Harry Potter set, fans can experience the magic of the new LEGO Diagon Alley set straight from their smartphones. From tomorrow, you can go ‘Through the Bricks’ – in the same way Hagrid took Harry to Diagon Alley for the first time in the movie – for a first look at the intricate new set, brought to life using animated AR. Details below.
Launching tomorrow, the spectacular new #75978 LEGO Harry Potter set allows fans to be transported to the most magical shopping street in the world, now in brick form! Diagon Alley is one of the most iconic locations in the Wizarding World. It’s where Harry Potter gets his first glimpse of the exciting new world he is about to join, as he’s guided through the magical shopping street by Hagrid. And now LEGO and Harry Potter fans alike can build and create the iconic street in their own homes.
The set brings the two worlds together in a magical hybrid: a rich and versatile display model, with a modularity aspect that allows fans to choose how to display the shops (all in a row, swapping them around, or even placing individual shops on different shelves!).
Measuring more than a meter wide and made up of over 5,000 pieces, LEGO Diagon Alley features the famed wizarding world shops packed with authentic details from the movies to truly capture the ambience of the street.
Behind magnificent and detailed storefronts lie intriguing interiors, fascinating features and familiar characters. Fans can recreate some of their favorite moments from the Harry Potter film series including; discovering the wands at Ollivanders from Harry Potter and the Philosophers / Sorcerer’s Stone, dropping in on Gilderoy Lockhart’s book-signing event at Flourish & Blotts bookstore from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, or obtaining a love potion from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Marcos Bessa, LEGO Harry Potter Design Lead commented: “I love how faithful the final design is to the architectural details in the film. You can barely see some of these buildings zooming past your screen, but we tracked down different photographs from the sets – some of them from nearly 20 years ago – to make sure everything is spot on. Diagon Alley is the biggest set I’ve designed to-date and I am really proud of how it has come together.”
The set also includes 14 minifigures, including new versions of lead characters Harry, Ron, Hermione, and of course George and Fred Weasley who have their own joke shop in Diagon Alley. There are also minifigures of Florean Fortescue and the Daily Prophet photographer, who have never been seen in LEGO form before. Below are some additional details about the set as well as more pictures.
- Diagon Alley Set includes the following shops: Ollivanders Wand Shop, Scribbulus Writing Implements, Quality Quidditch Supplies, the Daily Prophet, Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor, Flourish & Blotts bookseller, and Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.
- Includes 14 minifigures: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Ginny, Molly Weasley, Ollivander, Fred and George, Gilderoy Lockhart, Lucius Malfoy, Hagrid, Florean Fortescue, the Daily Prophet photographer.
- Measuring more than a meter wide (height 29cm, width 102.4cm, depth 13cm) and made up of 5,544 pieces, LEGO Diagon Alley features the iconic stores packed with authentic details from the movies to truly capture the ambience of the street.
- Recommended for ages 16+.
The #75978 LEGO Harry Potter Diagon Alley set is available directly from official LEGO stores and the Online LEGO Shop, starting September 1st. Prices are as follows: £369.99 / $399.99 / 399.99EUR. To purchase the set, visit the LEGO Harry Potter section of the Online LEGO Shop.
As far as the AR experience, fans will enable to see some of the amazing detail that have gone into recreating each shop, as well as see some of the minifigures interact with the set including; Harry Potter with his brand new wand from Ollivanders, and the Weasley twins showing off a new item from their joke shop, Weasley Wizard Weezes.
It couldn’t be easier for fans to enter the LEGO AR experience through three simple access points. Fans can either: 1.) Tap on the link from their smartphone LEGO.com/EnterTheMagic 2.) Scan the unique QR code with their phone in a LEGO store 3.) Or in true LEGO style, fans can build the QR code out of their own LEGO bricks –and then scan the code with their phone at home.
Once inside the animated experience, minifigures of Fred and George Weasley will appear to welcome fans to Diagon Alley. James and Oliver Phelps, who star as the Weasley twins in the Harry Potter film series, have joined the fun by creating their own QR codes to access the incredible LEGO set via their social media, online video, and LEGO.com/EnterTheMagic. Fans can get involved before the official launch and build their own code out of LEGO bricks at home by watching the video or following the simple “How To” guide at LEGO.com/EnterTheMagic.
James Phelps, who played Fred Weasley, commented on the AR experience: “It was really fun to challenge Oliver to see who could build the QR code the fastest– and the AR, once you’re in the experience, is fantastic. It’s a great way to see how the set comes to life and how all the shops have been transformed into a LEGO universe. Even better is that our characters introduce fans to the experience too.”
On the LEGO set itself, Oliver Phelps, who played George Weasley, added: “We loved that our characters owned their very own joke shop and we are huge LEGO fans, so to see ‘Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes’ come to life in LEGO form has brought back lots of happy memories. We were both so impressed with the level of detail that has gone into each element of the set – the wackiness of the shop is really brought to life, including a hidden lever that allows the statue in our store to tip its hat to customers. = There are even little packages of Dungbombs and Puking Pastilles!”
Again, if you’re interested in the #75978 LEGO Harry Potter Diagon Alley set, it’s available directly from official LEGO stores and the Online LEGO Shop on September 1st, along with several other new LEGO Harry Potter sets. You can find the full selection at the LEGO Harry Potter section of the Online LEGO Shop.
With Christmas just around the corner, the LEGO Diagon Alley set will make an impressive and inspiring gift for Harry Potter and LEGO enthusiasts alike. I’m also suspecting that many LEGO fans will want to turn the structures into LEGO Modular Buildings to make a custom street (I always wanted a pink Modular!), or just use the huge number of pieces for other projects. Whatever is the case, this set looks fun!
What do you think? How do you like the new LEGO Diagon Alley set? Is this something you’re interested to get? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!
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