I didn't end up going.. Found out they weren't allowing photography.. They mention, on the site, that there is a tour then you get to enjoy as long as you'd like in there, unfortunately they mean you get a 20 - 25 minute tour and then pushed out of the exhibition in the Power House Museum, where you can spend as long as you like..
Family member said they didn't have much prop replicas either.. They especially didn't have the Brooms and Chess Board I was planning on getting..
it's been well known from the previous locations that they don't allow photography. what sort of fan are you if all you care about is wahat's in the gift store? don't want to see the actual exhibit? I would think that anyone into harry potter and/or movie props would love to see it. there were people there from little kids to old folks, and everyone was really enjoying it.
I spent over 1 to 1 1/2 hours in there and didn't get booted out, nor did anyone else, so whoever told you that, beechy, was lying or had heard wrongly. as for the gift shop, the noble stuff was popular things like wands, maruders map, time turner (I think) etc. my only comments on the gift shop would be that most of the stuff could be gotten cheaper online or elsewhere, and there wasn't many smaller, cheaper souvinier type things.
the exhibition was BRILLIANT. I loved everything! it was fantastic. the snitch, time turner and the horcruxes were smaller than I thought, and fawkes was was bigger than I thought. the potions display was awesome, the moving portraits, the hatching egg in hagrid's hut, the floating candles in the great hall... the whole exhibition was awesome!
I splurged in the gift shop- I bought hermione's wand, the maruarders map, a ravenclaw scarf, and the exhibition guidebook.
I went on friday, so it's still pretty fresh in my mind if anyone wants to know anything
