oh how I remember my first midnight release, standing in line waiting for ootp…I miss those days when we could keep speculating :-\

Eish, it’s hard to believe it was 5 years ago! The excitement leading up to OotP was the most intense of all the Harry Potter releases – perhaps because the wait was long, perhaps because the HP ‘experienced’ changed dramatically between the release of GoF and the release of OotP – the first two films had been released and the HP ‘phenomenon’ was ballooning. Whenever I think of Harry Potter, I still think of it as divided into the era ending with GoF, and beginning with OotP.

Where it says HP ‘experienced’, read ‘experience’ – sorry, goblins in the system

OOTP was the first Harry Potter book that I went to a midnight release for. I had gotten on the HP Bandwagon a little late and had gotten the first four books in hard cover for Christmas.

Having read all four in a row, I was so anxious to read the fifth book. It felt like forever between that Chrismas and the release. I remember how excited I was. I was working the late shift at my job and left a half hour early so I woudln’t be late.

I remember getting to the bookstore and being sorted, having my first taste of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and the pure awe I felt when I saw them wheel out the books.

It’s the only time I’ve stayed up for twenty four hours. I got my book and started reading and before I knew it, it was six o’clock in the morning and I was already a few hundred pages in.

I don’t think anything can compare to that for me. I wasn’t able to do midnight releases for books six and seven, so OOTP will always hold a special place in my heart.

I can’t believe it’s already been five years! Where did the time go? Ah, memoiries…where is a penseive when you need one?

longliveRemus, I agree! I’ll never forget the summer of ‘03 – OOTP’s my favourite book (alongside DH)

And I remember Scholastic released the cover art? Or a brief synopsis of the book a few days before the release. I really miss HP summers!

Oh gosh, I recall working alll day of the Phoenix release but running up to the shops on my break at 9am (I’m in Australia) to get a copy for me and then when I got back to work my manager paid me to go and get him a copy as well!!! It was torture waiting till I finished at 4 to read it though I can tell you that!!!

Who’s the retard who wrote this? It’s the winter solstice in the Southern hemisphere.

I look back at our first Midnight Magic party and cannot believe it was 5 years ago!! We had such a wonderful time and it was the best! The bookstore had set up everything to entertain the kids, including sending an owl, making magic wands, and they even had butterbeer, chocolate frogs, and cauldron cakes!!! It was so much fun for the whole family. We decided then to go to the midnight release events for books 6 &7. The memories of these events are some of our fondest family events. I hope that my kids remember these times and tell their kids how they couldn’t wait for these books to come out and how we waited in line for hours just to get them. By the way, we are also fans of Jim Dale reading the books. He is absoulutely amazing. There is nothing better than listening to him bring the stories to life when you hear them for the first time. What a wonderful gift Jo has given us.

I was staying with my friend so i made her drive me in to the nearest shop so i could by it and i was going out that day so i read it nonstop in the car and whenever i got a chance.

Good times….good times….I had my birthday party that day, and I got 5 copies of OotP. I kept the deluxe edition, but now I wish I had a regular hardcover. The deluxe edition is the oddball of my collection. If I had the deluxe DH, however…..that would be OK by me! :)

The three years between books 4 and 5 seemed sooo long that it may have been that anticipation that made OoTP my favorite book (apart from DH). My dad wouldn’t let me go to a midnight release party, but I remember staying up until midnight knowing that the books were being sold. I woke up early the next morning and made my mom take me to the store to get it! I spent the whole day reading and didn’t even stop to eat!

I remember my parents wouldn’t let me go the the midnight release, but I was awake most of the night anyway in anticipation…we were having it delivered to us and I recall just sitting on the front porch waiting for the book and when the truck pulled up to our house I started bouncing up and down. Ah…good times. Great book.

My goodness, has it been 5 years already? OOtP is also the first midnight party I went to. I remember just minutes after I entered Borders, they closed the doors (and it wasn’t even 10:30pm yet!) so it won’t get too crowded inside and the rest of the fans had to wait outside, so I was very lucky on that part. The excitement of finally getting the book into my hands, and knowing that those around me were also having that same feeling of excitement. Definitely unforgettable experience. I almost won a prize that night too. Too bad I had mis-remembered the number of times Nearly Headless Nick had his neck..er.. .”chopped” with dull blade… I miss those midnight parties. I hope there will be one when the Scottish Book comes out.

That quiz made me remember when DD came to visit Harry in HBP. The Dursleys aren’t even in the cast list this time- I really loved that scene, I could just see them, with the glasses of mead nudging their heads!

5 years ago a took a plane for the first time and landed in London…I miss those days so much!