Warner Bros. Studio Tour Introduces Tactile Tours: Bringing the Magic to Life for Those with Visual Impairments
Last year, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter sponsored three guide dogs in training to improve accessibility. Now, the magical partnership between the Studio Tour and Guide Dogs – a charity supporting blind and partially sighted people and training and raising money for guide dogs – has led to the formation of tactile tours, creating an accessible tour for those with sight loss or a visual impairment, allowing them to get up close to the magic of Harry Potter.
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The experience allows guests to touch props, costumes, and the magical creatures from the Potter films, including Harry’s wand, the coins found in Gringotts, and if you dare, one of Aragog’s legs. In addition, the huge, to-scale Hogwarts Castle has been transformed into a raised, tactile floor plan, allowing visitors to feel their way through the castle with their fingers.
The staff at the Studio Tour have been given specialist training from Guide Dogs to teach them how to approach visitors with sight loss and how to help them navigate their way through the Studio Tour, especially during busy periods.
Guide Dogs’s Head of Accessibility, Alex Pepper, commented (via BBC) on the positive impact the tactile tours have had on visitors so far.
Over the past year, our partnership with the Studio Tour team has made impactful changes to enhance the experience for visitors with a visual impairment.
A guide dog in training sits at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. (Credit: Warner Bros. Studio Tour/Guide Dogs)
The Studio Tour invited guests with visual impairments to gather their feedback on the tactile tour, and the response has been hugely positive, with Potter fan Skie Hewitt saying she “absolutely loved” her visit.
I just feel so happy to be included in the tour now. It was brilliant.
Fellow fan Penny Hefferan commented, “I’d always thought how fantastic it would be to touch some of the displays, and I’m really thrilled to have been able to do so.”
Other accessible measures at the Studio Tour include subtitles present on most of the media throughout the attraction (apart from the holding room and cinema, where portable iPads can be provided for a subtitled version), a sensory room that provides a calming experience for those with autism and other additional needs, and sensory support bags, which include assistance aids such as fidget toys and ear defenders.
This fantastic step toward accessibility and inclusivity opens up the Warner Bros. Studio Tour to even more Harry Potter fans, allowing them to be a part of the magic.
