HELLO HOGWARTS! A Tour of Harry Potter World..
Two weeks ago, my childhood dreams came to life when I toured Warner Brothers' Harry Potter World in Watford, London with my brother Kieron and Rashad. Being the big kids we are, it became almost impossible to hold back our excitement on the day but it truly was a great experience!
Lucky for me, Watford is not too far away from home so it probably only took half an hour or so to drive down. I would suggest driving there if you can as there's free parking (bonus) and it's generally easier by car than public transport. After showing our tickets and being (thoroughly) searched, we entered the building and the excitement was at full throttle.
Me being me, often a panicky-poo, I made sure we got there in good time and was actually about 50 minutes earlier than we needed to be! But this was OK as it gave us time to look around as much as possible - to be honest, there wasn't much to see as the main tour was yet to begin. We looked around the gift shop and the lobby, that's pretty much it. Oh and we grabbed a quick snack from the canteen too.
The Warner Brother's Studio Tour
The Warner Brother's Studio Tour
After queuing for about 10-15 minutes, we were ushered into what looked like a 'sorting room' - somewhere we had to wait until the tour ahead of us had moved on, to avoid too much congestion in the rooms ahead. Here we listened to a member of staff try his best at amusing the crowd whilst he told pretty poor and cheesy jokes. To be honest, it was a tough crowd. We all wanted to just get inside and start touring so I don't think most people were paying much attention to his attempts at delaying the tour by distracting us. After this, we watched a short film about Harry Potter, the hard work put in to make the films, the grafting behind Rowling's transition from idea - to book - to film and and a few other things which featured more of the Harry Potter cast. Then, the torture was over and it was time to go in. Or so we thought. We were then brought into a little cinema-style room full of rows of seats and a big screen. Again, we watched another short documentary about the making of Harry Potter before the screen suddenly began to retract into the ceiling to reveal the huge brown doors which lead to The Great Hall! FINALLY. The real tour was about to begin! :D
The Great Hall
The Great Hall
Instantly, everyone began pulling out their SLR's and iPhones. Some were even snap chatting the whole experience ('some' included me...however, I couldn't keep up the snap chatting for long, it's was starting to take away from the experience so I stuck with my camera, until the battery died!!).
The Great Hall was everything you imagine it to be and everything you see in the films! The four long dining tables for each house were right there in front of us. The 'altar' where Dumbledore and the other teachers stood, the sorting hat, the floating candles which hung from the ceiling in almost every film, the massive banquet of food lay on each table, the (fake) fireplace blazing away... So cool. We all stayed in this room for about 15 minutes just snapping and recording. Some stood and quietly listened to the tour guide as he gave us fun facts about the films and the things that went on in that room during filming. Then, on to the next.
The Great Hall
The Great Hall
We were brought into a huge warehouse-style room and introduced the the rest of the tour and from here onwards, we were on our own, free to wander through the rest of the tour without a guide or time limits. There was SO much to look at, so many different routes to take and different things to do. We saw a lot of the original props from the films such as Tom Riddle's diary, the golden snitch, the bludgers, the vanishing cabinet, the door which lead to the chamber of secrets, etc. We also came across a lot of the scenes and sets which were reconstructed for the sake of the tour, such as Dumbledore'a office, the boys' dormitories, the moving staircases, the Weasley's kitchen, etc.
Dumbledore'a office was just great. It was like we were standing on set with the cast. A mannequin wearing Dumbledore's famous cloak and hat stood eerily in the corner of the room facing us. It was dark and chilly and featured some of the talking paintings (obviously not talking at the time), the cabinet where he stores the memories, his desk, the Phoenix staircase which spirals to reveal the visitor(s). So much detail!
Props from The Yule Ball
Props from The Tri Wizard Tournament
Props: Tom Riddle's Diary
Dumbledore's Office
Dumbledore's Office
Props from The Films
Props: Harry, Ron & Hermoine's Clothing
Props: Harry, Ron & Hermoine's Clothing
After this, we headed over to the green screen area to learn about how the magic really happens with the broomsticks and quidditch. Obviously, we all know that Harry and his peers were not really flying in the films. The green screen is used as a backdrop behind who ever is on the broomstick, a backdrop is then morphed in (E.G the quidditch field) and the mechanisms in the broomstick allow it to move around making flying motions. This would all require a lot of hard work and editing but The Harry Potter World Tour allows you to feel 11 years old for about 5 minutes whilst you try your hand and flying a broomstick too! Tourers are allowed to hop into a broomstick and try out the mechanisms agains a green screen, making it look as if they too are flying, just like Harry. You can also purchase a photo or video of this experience for an extra price. We didn't attempt to fly our broomsticks but instead watched in humour as some found it relatively easy, others struggled to maintain their balance! There was also a green screen area which allows you to learn how to properly use your wand (if you have purchased one). An on-screen instructor teaches you about correct stance, correct pronunciation of spells and how to put the two together. Some people took this very, very seriously...
After the green screen areas, we found ourselves walking towards the Weasley's kitchen! There was so much attention to detail, so many props in place to create this one scene from clutter on the shelves to dirty dishes being magically washed on their own to jumpers quietly knitting themselves. Literally, just like the books and films.
Next we headed down to Diagon Alley - the place where everyone buys their wands, books, does banking etc. Similar to a very creepy looking high street. We passed Gringott's Wizarding Bank, Olivander's Wand Shop and the shop owned by the Weasley Twins. Fun fact no. 1: Due to certain story lines, most of Diagon Alley was destroyed so this was reconstructed for the purpose of the tour! We did get a chance however to 'pick our own wands' (although, yes, the wand should choose you :P) at the gift shop. Here we found famous wands like Harry's, Voldermort's and Dumbledore's, as well as Betty Botts, chocolate frogs and other tasty snacks from the books and films. You can also buy all kids of merchandise from Gryffindor scarves to cups to diaries to quills. We didn't purchase anything although I was tempted by the wands and chocolate frogs, however, at £8.99 for a chocolate frog, I soon found myself no longer tempted.
The Dursley's House
The Potter's House
Diagon Alley
Opposite the gift shop was the Hogwarts Express! The huge red and black train which takes people from platform 9 3/4 to Hogwarts! It looked exactly the same as it does on the big screen and even expresses its own steam! We were able to hop aboard and have a little walk through. Fun fact no. 2: This was just one of the many trains they used as 'The Hogwarts Express' in the films. After this, we tested our acting skills in a make-shift train carriage. It's in these carriages that Harry and co. would act out scenes from the inside of the train. We had to pretend we could see dementors through the (green screen) windows. The acting on our parts was questionable but it was fun learning about how these memorable parts of the film were shot.
We then went outside to where the Dursley's house was, along with Harry's family home, the 'skinny bus' and the Weasley's blue car. Fun fact no. 3: A total of 17.5 cars were used in the films to portray the blue Weasley car!!!
Platform 9 3/4
Chocolate Frogs
Platform 9 3/4
Green Screen inside the Trains
The Hogwarts Express
The Hogwarts Express
Lastly, we saw Hogwarts. Well, the Hogwarts Castle. From the outside. The outside shots of the Hogwarts Castle were actually shot using a (very large) miniature castle. It was beautiful. The colours changed (under different lighting) to portray winter, summer, night time, day time, etc. It looked even better up close than it does on TV. We were able to walk all the way around the outskirts of the castle to really appreciate it from all angles. It was amazing to see how the films were really made and the mount of effort that went into making each and every shot just perfect! Sadly though, this marked the end of the tour and we were back at the beginning after a quick browse in the gift shop again.
Honestly, if you are a Potter fan you may want to check out this tour. We actually learned so many things about the films, staff, crew, graphics, special effects and the props. Be warned though, once you take the tour, you will never look at the films in the same way again! There were some SERIOUS spoilers! But totally worth it!
'The Wand Shop'
Hogwarts
The Making of Fire
Props: The Monster Book of Monsters
Props: The Chess Pieces
Props: Aragog
Props: The Chess Pieces
How was your recent experience at Harry Potter World? Did you find it useful? If you have never been before but would like more info, you can visit the offical website here!
