Explore the mystical corridors of the Hogwarts school with this Deluxe
Electronic Play Set from Mattel. Based on the Harry Potter books and
movie, the motorized school set opens with magical sounds and has 11
rooms full of special surprises inside. Follow the unpredictable twists
and turns to find the secret corridor behind the owlery. Watch food
magically appear, Harry disappear, Hedwig flying in with a message or a
club clobbering the nasty troll. Includes 6 figures: Harry, Ron Weasley,
Hermione Granger, Mountain Troll, Invisible Harry and Professor Snape.
Uses 3 AA batteries (not included). Ages 8 and up. Imported.
15Lx5Wx12H".
Everything works exactly as it shows on the box. Music plays when the
castle opens as well as for the "screaming" book, the "levitating"
feather, Hedwig the owl as he "flys" into the room, the Mountain Troll
in the girl's bathroom, and for Harry when he becomes "invisible". Music
also plays as harry circles through the Great Hall where food (which
looks like the main course and dessert) appears and disappears leaving
empty plates and then an empty table. There is a secret storage bin in
the back of the school to store the figurines, which include Harry,
Invisible Harry, Ron, Hermione, Snape and a Mountain Troll. It also
comes with a suit of armor that "watches" Hedwig fly into the room and
three tables full of food that you can place in the Great Hall. The back
of the school also has a neat little fold-down drawbridge door which
reveals The Mirror of Erised room. There is also a "pop-up" Owlry which
reveals a "hidden corridor". Things I didn't like (only minor details
because I'm picky): the "orange" food side of the table sometimes
doesn't flip over flatly. Concerning the two sections that open at the
bottom front of the school: Snapes classroom is difficult to open (it's
in there very tight), and Professor Flitwick's classroom doesn't close
tight enough. Also, it's "kind-of" difficult to get the "levitating"
feather to make its' sound. I have to push it snugly towards the right
to get its' sound going (there are tiny sound "buttons" inside of the
hinges that make the sounds for the side compartments) and being the
broom handle is made of the bendable-type plastic, I have to make sure I
grab the bottom of the broom to do it. All in all, though, I found the
Hogwart's School Deluxe Micro Playset to be a great toy and well worth
the money. The detail is amazing! It allows my son to reinact just about
every scene of the original Harry Potter movie. We have two of the four
available sets that attach to the school and "come to life" when the
school is turned on (Hagrid's Hut and the Whomping Willow). I plan on
ordering the Forbidden Corridor and the Platorm 9 3/4 as soon as they
are in stock, and hope to get the Weasley House which is supposed to be
available in the Fall of 2002. As for the packaging? We had no troubles
whatsoever. We just took our time and untwisted or snipped the
connectors from the inside cardboard packaging to remove the school, and
gently pushed from the bottom of the plastic packaging which held the
characters to remove them. It took us only about 15 minutes.