MuggleNet Review: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London Hogwarts Express

by · March 3, 2015

Who’s ready to hop aboard the Hogwarts Express when it arrives at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter later this month?

Today, MuggleNet was invited to a preview of the new Platform 9 3/4 expansion, with a very special guest in attendance: Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley) himself!

 

 

We were previously given a sneak preview of the feature. That was only a month ago, and then, the site was still covered in scaffolding and new paint. Today, it was quite different, and you might have been forgiven for thinking that you had wandered into King’s Cross itself.

 

Hogwarts Express

 

As we rounded the corner, we saw the train itself waiting at the platform, ready to bear us away to Hogwarts, steam billowing out around it. At one end, a facade depicts the bustling station of King’s Cross, giving the illusion that the station continues on. The famous clock stands at 11 a.m., ready for the train to depart, full of eager Hogwarts students.

 

hogwarts express at warner bros studio tour london

 

The engine itself is the original one used in the films and prior to appearing in the films, served as a real, working train. The new feature was worked on by designer Stuart Craig, construction manager Paul Hayes, set decorator Rosie Goodwin, and special effects supervisor John Richardson.

Along the walls are trolleys and trunks, halfway through the wall, ready for visitors to pose with for pictures. Throughout the area, there are trolleys and trunks belonging to Hogwarts students, waiting to be loaded onto the train.

 

Hogwarts express expansion at studio tour London

 

Behind the train itself is a carriage that is open to visitors. The carriage was originally used in the first film, and it is easy to believe that you have just boarded the train for Hogwarts. We were able to explore the narrow carriage, and some of the compartments were laid out as they were in some of the films – from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to the epilogue in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. There are several opportunities for pictures here as well. Outside the carriage is a row of open booths, as used in filming, which reveals how the green screen technology worked, particularly for those Dementor scenes in Prisoner of Azkaban.

 

Harry-Potter-Studios-Hogwarts-express-green-screen-area

 

There is also a railway shop, which offers Hogwarts Express goodies for you to take home – as well as a trolley stacked up with sweets, as you would expect.

 

railway shop at studio tour london

 

The structure itself is impressive, and it certainly feels like a real platform. As you can see from the pictures, it’s a huge space. It’s hard to believe that it was all constructed over the last few months. As always, the amount of detail and care that went into creating this new section of the tour is overwhelming. Of course, it was very quiet, with only a few people wandering about, which will be different when it opens, no doubt making it feel like the train is just about to leave.

We were amazed at the amount of work and preparation that had gone into the feature, and we can’t wait for it to open to the public so that you can all enjoy it too. It’s definitely a very exciting addition to the tour – and something that you’ll just have to go back and see! The feature opens to the public on March 19 and is included in normal ticket prices.

MuggleNet also got a chance to chat with Williams. In the interview, we asked Williams about being back at the studios and his Harry Potter memories, as well as what he’s up to now.

 

 

Full Transcript with Mark Williams, Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Transcribed by Marissa Osman

Sophie Reid: What’s it like to be back at the studios again?

Mark Williams: I come back regularly, but this is new! This is extraordinary. That is the real locomotive. Twenty-five tones of it. It was born in Swindon, it lived in Wales, and it was retired to the Barry's Scrapyard, was rescued, and now it's here. It's a real Welsh dragon, that is. [laughs]

Sophie: That's amazing.

Mark: Yeah. There's nothing quite like having the real thing, which is a lot of what the Studio Tour's about, as you know.

Sophie: Do you have a favorite memory from set?

Mark: I don't really do favorites; I've got lots of things I enjoyed, and every single set has got great memories. The Great Hall makes me think about the wife killing Bellatrix, which is a good memory. Some of the flying I always thoroughly enjoyed, and some of the sets on the backlot that you don't see anymore were always enjoyable when we were all rambling around and going to the World Cup and stuff.

Sophie: Which prop would you have liked to take home with you?

Mark: I think most people would have liked to [have] taken their wand.

Sophie: Did you take any props home?

Mark: No, no, no. Garry Standby Props cantered everything out and cantered it back in. No chance.

Sophie: If you could have played any of the other characters in the series, which would you have liked to play?

Mark: Well, Bellatrix, I always say. Because it's the diametrically opposite character. [Helens Bonham Carter] always seemed to have so much fun as an actress.

Sophie: Which character do you identify with the most?

Mark: Mine. It would be a bit of a tragedy if I didn't identify with him. Somebody asked me earlier if there was a character that I didn't have a scene with that I would like to have done, and it came to me. I never had a scene with Robbie. I think a scene between Mr. Weasley and Hagrid could have been really good.

Sophie: As a series, Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling inspired a lot of kids to read. Was there a book that really inspired you?

Mark: I read anything; I read the back of a cornflakes packet. I'd be hard put to say that - and that's a really good question; I'm sorry I don't have a better answer - I can't think of one. I just seemed to snowball into reading, and I just read anything I could. Maybe Dr. Seuss. Is it "1,001 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" or whatever? I seem to remember it hitting me and going, "Oh, wow, I can read this!"

Sophie: You’ve recently been hosting the quiz show The Link. Do you enjoy hosting the show, as opposed to acting?

Mark: It's great because I don't have to learn any lines, which sounds very lazy, but also, you get to meet different people all the time, so that's been really interesting.

Sophie: Will you be making more Father Brown?

Mark: Yeah, we're making another [season] of Father Brown this year. 2015. So we're keeping going with that.

Sophie: What are you working on at the moment?

Mark: I'm doing a sitcom pilot called "Mum," which is my brother's own production team we made, just the two of us, which is really exciting. And a couple of other films.

Thanks again to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London for inviting MuggleNet along today.

Are you looking forward to the new feature opening this month? Have you already got your tickets to go? Let us know in the comments!