A Day in the Wizarding World

There's so much to share about the Harry Potter Studio Tour, I don't even know where to begin! I guess I'll start with where the last blog left off, as that's simplest. Also, I apologize here for the small novel you are about to read. Enjoy!!!

So happy to have finally arrived at the Harry Potter Studio Tour!!!

As my friend and I rode the shuttle through Watford to the studio tour, I looked out the window at the houses we passed. I couldn't help but wonder: Did the cast and crew of Harry Potter live in some of these houses during their time filming? It took only twenty minutes to get to the studio tour. Before we were even in the parking lot, I could see the studio. There were five blown up movie shots across the front of the studios (appropriately named Studio J and Studio K). Above the ticket windows and the doors to the lobby was the lettering instantly recognizable to any Harry Potter fan. I couldn't believe I was actually standing in front of the studios where the eight Harry Potter films had been made--not to mention movies like one of the James Bond movies, Star Wars Episode I, and the two Sherlock Holmes movies. There's so much movie history at this spot, and I was there to see the sets that made up the world of Harry Potter.


After waiting for nearly an hour, since we couldn't enter the tour until the time marked on our tickets, it was finally time for my friend and I to enter the tour. We waited in line for about fifteen minutes. Right next to the line was the cupboard under the stairs where Harry lived in the first film. They had the little toys Harry played with and even his first set of glasses. After getting through the line, we were herded into a room with eight television screens that flashed movie posters of the eight Harry Potter films from around the world. Once everyone was in the room, the eight screens were used to show a short documentary-type film about how Harry Potter was chosen to become a movie and a bit about how it was made into a movie. Once this was finished, we were moved from this room to a second room with comfortable, movie-theater style seating. I took my seat, anxious to see what came next. Once everyone was seated, a studio tour employee stood up in the front to give a brief introduction.

Welcome to the Great Hall! Let the tour begin.

Just a note: the entrance to the tour is a really cool, big reveal, so if you're planning on visiting the tour and want to be surprised by the entrance, just skip over this paragraph. In this room, we watched another short film where Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint talked about how much work had gone into the making of the movie. They talked about how many people worked behind the scenes to make the movies into what we finally got to see in theaters. The whole time the trio was talking, they were filmed in front of the doors of the great hall. When the clip finished, Dan, Emma, and Rupert went through the doors into the great hall. With that, the screen itself rolled up into the ceiling, revealing the real-life doors to the great hall. I couldn't believe it, it was so well-done and offered such an incredible and dramatic entrance. I know some of my friends and family will laugh at me for it, but I got teary-eyed when that screen went up. It was such a striking reveal. The screen went up, and there were the doors to the great hall, complete with the statues that defended the castle in the Battle of Hogwarts. This moment only got better when two of the staff stepped forward and flung the doors open, revealing the great hall that lay beyond.

Ravenclaw pride!!

I was speechless...and still trying not to actually start crying, which was only made harder by the fact that my friend was also teary-eyed. Neither of us could express much emotion beyond wiping our eyes and grinning ridiculously. Along with the rest of the crowd, we made our way into the great hall. It was so amazing, seeing the tables running down the length of the hall. At the front of the hall were the costumes of Filch, Hagrid, Snape, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Trelawney, Moody, and Flitwick. They had all the props from the movies. Behind the table were costumes worn by characters from each house. I was happy to see my house (Ravenclaw!!!) represented with a boys and girls uniform. The other houses had a bit more to show for their costumes: Hufflepuff had Cedric Diggory's Triwizard Tournament uniform in addition to the school uniforms; Slytherin had three of the school uniforms, one of which was Tom Felton's; Gryffindor had four of the uniforms worn by the trio in various films, along with one of Neville's sweaters.

A very small-scale model of the great hall.

The entrance was the right way to do it. Starting the tour in the great hall--the same place Harry started his time at Hogwarts was so appropriate. The only disadvantage to this is that the hall has to be cleared in time for the next group to come through. As the entrance groups are separated by only half an hour on the ticket, this doesn't allow for much time to explore the hall. I ended up snapping a few pictures before hurrying off to the rest of the tour. In the next room, there were large boards introducing the producers and directors, identifying which movies they were involved with and giving some personal information about them.

Luna's and Lockhart's costumes.

From there, you moved down a long gallery where most of the displays were on the left...or hanging from above. There were several models of the great hall, the floating candles used in the great hall, and a 'hidden' snitch among the candles. Past this were wigs, makeup stands and leftovers, and costumes. The costumes on display here were almost all Luna Lovegood's or Gilderoy Lockhart's. All the way at the end of these displays were the Educational Decrees from Order of the Phoenix, along with the ladder Filch had used to hang them. On the other side of this long gallery were props from the Yule Ball, including the dress robes worn by Krum, Hermione, Diggory, Cho Chang, and Ron. They also had one of the tables, complete with all the 'drinks' and table decorations. Next to this was a table with the desserts, including a giant chocolate phoenix cake.

A make-up stand with Severus Snape's wig.

At the end of this gallery, you're led to the right, where you immediately see the leaky cauldron (the actual cauldron from the bar) and the Hogwart's gates recognizable from the sixth film. Here, the studio tour opened up into a vast room. I could tell, just from this, that I was going to be here for a while. And this was all still part of the first studio--meaning there was still the outside section and a second studio to get through.

In this first section of the tour, I got to see the hallway of the Leaky Cauldron (a very cool visual effect to make it look larger and longer than it is), props from Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore's office, the pendulum that I remember most vividly from the scene in Prisoner of Azkaban when Harry watches his friends leave for Hogsmeade without him. There was the 'props cage' where lots of props were all packed in together and fenced off so people couldn't grab them. I saw the Gryffindor boys' bedroom, the potions classroom, and Hagrid's hut. Among the props, I saw the Invisibility cloak, the horcruxes (minus Nagini), the Mirror of Erised, the Fat Lady, and the Triwizard cup. In a section in the middle, there was the door to the Chamber of Secrets, the door to one of the Gringotts's vaults, Lupin's self-packing chest from the end of Prisoner of Azkaban, and the Moody's magical trunk.

The Leaky Cauldron,  straight from the bar.

Against a large green screen were the machines used to bring Quidditch to life. There was also Hagrid's motorcycle, the Gringotts's cart, and Mad-Eye Moody's broom from the scene when the Order escorted Harry from Privet Drive to Number 12 Grimmauld Place. There was a room where you could actually go in and go on green screen yourself. I was sorely tempted, as I wanted to see myself 'fly' on a broom or in Mr. Weasley's flying Ford Anglia, but there was a 45 minute wait and I knew that at the end of that wait, I would be expected to cough up some cash for a souvenir photo. I decided just to continue on through the tour.

The rest of the first section of the studio tour housed the Burrow--here they put on display the technology they used to make real magic. They created machines to chop vegetables, simulate knitting, and make an iron skate across a wrinkled shirt. It was so impressive, especially because from one angle, it looked like these things really were magic, but if you could somehow catch a view from the right angle, you could see the mechanisms behind the magic. After the Burrow, I saw the fireplace from Malfoy Manor with the robes of the Malfoys, Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, and a Death Eater in front of it. I got to see the Ministry of Magic, the 'Magic is Might' fountain put in place under Voldemort's rule, Umbridge's office, and the basin Dumbledore drinks the potion from in order to obtain the horcrux hidden there.

Finally, the last thing you see before leaving the first studio (that's right, at this point, you're not even halfway through the tour yet!) is a large glass display case featuring props such as the howler Mrs. Weasley sent to Ron in Chamber of Secrets, the Marauder's Map, products and packaging from Zonko's and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Harry's letter inviting him to study at Hogwarts, Dumbledore's will, Ministry of Magic identification cards, a letter Dolores Umbridge sent to Professor McGonagall, and some of the magical books featured throughout the series. The original fountain (with the witch, wizard, centaur, goblin, and house elf.) from the Ministry of Magic was above the doors to the courtyard...although I never did see the wizard, just the other parts of the fountain. The last thing to see on the way out was a very short video clip of Rupert Grint saying that he hopes you've enjoyed the tour thus far and he hopes you enjoy the rest of the tour as well. 

After this, my friend and I headed out to the courtyard. Here, the outdoor sets are featured. Immediately noticeable, as it stands right across from the door, is the giant, three-level purple Knight Bus. Behind that stand two of the houses of Privet Drive (including Number 4, of course). My friend and I got butterbeer before exploring the rest of the courtyard. I'd like to say that only at the Wizarding World Orlando or the Studio Tour could they charge 3 pounds for a small cup of butterbeer and have a long line of people happy to pay. But of course, it was worth it. The butterbeer is approved by J. K. Rowling herself, so it's the most authentic butterbeer available in the Muggle world. I can't really descrive it but I'll do my best. It's a sweet drink with the same fizzle as as soda. There's a thick cream that forms at the top that tastes a lot like whipped cream. It's really, really good. If they bottle and sold it, I might be in danger of drinking far too much! 

Once we finished our butterbeer, my friend and I headed out into the courtyard. We got our picture taken with Hagrid's motorbike--my friend sat on the bike while I took to the sidecar (just like Harry did!).  We checked out Tom Riddle's headstone, where Voldemort held Harry captive in Goblet of Fire. I knocked on the door of Number 4, Privet Drive. The plaque in front of the house revealed that Rupert Grint took the original number 4 as a souvenir, so the number 4 that was currently on the house was a replica. In the middle of the courtyard was the bridge Seamus and Neville destroyed in the Battle of Hogwarts. I wish we could have walked on it, but I'd imagine if the let everyone do that, it'd be worn through pretty quickly! They had the Potter's house, in the state it was left in after Voldemort's killing curse backfired. They also had a Ford Anglia replica where people could take pictures (I actually forgot about it!). Before entering the second studio, the chess pieces from Sorcerer's Stone wer displayed.


After the courtyard comes the second studio (Studio K). The first room in this studio was filled with everything used to transform the actors and actresses. There were prosthetics used to turn actors into goblins; there were several copies of Dumbledore's blackened and withered hand; there was a model of Viktor Krum's body with a shark's head from his incomplete transfiguration in the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. One of the things I found most interesting was a motorized version of Hagrid's head that could be fitted atop a 6'10" actor to emphasize Hagrid's height. I was so impressed that a small group of people managed to make a motorized head and face to accurate that it was interchangeable with the actual actor. This was also the creatures section of the tour, so there were several models of mermen, grindelows, dementors, and thestrals. Dobby and Kreacher were featured in this room...Dobby made me sad, as the model they had on display came complete with a blood stain across his chest.

Aragog! It's a good thing my Oma didn't see this...I've never met anyone that hates spiders the way my Oma does!

In the next room were only a few creatures: the basilisk's skeleton sprawled across the floor; Aragog, the giant spider, hung from the ceiling, as did the Hungarian Horntail Harry fought in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Against the far wall sat Buckbeak, happily seated in his pumpkin patch.

When I turned right out of the small room of creatures, I found myself standing in Diagon Alley. I remember watching Philosopher's Stone for the first time and when Harry first entered Diagon Alley, I was so amazed by it that I just wanted to be able to visit it myself. And her I was! On my left there was a small-scale Gringotts bank. Behind me, above the doorway, were wanted posters for several Death Eaters, along with the Undesirable Number 1 posters with Harry's face plastered across them. It was like a dream come true stepping out into Diagon Alley. All the stores were laid out on either side of a thin cobbled street, with Gringotts at one end and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes at the other. I walked down Diagon Alley, amazed by the amount of detail they'd put into store fronts. Even the insides of the stores were outfitted according to what each sold. It was absolutely incredible!

Welcome to Diagon Alley!

Some of the blueprints in the art department.

Unfortunately, at this point my camera was starting to die. I knew what was coming at the end of the tour, so I was trying to save my battery for that, so I don't have many pictures from the rest of the tour after Diagon Alley. After leaving Diagon Alley, I came to the artwork section. And I'm so mad that I don't have more pictures from this, because I was absolutely fascinated by all the concept art, blueprints for the castle and other buildings, sketches, full-blown paintings, and white cardboard models. My friends and family will know how much I love art, but for those who don't know me, I love sketching and painting and even sculpting, so to say I was enthralled with this room is very nearly an understatement. The blueprints were the beginnings of places like Diagon Alley, the great hall, and Hogwarts itself. The concept art detailed specific characters, places, or scenes. The white cardboard models were miniatures of several sets, including the Gryffindor common room, the Whomping Willow, the divination tower, and Hagrid's Hut.

The architect of Hogwar

After seeing all this prolific artwork, I rounded the corner into what is referred to as the 'model room.' There's only one thing in this room, and it's the largest model of the Hogwarts Castle I've ever seen. I couldn't believe it! The room is set up so that you start above the castle and then walk the ramp around the room and in doing so, you circle around the castle. It was so incredibly cool to see the castle from so many different angles. They also had touch screens positioned around the castle and you could use those to see the castle from different angles and there were added scenes showing how they used the model to make parts of the movies. After checking the model out from every angle and marveling at the detail (it was basically the greatest dollhouse I've ever seen...almost more realistic than some of the castles I've actually walked through here in Scotland!), my friend and I headed to the last room.

The last room of the studio tour was like the inside of Ollivander's. There were wand boxes lining the walls and each of them had the name of one of the people who had been involved in the making of the movies--everyone from J. K. Rowling to the actors to the make-up artists to the directors to the set designers. I though it was a really, really cool way of finishing the tour. I really like the fact that for fans like me, we can find our favorite actors and actresses, but at the same time, someone that very, very few people know for their role in creating the films have their name memorialized on a wand box too. The thing that struck me was the image of a behind-the-scenes make-up artist or conceptual designer someday taking their kids to the tour and being able to point out the wand box with their name on it. I think the wand room was the perfect way to give a nod to everyone that had made the Harry Potter movies what they were.

The Invisibility Cloak

After seeing everything the studio tour had to offer, I emerged into the gift shop. I have to say that I was quite proud of myself. Knowing how much I love Harry Potter, I had allowed myself 100 pounds to spend at the studio tour. When I saw an authentic Ravenclaw robe, I was on the verge of buying it. It cost 75 pounds, which meant I only would have had about 20 pounds left over, since I'd already paid for butterbeer and my return ticket for the shuttle. Instead, I bought a Marauder's Map (which I've wanted for a very, very long time), a Ravenclaw Quidditch banner, a keychain, a chocolate frog, and a Ravenclaw patch. (I'm sure my Mom will love me for this, but as she made me a robe once in the past, I figured if I got the Ravenclaw patch she could help me make a Ravenclaw robe at some point...love you Mom!) So instead of getting one robe as my only souvenir, I instead left with a small collection of souvenirs that I know I will enjoy.

On the shuttle ride back to Watford Junction, I felt happily satisfied. I'd done something I had never dreamed of being able to do--I had walked through the sets that I'd watched in awe on movie screens for ten years. My parents took me to see the Harry Potter exhibition in New York City (that's the event touring around the world with props from the films). And while that left me feeling amazed by all the things from the magical world, there was something about walking through the studios where they made the movies that seemed, forgive me for this one: magical. It was more than just props and sets, it was almost like seeing how the movies came together. And I'm sure some of this is just my sentimentality about the series itself rubbing off, but it really was very cool to see all the work that went into making these eight amazing films.

And now that I've made it very, very clear how I feel about Harry Potter, I say:

A tout a l'heure mes amis!