Over the weekend, we had the absolute pleasure of going on The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour. Today I wanted to share with you a few highlights from the day, and you’ll have to forgive me as I will be gushing about it. It was so good, we all loved it and I find myself already wanting to go back.
Boo and I are reading the Harry Potter books at bedtime and from the very first chapter of The Philosopher’s Stone, she was hooked. It’s been wonderful reading them again and experiencing them with her. We’re on The Chamber of Secrets now, and she’s a huge fan of Hermione. To get Little Man interested in the tour, we’ve let him watch snippets of the first couple of films, just enough to fall in love with Harry Potter’s world. He loves the characters (Draco is his favourite – my son’s odd like that!), the flying car and the Golden Snitch, and show him Dobby and he’ll laugh every time! So with the kids eager and excited, we set off for the tour.
If you’ve ever been on a Warner Bros tour before, you’ll know that they do them well. We went along to the Warner Bros Studio in LA a few years back (we got to sit on the Friends sofa – this remains exciting to me to this day!) and this was reminiscent of that. It’s a booked in advance ticket only event, enabling them to manage numbers well for each tour and the process is slick as you arrive and move through to the start of the tour. I don’t want to really detail all that this entails, as it’s all part of the magic of the day as far as I’m concerned, and I don’t want this to be a spoilers post, more of a taster.
There is so much to see, from sets to costumes to models to props to behind the scenes ‘making of’ and effects. After the initial guide, you are free to meander around everything at your own pace. The guide for timings is around three and a half hours, though you can spend as long as you want there once you are in. We walked across the Hogwarts bridge, stood on Privet Drive, stood in Dumbledore’s office, oh so many brilliant moments, so I think I’ll share with you a few of our highlights….
The Passports
Children are given Harry Potter passports at the beginning of the tour, and for Boo, this was her absolute favourite part of the tour. There are 13 Golden Snitches to find as you walk around, so the kids were searching for them in each room according to the clues, then ticking them off. They were so excited every single time they spotted one. There are also 6 stamping stations positioned around the tour, which the kids enjoyed using. I think it’s a lovely keepsake to have from the day and they are both treasuring theirs.
The Great Hall
There is something so special about standing here. It’s huge and feels magical. The children screamed when they saw the Sorting Hat – we do all love that hat!
The Burrow
One of Little Man’s highlights. The Burrow has interactive displays, so you can wave your hand and get the iron to move or perhaps get knitting to magically knit. Very cleverly done, and he wanted to stay there for a long time!
Walking on Diagon Alley
How fabulous?! Here’s Boo outside Ollivanders, passport in hand, you see. A little further up, Little Man loved the sweet shop – if you’ve been on the tour you’ll know how revolting that display is, and it’s clear why he adored it!
The Hogwarts Express & Platform 9 3/4
As we rounded the corner to this part of the tour, we could hear the steam. As soon as he saw it, Little Man shouted and ran to get a closer look!
They so wanted to run through the wall!
The Hogwarts express and the platform are so iconic. I think people who’ve not read the books or seen the films would probably recognise this part of the tour.
Privet Drive
As well as being able to see this from the street view, you can walk through it and see this room…
Those letters really wanted to reach Harry!
The Hogwarts Model
It was just ‘wow’. You can see a few people around it in the photo there, so that should give you an idea of how big this model actually is.
The Shop
Yes, the shop is a part of the tour that my kids are adamant that I include as one of their highlights. It’s unsurprising when I consider how long we spent in there. We managed to talk Boo down from a full size broomstick with lights (no mean feat) and persuaded Little Man that he didn’t need a Harry Potter wand (they are labelled ‘fragile’ and he is 3, enough said!). Eventually, after around half an hour, Boo emerged with a Hedwig key ring and a toy wand and Little Man opted for Harry Potter glasses and an Aragog the spider. He’s not even seen Aragog in the films, he just liked him!
Then we were done. And we were all buzzing and chatting about how much we enjoyed it. And now we want to go back.
If you like Harry Potter, you won’t be disappointed. If you LOVE Harry Potter, then seriously, you have to go!
Have you been? What were your highlights?
Disclosure: We received complimentary tickets for the purposes of this post
I’d die for the opportunity to go on this tour. I’m definitely a tad obsessed with Harry Potter as I did receive my Hogwarts letter and more this past Christmas. I’ve collected as many Harry Potter Pops Dolls as we could find in the states, and even decorated my college planner cover with Hogwarts and the Platform tickets, and more. I love the books and films and hope to one day go see all of the magic of Hogwarts. It sounds amazing! What a wonderful experience to share. I enjoyed every picture and every word describing the fun you had with your family. ?
Oh, you would just love it! You might even explode!! It was wonderful and though it was only a few days ago that we visited, we all want to go back already!
I am sure I’d want to as well, or I’d want to stay forever. 🙂
Oh, you would!
I am SO glad that you had so much fun! It really is amazing isn’t it? Can’t wait to go back x
Loved it! We will be back! x
Oh this sounds like so much fun! I’d love to do this tour someday! I visited the WB tour in LA and you are right…it was by far one of the most well put together tours I’ve ever done. I’m constantly recommending it to people for when they visit LA.
They do things brilliantly, I think. Hope you get there some day!
My son is desperate to go here! I’ve promised him that we will go in the Summer Holidays. Judging by your photos I think he’s going to have a fantastic time.
He’ll love it, it is brilliant! Hope you have fun x
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This looks absolutely amazing! One day I will visit….
hehehe I did chuckle when you mentioned your visit to the shop! I think I’d want the full size broomstick with lights to x
Yes, you’d all love it! Ha ha, it is pretty impressive! x
Oh this looks like such an amazing day out, my teen would love this. I really will have to take her to visit soon as it looks magical xx
It is absolutely magical. If she’s a Potter fan, she will adore it x
I reallllyyy want to go. I’ve seen a few people post pictures from their tour and it looks amazing. Magical even. Hopefully sometime soon.
This looks truly amazing. I would LOVE to go here. In fact I must. Your post makes me want to go all the more xx
Yes, go! It is fabulous! x
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