Harry Potter Studio Tour
So far the #1 thing on my list of things I've done, is the Harry Potter Tour. This is a MUST DO for any real potter fan. This was my experience.
The day begins with a train ride out of London to the Suburb of Watford. At Watford Station, you catch a bus to the studio tour, but not just any bus...
THIS bus!
And finally you're there!
When you walk inside it just hits you from every angle. Boom, boom, pow! There's huge pictures of on the walls of all the characters, both young and old. There's even the blue Ford Anglia that Harry and Ron flew to Hogwarts in Year 2!
Then you get in the long snaky line and eventually you're lead in to a room that has 8 screens on the walls (4 on each side) and they just keep circling through all the different movie posters in all the different languages. Then they show a short film about how HP became the worldwide phenomena that it is.
You're then lead in to a cinema, and shown a short film lead by Daniel Radcliff, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson (Harry, Ron and Hermione) about filming here for 10 years. At the end of the film they go through the doors of Hogwarts. Then the movie screen rises up and there they are, the doors of Hogwarts!
The doors are pushed open and you're in the Great Hall, the actual set they used to film the great hall scenes! All around are costumes and other props. So many amazing details that you never noticed in the movies. You're then allowed to guide yourself through the exhibits.
I KNOW I didn't see everything there was to see, there's just too much. There's costumes and wigs, and floating candles and food props.
Just when you think, OK, I've got a handle on this now, you turn a corner, and there's the Gryffindor Common Room, or the Potions Classroom, or the Horcruxes or the Wands used by the cast. It's too much to take in.
The level of detail most of these sets and props are made to, it just astounding, things you'd never notice on film, but in real life are just amazing.
Then you come to the green screen area and a little 20-something asks you if you'd like to fly a broom...only as much as I want my next breath! I FLEW A BROOM! Of course after the broom riding you can buy a picture of yourself flying the broom or even a DVD of your broom adventure...
After catching your breath, you go outside to the back lot and your breath is taken again, the first thing you see is the Hogwarts bridge, then there's the Knight Bus, then Tom Riddle's grave, then Number 4 Privet Drive, and the Potters' house!
Oh and did I mention you can try BUTTERBEER! It was ok, a bit weird, like very weak butterscotch soda with an inch of heavy cream floating on top, not horrible, but not something I'd drink everyday.
After the butterbeer adventure it's time to go back inside to the creature shop. You get to see how they made all the amazing creatures and animals in the movies.
Then you're in Diagon Alley! The actual set that was used. Flourish and Blott's is there with a Gilderoy Lockhart display in the window, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, all the shops you loved.
Next take a tour through some of the conceptual art that was made for the films, some amazing artistry there, but the whole time you're wandering through you hear this grand sweeping music...and you turn the corner and there it is. Hogwarts. The actual scale model that was used to shoot most of the exterior scenes from most of the movies. It's there! It's over 2 stories tall and so detailed, you wish you could shrink yourself and go run around on it, and live there.
The last room you come to looks a lot like Olivander's Wand Shop. It's just shelf after shelf after shelf of wand boxes, each one has a name on it, this it the name of every person that worked on the HP movies in any way. It really gives you a feel of just how many people it takes to make this phenomena happen
And of course it all ends in the gift shop, where your only limit is your credit card, and the airlines weight restrictions.
This is by far the most memorable thing I did on this trip, it will take a lot to surpass this. I want to go back someday, so see all the things I didn't see the first time around...
The day begins with a train ride out of London to the Suburb of Watford. At Watford Station, you catch a bus to the studio tour, but not just any bus...
And finally you're there!
When you walk inside it just hits you from every angle. Boom, boom, pow! There's huge pictures of on the walls of all the characters, both young and old. There's even the blue Ford Anglia that Harry and Ron flew to Hogwarts in Year 2!
Then you get in the long snaky line and eventually you're lead in to a room that has 8 screens on the walls (4 on each side) and they just keep circling through all the different movie posters in all the different languages. Then they show a short film about how HP became the worldwide phenomena that it is.
You're then lead in to a cinema, and shown a short film lead by Daniel Radcliff, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson (Harry, Ron and Hermione) about filming here for 10 years. At the end of the film they go through the doors of Hogwarts. Then the movie screen rises up and there they are, the doors of Hogwarts!
The doors are pushed open and you're in the Great Hall, the actual set they used to film the great hall scenes! All around are costumes and other props. So many amazing details that you never noticed in the movies. You're then allowed to guide yourself through the exhibits.
I KNOW I didn't see everything there was to see, there's just too much. There's costumes and wigs, and floating candles and food props.
Just when you think, OK, I've got a handle on this now, you turn a corner, and there's the Gryffindor Common Room, or the Potions Classroom, or the Horcruxes or the Wands used by the cast. It's too much to take in.
The level of detail most of these sets and props are made to, it just astounding, things you'd never notice on film, but in real life are just amazing.
Then you come to the green screen area and a little 20-something asks you if you'd like to fly a broom...only as much as I want my next breath! I FLEW A BROOM! Of course after the broom riding you can buy a picture of yourself flying the broom or even a DVD of your broom adventure...
After catching your breath, you go outside to the back lot and your breath is taken again, the first thing you see is the Hogwarts bridge, then there's the Knight Bus, then Tom Riddle's grave, then Number 4 Privet Drive, and the Potters' house!
Oh and did I mention you can try BUTTERBEER! It was ok, a bit weird, like very weak butterscotch soda with an inch of heavy cream floating on top, not horrible, but not something I'd drink everyday.
After the butterbeer adventure it's time to go back inside to the creature shop. You get to see how they made all the amazing creatures and animals in the movies.
Then you're in Diagon Alley! The actual set that was used. Flourish and Blott's is there with a Gilderoy Lockhart display in the window, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, all the shops you loved.
Next take a tour through some of the conceptual art that was made for the films, some amazing artistry there, but the whole time you're wandering through you hear this grand sweeping music...and you turn the corner and there it is. Hogwarts. The actual scale model that was used to shoot most of the exterior scenes from most of the movies. It's there! It's over 2 stories tall and so detailed, you wish you could shrink yourself and go run around on it, and live there.
The last room you come to looks a lot like Olivander's Wand Shop. It's just shelf after shelf after shelf of wand boxes, each one has a name on it, this it the name of every person that worked on the HP movies in any way. It really gives you a feel of just how many people it takes to make this phenomena happen
This is only 2 sides of the room, imagine all 4 walls looked like this!
And of course it all ends in the gift shop, where your only limit is your credit card, and the airlines weight restrictions.
This is by far the most memorable thing I did on this trip, it will take a lot to surpass this. I want to go back someday, so see all the things I didn't see the first time around...
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