I grew up with Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s incredible wizarding world. I remember impatiently waiting to get my hands on the latest copy, safe in the knowledge that I would have first go over my brother and sister as I was the fastest reader. I swooped on broomsticks, ducked Death Eaters, wanted to be Hermione, and was thoroughly drawn into every part of the story. When the films began coming out, I was almost as equally entranced. With all this in mind, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn I was HUGELY excited to visit the Making of Harry Potter at the Warner Brothers movie studios in Watford, north London.
The entrance at the studio with old and new cast photographs
First things first, make sure you book tickets, as the tours are incredibly popular! The studios are located in north London and from the moment you board the shuttle bus from Watford station, you’ll be put in a magical mood with previews of what lies ahead. When we stepped into the massive studio buildings we were greeted with a huge Christmas tree – at certain times of year there are themes and we were lucky enough to experience Hogwarts in the Snow! After an introduction from Harry, Ron and Hermione, the doors to the Great Hall creaked open and we stepped inside a different world.
Here we go!
The level of detail in the Great Hall was amazing, from all the costumes, to the architectural details, to the minuscule finishing touches on the pieces of food. The attention to detail was a theme that recurred time and time again – the level of effort put into every possible aspect of creating the world was just incredible!
For most of the tour we were free to wander at our own pace, which I greatly appreciated. From the Great Hall we moved into a huge warehouse with hundreds of pieces of set, costume, design and more. I was fascinated by all the different corners where classrooms, dormitories and key scenes were recreated. There were posters everywhere with quotes and explanations, and my personal favourite was the huge number of video interviews with various crew and some cast members providing more background.
Hopefully no mortal peril?!
Again, it was finding out the little details, like that every glass jar in the Potions classroom above was individually filled, with everything from plastic animals that were missing limbs, to bones from the set designer’s local butcher!
After wandering around, thoroughly entranced, it was time to venture outside to see Privet Drive, the Potters’ cottage, and the huge chess pieces. We were there on one of the coldest nights of the winter so far, and not even a warming Butterbeer could persuade my friends and I to spend too long in the chill. We whipped around faster than the Knight Bus and headed on to the second part of the warehouse complex.
Olga and Mike flying in the Ford Anglia
Nearly Headless Nick… actually just the head!
Next up – Diagon Alley! There is no other word for it – it was truly magical to stroll Diagon Alley and imagine yourself as a nervous first-year being taken to buy all your wizarding essentials.
On the last part of the tour we got a birds-eye view into the detail of the set construction, including the pièce de résistance – a huge model of Hogwarts dusted in snow, and with lighting going from broad daylight to night and twinkly lights. So beautiful!
In the Wand Room I was charmed to see that not only was each wand box individually labelled, but the names were from every cast and crew member that ever worked on the film – amazing!
After choosing my own, I summoned my broomstick, and (mildly excited) flew off into the night!
Whether you’re a die-hard Harry Potter fan or simply liked a few of the films (but seriously, read the books already!), then I know you will enjoy the Harry Potter studio tour. I can only imagine how cool it would be to take children there, but this big kid had an amazing time!
For more information on visiting the studio and to book tickets, click here
Have you seen my post featuring glimpses of Harry Potter in Edinburgh?
