the 06/12/2008

NarniaWebber 7chronicles sent us a full report about his tour ofthe Narnia

 Armor Door we entered the building the first thing I noticed was a lifesize centaur statue and a large replica of the wardrobe, verybeautiful. We got our tickets and headed to the third floor wherethe Exhibition was located; when we reached the top shields linedthe wall and in front of me was the entrance. (The only bad thingwas you were not allowed to take pictures.) The Entrance was anarch and gate (that looked like Cair Paravel) where you would enterinto the Exhibition When we went though the gate this is what I saw.The first room was not huge, but it had plenty to look at. ADouglas Gresham video was playing on one wall. The room had theWWII posters and the nametags used in the movie  also a large mapof Narnia, and some concept art. On the other wall hung pictures of C. S. Lewis' childhood world ofBoxen, underneath that a glass cupboard full of Dawn Treader booksfrom Asia, and two first editions of Prince Caspian. They also hadin another cupboard, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy first editionbooks, and I'm not sure if it was the real wardrobe Lewis owned butthere was a wardrobe. By it was a glass display full of Lewis'item's, a Mug, a George MacDonald book, his pipe, and what I likedbest, his pen and ink jar with a letter written by him. It was suchbeautiful hand writing, and I couldn't help but think that same Penand Ink Jar may have been used to write Narnia. Room 2: The Wardrobe We went though the door that led into a small room that resembledthe Professor's attic complete with the Wardrobe  only the roomwasn't as long as it was in the movie. The noise of rain outsideand the windows made it look as if it were really raining, after abrief wait, Douglas Gresham's voice was heard welcoming us intoNarnia and then the wardrobe door opened. I felt like Lucy goingthough the wardrobe it was so wonderful. They had fur coats hangingon either side of us as we walked though, and on the other side(fake) snow was falling. Room 3: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The first thing on display was the Beaver's items in their houselike fishing poles, and Mrs. Beaver's sewing kit. They had Peter,Susan, and Lucy's costumes there also. There was Mr. Tumnus's doorfrom his house that had claw scratches on it, and the letter signedby Maugrim. There was a statue probably made of wax of Mr. Tumnus'head, his pipe, teacup, packages, coat hanger with his umbrella,the picture of his father, and the bottles he was carrying.Alongside of this was the White Witch's sleigh with Ginarrbrik'sarmor and Edmund's costume. Next to that a glass case full of theWhite Witch's item's, her stone knife, the Turkish delight case,the goblet Edmund drank from, a very nice small statue of her, herdress, and different sized crowns showing how her crown becamesmaller. Next to that was the White Witch's throne, not as good asI expected, but I'm not complaining. It was very cold if you satfor a little bit. Just ahead there were some fake apple trees alongthe walls. Room 4: Prince Caspian/The Pevensies Next was Prince Caspian, starting with the Pevensies school clothsthey had on display, they also had a large map that told youinformation abut the different places of Narnia, and the treasurefrom the treasure room, I felt like I was in the movie, it was allso beautifully done, They had Susan's treasure chest and statue ondisplay. The chest was opened so you could see all the things shehad in it. Some things looked like they could have been fromCalormen. Room 5: Prince Caspian/The Telmarines Caspian's outfit was the first thing on display, I don't think youcan appreciate the detail and work that goes into the costumes andprops unless you see them for yourself, even though I had seenCaspian's flowery shirt in lots of pictures and in the movie, Itwas so amazing to see the detail in it up close, Susan's horn andCaspian's sword where also on display with Caspian's costume.Cornelius' was really cool to see because you could see all of hisscrolls and the book with the arrow in it just like in the movie.Sopespian's council chair was on display, his council costume, andhis banner. Miraz's coronation costume was there along with Miraz'sson's baby cloths, (no crown though sadly) he also had his banneron display. Prunaprismia's coronation dress and jewelry werebeautiful, so much detail for one quick part in the movie. She toohad a banner. They had a catapult on display, a smaller one, butthey where still getting it ready when we where there. Room 6: Prince Caspian/Old Narnia The next room was like the Dancing Lawn. There was a statue ofReepicheep, not the best I've seen but still decent. There was anAsterius statue with goblin, ogre, and satyr heads. In front of mewas a replica of Trufflehunter's home, smaller and not as detailedas the movie, when you went inside they had a glass display of allthe item's in Trufflehunter's home, including a stove his height.Then there was a statue I think that was made of wax of Glenstormfrom the waist up, with a big chest behind him full of Bows.Trumpkin and Nikabrik's cloths were on displayed with their swordsand Nikabrik's knife and I'm pretty sure the hag's knife. I nevernoticed how beautiful Trumpkin's sword was, even though it wassheathed. Room 7: Prince Caspian/The Battle Next was the battle room. They had Caspian's armor, Peter's Armor,Edmund and Susan's Armor along with all of their swords and Susan'sbow and arrows, Edmund and Peter's shields, Lucy's Cordial andDagger, and her dress. Also the map Miraz had on the table duringthe delivery of the challenge, on the table with the sword justlike in the movie. Next to that was, General Glozelle's armor,Sopespian's armor, and Miraz's armor, and both Miraz's shields. Room 8: Theater Video In the next room was a big TV screen, there were no chairs, thevideo was new to me, and was good, but the best part was at the endof the video, it showed the ocean and then a concept art of the SeaSerpent from the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the sea serpent wasdifferent from the concept picture spotted behind Isis Mussenden ina video, and was more detailed. It was so cool at the end it said," The Voyage of the Dawn Treader coming 2010," of course we all know that though. Room 9: Prince Caspian/The Coronation The last room was the coronation room. The small room was linedwith centaurs on either side, though they were very tall. At theend of the room they had Caspian's coronation outfit, so nice,Susan's throne and the best of all the four Pevensie's crowns theywere so beautiful and I feel it was very fitting to end theExhibition with such beautiful pieces of craftsmanship Room 10: The Gift Shop When the Exhibition comes to your state, you may want to bring somespare cash, they had a pretty good-sized gift shop full of Weta'sstatues (all from LWW), books, toys, posters and some other stuff. This was a wonderful experience for me, I would highly recommend itto anyone. The exhibit goes on from June 7  Oct. 26, 2008. Afterthat I think it will move to the next state. Even though cameras are not allowed at the exhibition,AZCentral.com does have a small photogallery of this event here . Thanks so much 7chronicles for sending us your report!