As I’ve hinted before, I am (no shame in it) a huge Harry Potter fan. Opened to the public last March 31st, the Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour is among the most exciting news for Potter fans this year!
For us Potter maniacs who have lost count of how many times we’ve read the books the movies may not be as faithful to the original text as we’d hoped them to be.
But what the movies do do for me is bring to life all those fantastic places in the books that I can only imagine.
Potions Classroom. Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
And to be able to visit the actual sets and see the props is a chance that cannot be missed!
If going to London is in your travel wish list and you happen to be a Harry Potter fan, then Leavesden Studios must be included in your travel itinerary (as if I had to tell you that…)
No, I’m not the first to cover this story, but I am here to bring you the highlights and the resources if you’d like more information.
Leavesden Studios
Owned by Warner Brothers, Leavesden Studios is an enormous film complex located around 18 miles south west of London, in Abbots Langley.
Many important films were shot there, such as GoldenEye (1995), Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Sleepy Hollow (1999), The Dark Knight (2008), Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Inception (2010).
And of course, all eight of Harry Potter films.
Getting to Warner Bros Studio Tour
Easy. Just get to the tube on Euston Station in the London Tube and take the London Midland train in direction Milton Keynes Central Rail Station until Watford Junction Rail Station. The ride is about 20 minutes.
Here’s a map of the London Underground (The Tube).
There will be black double decker buses stopping by Watford Junction station every 30 minutes, starting at 9:20 am. These will take you to the WB Studio Tour and the ticket is £2 and the ride is about 10 minutes.
Here’s the official page with in depth instructions on how to get to the Warner Bros Studio Tour.
Since tickets can only be purchased in advance, they recommend getting to Watford Junction at least 45 minutes before the hour on your ticket.
Arriving
Photo: www.guardian.co.uk
The big yellow building welcomes you inside, where you can see posters of all the stars of the movies at different ages.
Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
There are actually two big buildings, Studio J and Studio K. Yes, you guessed it, in honor of J. K. Rowling of course!
These studios are not located where the films were actually shot, but they are in the property.
For your convenience, there is coat and bag check, eating area and gift shop!
From now on there are spoilers, so if you don’t want to be spoiled stop reading at this point!
The Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour starts!
You are treated to a short film with David Heyman, the films’ producer. You are then led into an auditorium where a short film with the trio is shown.
After this film the screen goes up and *GASP* you are now in front of the Great Hall’s doors, statues and everything!
You are then led inside the Great Hall and you’ll receive a quick tour of it. After this point you do the tour on your own, though there are knowledgeable staff members stationed to help you along. Some of them were actually extras in the movies.
Great Hall. Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
Studio J
This studio hosts most of the sets like The Great Hall, The Burrow, Dumbledore‘s office, Potions classroom, Ministry of Magic, Umbridge‘s office, boys dormitories in Gryffindor Tower, Gryffindor Common Room and the Quidditch and Ford Anglia area where you can get your photo taken (£12-£20).
The Burrow. Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
Dubledore’s Office. www.dailymail.co.uk
Potions Classroom. Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Ministry of Magic. Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Boys’ dormitories in Gryffindor Tower. Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Gryffindor Common Room. Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
Quidditch area. Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Between Studio J and Studio K
This is an open area where you can find the Butterbeer stand (£2,50 I’m told, no special cup, darn), the Ford Anglia again, The Knight Bus, Tom Riddle’s Gravestone, Privet Drive, the Potter’s Cottage and the Hogwarts Bridge (the one Neville runs on in the movie, you can’t get on it, though).
Butterbeer stand. Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
The Butterbeer is supposedly the same recipe as in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando (USA), but I heard it doesn’t taste quite the same, though it’s good!
Knight Bus, Hogwarts Bridge and Ford Anglia.
Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Hogwarts Bridge and Potters’ Cottage in the background.
Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Tom Riddle’s gravestone. Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Privet Drive. Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Hogwarts Bridge. Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Studio K
Studio K holds Diagon Alley, architectural plans, creature effects, production artwork, miniatures models and the spectacular Hogwarts model that was used in every one of the movies!
Diagon Alley. Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
Goblins. Photo: www.guardian.co.uk
Production sketches. Photo: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
Hogwarts Model. Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
When you get to the castle, you enter through an elevated area, so you see from the top. Then you start circling around it going down a ramp.
You can’t actually touch it, you’re about three feet away from it, but it does go into “day light” and “night time” which is so gorgeous!
Some random facts about Warner Bros Studio Tour
- You can’t really touch anything and you can’t step into the sets. There are some animatronics that move when you push some buttons, but that’s about all the interaction with the props.
- For example in The Burrow and the Horcrux Voldemort from Platform 9 and 3/4.
- The gift shop itself is an attraction because there’s pieces of Gringotts around the walls.
- There’s a small passport booklet for kids with fun activities for the little ones to do during the tour.
- Tickets for adults are £28 and there’s an audio guide (narrated by Tom Felton ‘Draco Malfoy’ in the movies) available for £4.95.
- Remember, tickets are only sold in advance, there are no ticket booths at the Warner Bros Studio Tour site.
Here’s the trailer:
Here’s a the live webcast!
It’s just so amazing to be able to see the actual props and sets used in the movies and admire the artistry, craftsmanship and the level of detail that the people behind the films put into them, with so much care, it’s really (as the British would say) brilliant!
When you visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando (USA) you feel like you’re into Harry’s world, the books just come to life when you can look around you and everything is as you pictured it from reading the books!
I imagine visiting Leavesden Studios will make them even more real and more exciting, seeing all these things 3D, live, so close you can (almost) touch them is like stepping into Harry’s world and greeting them all for the very first time.
Even if you’re not a Harry Potter fan, but you are into art and films, this visit is a wonderful inside look into the creation of one of the most successful film franchises of all time.
Are you a Harry Potter fan? How much do you want to go to the Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour in Leavesden Studios? Are you planning a trip there already?
Share your thoughts in the comments field or in my Facebook page!
The most amazing thing I have ever been to and I need at least a second visit to absorb many things I missed. I missed some things because at 78 I found that my legs began to give out after 2 hours. But congratulations on a wonderfull spectical. I now will read the books and watch the films