The Making of Harry Potter

I took the kids for a flying visit to the UK during the week. They are huge Harry Potter fans so we went to see the Warner Bros. Studio Tour of The Making of Harry Potter. There was so much to see and it’s amazing to get to see behind the scenes and all the work that went into the making of the Harry Potter movies.

First of all on the way to the studio we kind of got lost, luckily we saw the shuttle bus coming towards us, so I did a U-turn and ‘followed that bus!’ Luckily it was bringing people to the tour and not back to the station! There are plenty of parking spaces and there are stewards directing cars where to park.

Before you go into the studio you are meant to hand in your email confirmation and get tickets…we didn’t realise this so had to come back out again to get our tickets.

If you are early you can look around the shop (be warned if you have younger children though….there are so many things to buy and not all of them cheap). There is also a coffee shop.

As you queue for your tour time you will see ‘The Cupboard Under the Stairs’. Your tickets are scanned and you will be led into a small room with various Harry Potter posters in various different languages around the walls. The tour guide tells you a bit about the movies and the tour. After about ten minutes you are taken into a very plush cinema. The screen shows a short film of Daniel, Emma and Rupert telling you all about their time at the studios and how enjoyable it was, they then invite you to follow them into the Great Hall……the cinema screen goes up and in front of you is the door to the Great Hall.

It really is amazing to think this is the actual place that was seen in the movies. The tour guide was still with us at this bit…and to be honest I wish they weren’t because I felt rushed, obviously because another tour would be coming in after they finished watching the film.

The next parts of the tour aren’t guided (which I much prefer) so you can look around at your own pace and there is so much to look at. From costumes to make up and everything in between.

In the backlot you get to see the Ford Anglia, Privet Drive, Knight Bus and lots more besides. It was very cold the day we were there though. There is a sandwich bar and to be honest it wasn’t too expensive although if there were a few of you it would soon add up so you might want to bring a packed lunch. Although there are some tables under cover there aren’t many. You also get a chance to buy Butterbeer. It kind of tastes like Irn Bru with marshmallow on top.

After the backlot it was nice to get into the warm again. This time we got to see the robotics and how all the fantastic creatures came to life. Again it was so interesting and there really was so much to see.

Around the next corner is Diagon Alley. All I could hear was ‘wow’! And it really was ‘wow’. My photos don’t do it justice. It’s amazing to see all the shops and such attention to detail.

There was another ‘wow’ to come. The magnificent Hogwarts Castle model. It was stunning. You could almost imagine yourself in a Harry Potter movie. After viewing the castle there is a room full of wands…..one for every member of the cast and crew…so thousands of them! After the tour you find yourself back in the shop (hold onto your wallet 😉 ) I took way too many photos, I’ve put them all on flickr. The kids are already wanting to go and visit the tour again! So I guess it was a huge success.