Love it or hate it, everyone has heard of the name Harry Potter. Whether it's the love of the books or the movies, the wizarding world has become such a big part of many people's lives. My family and I have always loved reading and watching the stories together so I knew a visit to the Warner Bros Studio Tour was a definite must as a Christmas gift for my parents. Annoyingly the only date I could book back in December was for March so we had a long time to wait. Double annoyingly, our date in March was also then moved thanks to the snow and roads making it impossible to attend! So after a long 5 month wait, we finally visited the studios and had an amazing time.
Although we had a long time to wait for our trip, I am glad we were delayed in visiting and went when we did. Our trip fell on the third weekend of the new 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' exhibition. I loved that we were attending for a special event as our only previous visit was when it first opened, so it was great to see new things that were brought in specially for the occasion. There were so many differences from our first trip and the Goblet of Fire touch was great!
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| Polka dot top - Primark Khaki Jacket - Topshop Jeans - Jamie Jeans Topshop Sandals - ASOS Bag - Michael Kors |
First of all, I love how well themed the whole exhibition is. From entrance to finish, every single moment was FULL of Harry Potter movie memorabilia. The entrance to the tour was different from my first experience to the Warner Bros studio's. As the studios was being used to film for the new Fantastic Beasts movie, the entrance had been moved to allow privacy and filming to take place. I loved that we were able to see the staging for this film and it added to the magic of our trip. After the long security queue to get inside, then another long queue to actually go into the tour (if you've visited you know what I mean!) we started our magical trip into Hogwarts.
This was the first 'Goblet of Fire' special that had been added to The Great Hall section of the tour. It was crazy to be able to see the goblet in person, as well as Fred and George laying on the floor! As part of the tour, you experience the goblet choosing a name to compete in the 'games'. As luck would have it Harry Potter was chosen, fancy that!
I love hearing all of the random facts throughout the tour as it really gives you a behind the scenes look into what actually went on during filming. One of my favourite facts was about the costuming in the final two movies. Due to the storyline going from one extreme to the next, Harry needed costuming that reflected this. In the part one his clothes were tidy and clean, but throughout the movie the clothes were slowly distressed to reflect the action. By the end of part two not only was there many holes and rips in his clothing, there was also the added blood here and there!
The tour itself is so interactive, and there's many parts where you can personally get involved with various sets. I tried out the broomstick 'up' scene from the first movie and can honestly say it was all my childhood self ever dreamed of!
Now I know we're supposed to hate Umbridge, but I just can't help myself from falling in love with the decoration of her office. I mean, it's everything I could ever want and need from a workspace! Pink, regal furnishings and pictures of cats. It's literally my dream come true! #Officegoals?
How incredible are all these gorgeous witches hats? The detail that goes behind every single hat, wand and prop in the movies were so perfect and intricate to making the film the success that it is. I find it so interesting that despite the fact some of these hats would have been seen for maybe one second in a scene, the time and effort that went into making them unique and special would be the same as key props. Props truly do set the scene, and I'm so glad that this tour allows the time for these things to be seen!
If only you knew how difficult it was to get a decent photograph of me on platform 9 3/4. There are MANY outtakes of me trying to attempt the typical flying in the air shot (check out these images below).
Another highlight of the trip was our visit to the backlot cafe. Obviously a trip to Hogwarts wouldn't be complete without a butterbeer. I've been lucky enough to have tried it before at this studio tour and in Universal Studios LA, so knew I didn't like it. I was excited to see however that there was now the option to purchase an ice-cream butterbeer! Which, if you know me is right up my street. I am happy to announce the ice cream tastes NOTHING like the beer and was extremely delish. I was also given a souvenir dish that I wasn't expecting that was a nice touch for the trip.
The model scale of the Hogwarts castle at the end of the tour is such an incredible sight to see, and it's so unbelievable that it was used to shoot the exterior clips for the movies. It's hard to capture through images the scale of the model, but again the detail and design's are so intricate it makes the whole thing come to life. Fun fact, the model actually had small LED lights which flicker gradually to look like little people walking throughout the grounds. As part of the 'Goblet of Fire' exhibition, the Beauxbatons flying carriage had been added, which again was a lovely special close to the tour.
Obviously no exhibition tour would be complete without a HUGE gift shop at the end. For once I was good and didn't actually purchase a thing! But I couldn't help but capture my favourite section of the shop - the sweets! If I could have bought every single Honeydukes sweet I would have!
Overall my experience at the studio tour was even better than I had remembered from the first time. As a Harry Potter fan, being able to step through into the Great Hall and the wizarding world is such an incredible experience. Exploring all of the props, behind the scenes facts and physically witnessing magic happen before your eyes makes the wait to go worthwhile. To be honest, even if you're not interested in Harry Potter the trip is still a great opportunity to have a look at what goes into making such a successful film franchise. The amount of props that I have mentioned which are only seen for a split second in a film along with the more noticeable ones shows how much time and effort has gone into making the tour a success. I can't wait to hopefully visit again and immerse myself in everything magical again!
I would love to know if you've ever been to the Warner Bros Studio Tour! Is there anything you loved about the tour in particular?
Until next time,
The Outtakes
