#expericene

The Warner Brothers Studio is just outside London and it’s every Potterheads dream since that is the original location where all 8 Harry Potter movies were shot. It was the home of our favorite actors for 10 years, so it’s a very exciting place to be. As a fan you get to walk on the same ground they all did. Furthermore all the costumes and props are the ones that were used in the movies which is a huge plus.

During your tour there are several short movies that introduce us how the actors felt shooting in certain spaces, or how special effects were used, how costumes were done and make up. Getting a sneak peek into their everyday life is amazing.

Warning: it might ruin certain things for you, especially Quidditch and the green screen. 

Not everything was done by magic in the movie. So just be careful, because after this, you won’t be able to look at the movies in the same way.

The fun thing is that at the beginning of the tour you receive a passport and you have small tasks to complete on your way as well as collecting stamps. It makes the tour even more exciting.

So how does it look exactly?

First, we start off at the Great Hall, the real one, which look totally cool. You have all the houses and their clothing showed on the sided and the Professors costumes as well.

After that we move into this huge room with hundreds of different props, rooms and scenes. If you have an entire scene staged (as the Death Eater meeting from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1) the scene is playing on a small screen so we can actually compare it.

Seeing the actors talk as well of certain scenes and tell us how it felt being there is very interesting. Especially when they give us insider information. The staff as well is very knowledgable and they know a lot of fun facts that they are happy to share.

  After the props there comes the Forbidden Forest (beware of the spider, they are super scary), the entire part is very real with all the thunders and wind, but I honestly couldn’t wait to get out of it. (No pictures of this one, I don’t want anyone to get scared of the spiders hahaha)

But then finally we get to King’s Cross and there it is, the iconic Hogwarts Express where you can actually walk up and see where they were shooting and how it was organised. You can take the iconic trolley picture going through the wall and there is a small souvenir shop with all the famous sweets.

After this, there is a small part outside with outside. You can find the Knights Bus the Private Drive house (where you can actually go in, see the interior, Hogwarts bridge and many more fun things. So if you tend to get cold bring a jacket. While you walk outside you may drink a delicious Butterbeer and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Including the chess figures and Sirus’s motorcycle which was used by Hagrid, and the Weasley car.

The tour continues with the makeup and special masks made for our favourite creatures, including Dobby and the Goblins. We also get to see the mechanics of how Hedwig or the Hippogriff worked, so its very interested. There are two short movies talking about the process of creating these masks and making the special creatures, which I do recommend watching because it’s very good.

The next stop is of course the famous Diagon Alley. And seriously that was the best thing ever. It was so real, the shop signs were moving, and everything looked exactly the same as in the movies. I think that was my favourite part of all, no wonder they left it till the end. Hint: The Weasley shop was the best!

After this we see how the big props were designed. For this one I will let the pictures speak, because it is truly incredible.

Aaaaaaand finally… the Hogwarts castle.

If the tour itself so far wasn’t a dream come true, seeing the huge Hogwarts castle will make everyone at least a little emotional. The Castle was the cherry on the top of this wonderful day. Seriously it was one of the best days of my life.

  So Potterheads, what are you waiting for? Go book your ticket, because the waitlist is huge. So make sure you don’t miss out on this life-changing experience. It is worth those 3 hours that the tour lasts. Only three hours, I know? But you can of course stay as long as they are open.

And lets not forget about the huge souvenir shop at the end of the tour, and the several smaller ones during the tour. You won’t be able to resist buying every single thing that your heart desires.

And don’t worry, these are not even half of the pictures I took that day, so no hard spoilers going on here. You will still enjoy it, if you go!