A fandom mecca, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is a monument to the biggest movie series of all time and a must for every Harry Potter fan. Step in and get immersed in colossal studios where all eight of the Potter films were shot is a collection of props, costumes, and sets that will amaze even the most apathetic of visitors. Opening in Spring 2012, in under a year it had over a million visitors and these numbers are far from dwindling. Situated just a 20-minute train ride from London, adults can visit for £35 and under-16-year-olds, with packages available for families. Tickets must be booked in advance. An audio guide is available to hire, narrated by Draco Malfoy actor, Tom Felton. At the end of the tour is a gift shop that includes a number of items exclusive to the tour.
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Will Dunn's (James Sirius Potter) Report
So on Sunday, I went back to Leavesden Studios (Now Warner Bros Studios Leavesden I guess...) with some of the other Potterkids (yes, that's what we call each other) to see the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD. That probably sounds like a shameless plug or something, but it genuinely is.
Seeing the studios again after nearly two years was very, very odd; the place has completely changed, which for film crews and tour-goers is great, it was definitely a little strange for me personally though, even though I only shot there for a week.
SO THE TOUR ITSELF. I don't want to give away too many spoilers... hmm. Well, for starters, there's a really cool-looking café at the start. That's not too spoiler-y, right? I ended up waiting at said café for a while; Ryan (Hugo) Ellie (Lily, Harry's mama, not daughter), and Ben (Young Sev!) had booked an earlier slot, and Helena (Rose) had gotten stuck somewhere in central London, thus I waited with a Sprite, people watching, as you do. So I now hold fond memories of that café, I recommend it, etc etc.
We started the first part of the tour by opening the huge doors into the Great Hall, and then the hangar after that had a huge collection of various sets from the series, which are just amazing to see in person, the amount of detail, and the obvious amount of effort that the set designers put into them, is just incredible. So props to them for that (did you see what I did there?!). There are parts of the Ministry of Magic set too, that especially took me back to when I did Potter; we all did our first rehearsal on that set, with the trio and David Yates, and all the crew. I remember being blown away by the size of it, not to mention the fact I was even there. I guess that was a reminder of how lucky I was to be part of it.
There's a part that involves brooms and green screens... I say no more.
And then, the tour continues onward, but OUTSIDE. Yes, you heard me. OUTSIDE. And what could possibly make this outside-ness better? Butterbeer. And Hagrid's Bike. And the Knight Bus. Helena and I decided to hijack Hagrid's Bike, I got a little concerned I wasn't gonna get out of the sidecar after I got in, but I just about squeezed out.
So then, assuming you've finished your butterbeer (taking drinks indoors is a nono), we proceed onwards again to, if I recall correctly, GOBLINS. And SPIDERS. My mum got especially scared by the spiders. YAY. I believe I saw Warwick Davis' face in a mould somewhere too.
It was pretty crazy seeing all the different sections, and thinking of the sheer amount of people that worked on the films. I think the number that worked on DH was around 2000.
I'm trying not to make this too much of a walkthrough, I have a feeling I'm failing. Oh well. This pic speaks for itself! Yes, it was huge.
Then the wand boxes. To sum it up, pretty much everyone that played a part in the making of the films, no matter what they did to contribute, got a wand box, which are all in this section. I think this is a really cool touch, so often crew members get a place on the credits (or not even that) and that's it, cheers, you're done, bye! But here, the wand boxes give them the extra recognition that they definitely deserve. And let's be honest, having a wand named after you is more than cool.
Seeing my own box was great too! Thankyouthankyouthankyou to Hannah who spotted Helena and me and showed them to us. And thanks for putting up with my requests for Jenny Harling and Jonny Greenwood, her knowledge of where they all are is pretty impressive... as is the enthusiasm of all the people that work there.
And then, that was it. Worth it? Oh yus. The interactivity is so good, and it was a nice little nostalgic Potter top-up for me (I need one every now and again, don't we all?). I think (and hope) I can speak for the other kiddies in saying that we all loved it; we met up afterward for a meal and were raving about it.
Oh, I couldn’t resist doing this either.
Ellie Darcey-Alden's (Young Lily Evans) Report
I think that my studio tour was absolutely amazing; it was a totally awesome adventure. My favorite part was either seeing the mini version of the Hogwarts Castle, riding on the broomsticks, or standing in the Great Hall again, I can't really decide which because they were all so fantastic. Standing in the Great Hall made me feel proud because I remembered being under the Sorting Hat, riding the broomstick was just so cool because I had never really done it before, and as for the miniature castle... well you have to see it to believe it, I think it should be the 8th Wonder of the world. Oh and I also loved finding the Wand Box with my name on it in the Wand room, I can't believe it really...
Everything was mind-blowing, from art sketches to mechanical beasts like Aragog. It was mesmerising to see ALL of the sets and props they used from the first film all the way to the last. All of the crew put so much effort into the making; they had to make sure that every minor detail was correct like every strand of hair on the Goblins to every one of Buckbeak's feathers. It is totally incredible to think that all of this originated from the imagination of J.K. Rowling... Wow completely mind-blowing!!!
I recommend a visit to everyone, I think they should go and experience this wicked adventure.
