Harry Potter Studio Tour.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” – J.K. Rowling.

Earlier this week myself and two of my best friends went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. This was my fourth trip here, so I didn’t take photos of everything like on previous journeys. As a result of this, many of my photos in this post will be from my other trips to the studios. However, I still took plenty of photos of the new additions of the tour, including the Hogwarts Express and Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

Our tour started at 3:30 pm. While queueing to go inside, you are able to view the cupboard under the stars in which Harry lived after being taken to the Dursley’s. You then proceed to a couple of rooms in which you watch a few clips introducing you to the tour and about Harry Potter. Then the tour properly begins…

Me in the Ministry of Magic during my first visit to the studios in 2012.

The experience of walking around the sets of Harry Potter and seeing them and the props and the costumes and the wigs is all extroadinary. Plus, there are so many things you can experience first-hand, such as flying on a broom and using a wand, sitting on the Hogwarts Express and watching the beautiful Scottish scenery pass you by. Did I mention that you can actually walk around the sets? This includes the Great Hall and the train carriages!

After four visits the Warner Brother Studios never cease to amaze me. Everything there reflects only a fraction of the efforts the cast and crew put into the creation of these eight wonderful movies and it completely baffles me how there are some people my age who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to go. However, let’s not dwell too much on those silly muggles. I was considering writing about the whole experience on here, but then I decided against it. After all, if you haven’t been yet and are intending to some things can still be a delightful surprise as they were for me.

My favourite part of the tour has always been Diagon Alley. You get to walk along the street with all the interesting wizarding buildings and shops on either side of you, as well as there being wanted posters for certain Death Eaters. The lighting may not be the best, but you can still take some brilliant photos; my first time there I must have taken a photo of every single shop on the street. Oh how I wish that I was a witch and could have popped into all of those shops when I turned eleven for my school supplies…

The subject of shopping brings me to another part of the tour: the gift shop at the end. The gift shop has everything. Soft toys, wands, jewellery, cushions, Hogwarts uniforms, mugs, keyrings, magnets, sweets, chocolate etc. I never fail to spend at least half an hour wandering the shop and debating which items to purchase. This time around I decided on a chocolate frog, a Slytherin scarf (I also have a Ravenclaw scarf which I bought last year), a keyring for one of my best friends who was unable to come with us and Cedric’s wand for a different best friend who had bought my ticket.

Due to the new additions to the tour for 2015, my favourite part of the tour this time was definitely Platform Nine and Three Quarters and the Hogwarts Express. I was also very proud of myself last week for getting the courage to ask one of the members of staff to take a photo of my friends and I in front of the train (I am a shy individual).

Before the tour I expected just to see the train, but there’s more than that, and I didn’t think you would be allowed to walk on it, but you can. Furthermore, you can sit on some seats and look out the window and a video plays showing you the views to Hogwarts, going through all the Harry Potter books. Not only that, but each carriage on the train has the train scene from the beginning of each book (except Chamber of Secrets, obviously) laid out.

As mentioned, I do not want to spoil any upcoming visits to the studios, so I will end this post here with a few more photos, rather than mapping out the tour.

Have you been to the Harry Potter Studio Tour?

What was your favourite part?

 

-Lauren