The Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour is an absolute dream. We visited the day after my 40th birthday (sadly, they were closed on my actual birthday) and I was ecstatic with excitement the moment I woke up. I couldn’t wait to get there.
Located in Leavesden, near Watford, the studio is pretty easy to find (granted, we did use the sat nav) but once you’re in the general area, there are signs everywhere and once you get close, you just can’t miss it. It’s huge! Much bigger than I imagined it to be.
Having visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, Florida, in January of 2015, the studio tour had a lot to live up to. Let’s face it, TWWoHP is absolutely freaking amazing. But I must admit to being quietly impressed (okay, so perhaps I wasn’t so quiet about it – there was a lot of squealing!) by the whole tour. It started at the very beginning once we were inside and our host asked for ‘anyone with a birthday today’. Naturally, I piped up that mine was yesterday so she invited me to the front along with the other birthday folk and we were asked to push open this huge door. Imagine my utter joy and amazement to find the Hogwarts Great Hall behind it. I actually cried. Yes, actual tears. (And I wasn’t the only one – one of the other birthday girls (also a grown adult) was tearing up as well.) That made my day.
The whole studio tour consists of places and items that were actually used in the making of the Harry Potter movies. It’s unbelievable just how much stuff there is – and it’s all just, well, awesome really. There were huge halls filled with just about everything from the movies as well as sets, clothes, creatures (well, animatronics, etc) and more. Each Hogwarts teacher was dressed as he/she would’ve been in the movies, even with their wigs intact. It was kinda creepy though, to see them all faceless like this…
What was really fun was trying to remember which part of the movies did all the items come from, like the clothes Hermione, Ron and Harry were wearing. It’s amazing how much detail is included. Have a scroll through some of the galleries above and below and see if you remember each little detail from the movies!
There were some eerie parts to the tour – for example, the scene where the poor teacher of Muggle Studies is tortured to death by Voldemort as she dangles above a table at the Malfoy Manor. Super creepy!
And all the items from the office of Dolores Umbridge, including all her pink clothes!
One of the highlights of the tour was the scale model of Hogwarts, it was out of this world, magical in fact (naturally). This breathtaking 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts castle was actually used for exterior shots of the school! Can you believe it! I was in absolute awe.
Not only that but the actual Diagon Alley set incredible. You could actually walk through and glance into the shop windows (it was almost identical to the same street in Universal Studios) which was just, well, magical. Sigh… I wish I could go back.
In a couple of the rooms, I almost did a double take because you walk in and come face to face with the likes of Nearly Headless Nick, Dobby and Hagrid. It was really weird but totally cool (I sound like such a kid!) finding out how they did what they did. Check out some of the other amazing creatures featured…
The only thing that let it down just a little bit was the food on offer at the canteen. There wasn’t a massive choice and my hot dog was a bit blah (yes, I had a hot dog – which is normally a real no-no in our house, but, like I said, not much choice) but on the other hand, they did have butter beer YAY! And, just like it was in Florida, it was complete and utter delicious yumminess 😉
Can you tell that I just loved every second at the studios? If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, this is definitely a must-visit – whether you’re in your teens, forties or eighties, it’s amazing! You’ll love it. We paid £85.90 for the two of us, which included a digital guide (which was pretty interesting) and a paperback souvenir guide which, incidentally, I just realised we were never given! Hm. Bummer.
But never mind that, it’s an amazing experience, one I’ll never forget. And one day I’d like to return just because I’m such a massive, crazy Harry Potter nut 😉 On that note, I’m hoping to visit the US again just so I can go back to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, only next time I think I’ll try the one in LA instead – just for a change lol!
If you’re interested in learning more about the Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour visit the official website.
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