Fans to ride actual Hogwarts Express train in June

[Jeff Guillaume]

See story with live links online here:
http://www.hpana.com/news.17919.html

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'HP Fan Trips' Premiere Tour to Include Ride on 'Hogwarts Express' Train
Used in 'Harry Potter' Films

February 26, 2004 - Participants on the first HP Fan Trips tour to Britain
will ride on what "Harry Potter" fans worldwide recognize as the "Hogwarts
Express"  train from the films based on author JK Rowling's popular books.

The announcement was made after Beyond Boundaries Travel, the fan-created
group's operating tour company, secured the deal this week with the West
Coast Railway Company, the train's owner. The locomotive #5972 doubles as
the celluloid version of the "Hogwarts Express" and is being put into
service expressly at the request of HP Fan Trips while on exhibit in York
for the National Railway Museum's "Rail 200" extravaganza, celebrating 200
years of railways. Trip-goers will have private carriages just like the ones
used in the films, with access to a candy trolly and other goodies during
the ride.

"We're extremely excited to be able to offer this to the Harry Potter fans
who will be coming on the first of what we hope is many HP Fan Trips
operated by Beyond Boundaries Travel," said Jeff Guillaume, one of the
group's organizers. "Only the people on this trip will be able to say
they've ridden on the actual Hogwarts Express train seen in the Harry Potter
movies."

An immersive week-long excursion through the United Kingdom, centered around
the film debut of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," awaits
participants who have until March 31, 2004 to book their reservations. Actor
Chris Rankin, who portrays Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's head
boy Percy Weasley in the movie, will accompany travelers for an entire
weekend as they trek through London, feast at a Great Hall-style gathering,
and watch a "Quidditch" match created exclusively for the tour by USA Team
Handball, a member of the United States Olympic Committee.

(This is the first of three special announcements that will be made through
the end of March. The tour, which celebrates the history of wizards,
fantasy, and magical creatures using world-class storytellers and ingenious
activities, is developed in cooperation with Visit Britain, the official
British Tourist Authority, and commences on June 1, 2004.)

About HP Fan Trips

HP Fan Trips in July 2003 began planning a Harry Potter fan's dream
vacation, focused around the premiere of the third Harry Potter film. Its
organizers include Heidi Tandy, an intellectual property lawyer and
co-founder of fan site FictionAlley.org; Jeff Guillaume, a 23-year-old
programmer and creator of Harry Potter news site HPANA.com; Jeannie Barresi
of Beyond Boundaries Travel; and Jonathan Trachtenberg, designer of the HP
Fan Trips web site. Visit www.hpfantrips.com for more information.

About Beyond Boundaries Travel

Since 1991, Beyond Boundaries Travel has designed  theme-based experiential
tours for group travel. It is an international tour company working with The
History Channel, the World Bank, the United Nations, the National Institutes
of Health and numerous other clubs and organizations. Beyond Boundaries
works with actors, authors, film directors, dancers and choreographers and
many other very special guest presenters on these customized programs. Visit
their web site at www.beyondboundariestravel.com.

CONTACT: Jeannie Barresi
TEL: 800-487-1136
E-MAIL: jeannie at ...

CONTACT: Jeff Guillaume
E-MAIL: info at ...

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