You're a Wizard Harry – The London Studio Tour

I’ve always loved reading. Growing up, my nose would be stuck in a book and I wouldn’t return to the real world until I had turned over that last page.

This has been especially true with the Harry Potter novels. When I was nine, my teacher read the first two books out loud to us as a midday treat. I was absolutely hooked. How fast could I get my hands on the third?

From then on, most of us lived in waiting for JK Rowling’s latest book filled with magic.

It only made sense that these novels would eventually spring to life on the silver screen.

As much as I loved the books, I’ve also cherished the movies. It’s like seeing all your childhood dreams come to life. How desperately we all wanted a letter delivered to us by owl and to depart at Platform 9 3/4 to go off to learn the spells and secrets of Hogwarts. (I’m still holding out for this to happen.)

However, I’ve now been as close as I possibly can be to getting that fateful letter. I finally visited the Warner Brothers Studio in London for the Harry Potter tour of a lifetime.

Even better? It was Hogwarts at Christmas. The entire studio tour is decked out with holly and bells, tinsel and trees. It is gorgeous.

So grab your broomstick or nearest portkey and come on, let’s take the tour already!

We start off in the main studio entrance… recognize the tree?

Oh that’s right you do! Great Hall, Yule Ball circa Goblet of Fire.

Next we are whisked away to let the tour begin. My face remains giddy for the next four hours. Just so you know.

Welcome to the Great Hall.

Pudding anyone?

And you never know what surprises you’ll find along the way…

Tally up! Is your house in the lead?

We bid adieu to Professor Dumbledore and headed (regretfully) out of the Great Hall.

And onto some refreshments from the ever glamorous Yule Ball.

Based on the design of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, this sculpture is absolutely luminous. I wanted to reach out for a vial but you never know if the Weasley twins had gotten to them first…

Onto hair and makeup for a sneaky selfie. And maybe some time for a touch up, and a wig or two…

Ah the Mirror of Erised. The culmination point for the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone. What is your deepest desire? How would you dream of viewing yourself? Lo and behold you’ll spot it in the Mirror of Erised.

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.” – Albus Dumbledore

After thinking about our deepest hopes and dreams, we remembered to live in the moment and slipped away from the mirror. And quickly, before anyone could see, we whispered the password to the Fat Lady who allowed us to clambor into the Gryffindor Common Room.

Can you spot that? Just behind me the famous staircase up to the boys dormitory.

Despite the normal house rules, girls are allowed to visit on the tour only. Shhh.

We also learned that Ron Weasley needs to tidy up.

Time to visit Dumbledore’s Office. Okay, ‘Lemon Drop.’ No? ‘Fizzing Whizbee.’ Hmmm… ‘Peppermint Toad?’ Finally!

The sorting hat! Undoubtedly working on its speech for next year’s feast.

Now time for potions class with Professor Snape.

And off to Quidditch practice!

Oh and one last stop at the Ministry office before venturing home.

Had to catch the Knight Bus.. it’s a bit too windy to walk!

And a quick visit to Number 4 Privet Drive. I hope Dudley left us a bit to eat.

No answer. They must sense the magic on us and don’t plan on letting us in.

One last glance at the now very famous home.

Before venturing off to Diagon Alley for some shopping. Anyone fancy picking up a new set of robes?

Onto more behind the scenes touring after Diagon Alley. How they created the costumes, the robotic creatures, etc… it was insanely detailed and beyond realistic. The very ferocious The Monster Book of Monsters kept biting at the glass it’s enclosed in.

So we swiftly moved onto the concept area which we discovered were paintings and works of art done by artists who visualized how Hogwarts and it’s characters would come to life.

It was so interesting to see how everything came to life through these works.

And of course, the structures. These were tiny little replicas of the buildings, rooms and places from the novels.

And lastly, the absolutely incredible Hogwarts.

It needs almost no explanation. The detailing of this structure is unbelievable.

Each scene featuring the exterior of Hogwarts in the films uses this model combined with a green screen to compose the background scenery. I could barely believe that it wasn’t computer generated. And honestly that was such a treat to discover.

And so our tour ended.

With a last glance at Hogwarts, we headed through a room comprised of each crew and cast members names all written on wand boxes.

And into the gift shop for a bit of fun.

It was almost tragic to leave. Luckily we bought a bag of sweets to take on the way home.

It was even better than I imagined touring the studios. Has anyone else been as well?

And for anyone looking to visit (and I’d seriously recommend it), make sure you have 3-4 hours free for your wandering.

Tickets range from £30 to £39.95 ($49 to $65)  depending on what type of package you purchase.

And seriously. I know you’ll want to, but do NOT try the Butterbeer. Do yourself a favor and buy a nice hot chocolate instead.

xx Kelly

I know this post is a bit on the longer side, but I just couldn’t leave a thing out! Hope you all enjoyed it! XX