A Magical Day at the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studios

Caitlinepstein415/ August 21, 2018/ Europe/ 1 comments

A Magical Day at the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studios

The start of a new semester with LIU Global finds me in London, England, and I knew that I could not make a second trip to this incredible city without seeing the Harry Potter studios. So, in May, I started dreaming up plans for going early to London to make sure I got to mark this item off of my bucket list.

I got together with one of my classmates, Sara, another Potterhead, and we worked on finding tickets, a hostel, and flights.

So, when it comes to buying tickets to the studios, it is crucial that you book MONTHS in advance. It’s best to book an early time so you can experience all of the magic without feeling rushed. I, unfortunately, was not diligent enough in buying tickets early, so I booked Sara and I tickets for a tour to the studios via Golden Tours. This was a bit more expensive than the regular tickets, but included bus transportation to the studios that are outside of the city along with admission to an early tour start time.

Then, tickets in hand the day of our tour, we headed to the Victoria Coach Station and watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on our 1 hour bus ride out to the Leavesden Warner Brothers Studios.

Bursting with excitement, we entered and made our way to the start of the tour. Just before the start was the iconic cupboard under the stairs at 4 Privet Drive (Ahh)!!!

We were then led into a screening room where they showed us a short video featuring the stars of the film welcoming us to the studios that they called home for the better part of a decade.

Then the screen rises to reveal….

The Great Hall!

As you can probably imagine, I walked in with my jaw gaping open as I struggled to take in the huge room with the long tables at which I can imagine students from the 4 houses enjoying their meals. There was limited time in this room as they like to start each tour with an empty hall, but Sara and I were able to hang back to take some photos with the grand doors.

Before leaving the hall, a guide did a demonstration of the Goblet of Fire revealing the names of the champions from the first movie, and then we were all given a ‘name from the goblet’ before we continued on. The tour currently has a special focus on the 4th movie (one of my favorites), and I really enjoyed the props and information on that film specifically.

The tour didn’t seem to follow a certain rhyme or reason, but continually drew you in with key props from the movies and interesting tidbits that one could read. Most of the tour had me pointing and exclaiming as I recalled some of my favorite scenes and came across things I didn’t realize went in to the making of the film. For example, did you know that Daniel and Emma had wigs to wear during some of the films?

I also completely freaked out about the Gryffindor common room and boys dorm (even though I’m truly a Slytherin at heart). The beds in the dorm were amusingly tiny because they only made that set for the first film when the boys were itty bitty.

The Mirror of Erised showed my heart’s desire: experiencing the magic of the Wizarding World.

And then all things Severus Snape – his potions classroom and the absolute best costume from Neville’s go with the boggart in Prisoner of Azkaban.

The display of the Burrow set was neat as it showed the ‘magic’ being performed in the kitchen – knives cutting veggies, a pan washing itself in the sink, and needles knitting on their own.

An then Quidditch! It’s pretty funny to think that these scenes were filmed with the actors suspended in front of a green screen, but the props and costumes along with their evolution throughout the movies was pretty interesting. For example, the bludgers started out as leather so as not to be hard on the actors, but then became metal to better fit their brutality in the books.

I thought it was nice that they put this set of Malfoy Manor filled with villians across from the set of the most evil character in the series: Delores Umbridge. I really enjoyed her set because it told of how a prop master drove around London filling her car with small plates she found in local shops. They then spent a day filming cats to digitally insert into the green paint they put on the inside of the plates. Talk about dedication.

Then we ventured into the Forbidden Forest to see Buckbeak and Aragog. It was also fascinating to read about the elaborate process of creating the trees in the forest, which included blasting colored sawdust onto the ‘bark’ to create a mossy look.

After the Forbidden Forest came Platform 9 3/4 and the Hogwart’s Express. They have trolleys set up halfway through the platform wall to pose with along with train compartments dressed to reflect train journeys from each year.

Following the Hogwarts Express is the Backlot Cafe, where inevitably one must have Butterbeer or Butterbeer Ice Cream. Sara and I had Butterbeer, and it was delicious.

Once finishing our Butterbeer, we went outside to see the larger, outdoor sets, which included the Knight Bus, 4 Privet Drive, and a section of bridge from the castle, which was the only full size one created for the movies.

Once we returned inside, we checked out a room dedicated to creatures, which included the prosthetics for the goblins and the giants, the animatronics for Buckbeak, Professor Lupin’s werewolf form, and the Dementors. They even had models of Harry and Dumbledore from their death scenes and a model of Hermione from when she is underwater in the Goblet of Fire.

Then came my absolute favorite part…

Strolling down Diagon Alley!

I was in complete awe of the stores I have dreamt about shopping in since the age of 6. The minute details that went into each and every storefront, from Mulpepper’s Apothecary to Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor to Ollivander’s was nothing short of amazing. Walking that path was a dream come true.

Last but certainly not least on the tour was the large model of Hogwarts castle, which required a team of 40 artists to maintain throughout the filming of the series. It and hundreds of other painstakingly created models were created to film the magical shots of buildings throughout the film. Looking at that model was pure magic, and almost felt as if I could see the students roaming the halls if I just looked closely enough.

Overall, the tour was everything I could have imagined and more. Sara and I spent about 3 full hours leisurely examining the thousands of small pieces that went into the masterpieces that are the Harry Potter films. It was worth every penny and a trip across the Atlantic, and I would recommend it as a must-see for anyone as Potter-obsessed as me!