Harry Potter Studios Tour near London

Knowing that we would be driving near London anyway, I excitedly booked us a tour if the Harry Potter Studios for Saturday.  Being a weekend in August, even booking nearly month out, the earliest time slot available to us was 4:30 pm.  I was a little frustrated to have such a late time, but it turned out to be a good thing as we hit standstill traffic and arrived just on time at 4:10, after losing nearly 2 hours to not movement (I was getting panicky there in the last bit before we moved, as the tickets are non refundable).

This tourist attraction has opened only since the last Harry Potter films came out.  The two sound stages, and backlot in this area (now moved a bit to be closer together) housed sets and were truly the filming locations for much of the 8 HP films.

Arriving, we first had to prove we had prebooked tickets to be allowed to even enter the parking lot!  There was no additional charge to park, though.  The firs thing you see outside are some of the pieces from the chess scene in the first film:

There were kiosks at which we scanned our printed confirmation and were given our three entry tickets, ticket for an audio guide and ticket for a paperback souvenir program (included in a package we prebooked).  We headed inside and picked up the audio guide, made a restroom stop, and got into the queue for the 4:30 admission.  Arriving 20 minutes before the time (as recommended) turned out to be just about perfect to get everything done without rushing, and everything was well set up and easy to navigate.

In the queue area, there is the set piece from Harry's cupboard under the stairs (with a sign explaining that many of the pieces used to dress it came from the props mistress's basement) and smaller model of the flying car:

At 4:30, on the dot, we were let into a theatre where we watched a short film with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint speaking about "growing up" spending much of their childhoods working on and studying at the very studios we were in.  It was well done and really a good introduction.  Then the screen shot up and the door of The Great Hall was before us.  The doors were opened and we were all let into the Hall--which, other than lacking a ceiling and having the center rows of tables removed to make room for us, looked just like the movies.  Our time in the Great Hall was limited, and guided, but we still had enough to get some good photos and soak it all in:

After about 10 minutes in the Great Hall, we were sent into the main soundstage, which is chock full of tons and tons of sets, props, costumes, etc.  From that point on, our tour was self guided, and we were free to take as long as we wanted exploring.  We were told the average tour (including the intro) is about 3 hours--which is exactly how long we stayed.  The record?  13 hours (first tour, staying all day basically).  I feel badly that Marika, the biggest fan in our family, was not with us; however, she would need much more than three hours so perhaps it is better if she goes on her own.

  Here is a small sampling of the many photos I took in the first (main) sound stage area.  I have to say that the sets were so very detailed, and very well constructed (it was explained that most were built knowing they were likely to be used for 7 films, so made to a higher standard than most film sets).  It was just magical.  Even David, who is not overly fond of Harry Potter and has only seen the first film (and read the first book) was blown away:

All 3 of the above, from the Yule Ball scenes

Harry's clothes at different levels of wear for the same outfit

Boy's dorm in Gryffindor.  

Gryffindor Common Room

The Borough

This sound stage (J, the other is K --get it?) also has an area set up to have green screen photos of your group in a flying car and playing quidditch as well as a "wand lessons" area.  Rio and I had fun playing with the wands:

Between the two sound stages, the backlot is a much condensed version of the original, with many of the outdoor sets now brought together in a courtyard.  They also sell buterbeer and snacks here.  We got two butterbeers to share.  It is a bit like cream soda with more butterscotch falvouring and some cream.  Rio loved it--but be warned we saw MANY abandoned cups, I suggest getting one for the group to start and only buying entire cups for those who like it.  

This is #3, the neighbors.  There were lots of people clumped in front of #4 and I was not patient enough to wait for them to leave.

Back inside, the first thing to see in Studio K is the creature shop:

Continuing on, Diagon Alley:

There is a section with original sketches, paper models and blue prints for sets:

and then the breathtakingly beautiful model of Hogwarts Castle which was used for nearly every shot of Hogwarts in the films--CGI animation of it only being used in the final two part series:

The tour ends with a mock up of Olivander's Wand Shop in which each wand box has the name of someone who worked on the films--a great little way to have "credits" and we had fun hunting down some of the names we recognized:

Of course, there is a gift shop at the end.  We did not buy anything, but were impressed that the quality and prices were pretty good.  

All in all we had a wonderful time and I would highly recommend taking the time (and spending the money) to spend a day here if you are ever visiting London and have even a passing interest in the books and movies of the Harry Potter series.  We were really impressed.  I should also mention that the audio guide was very well done, easy to operate and filled with many short (1 to 4 minute) clips of directors, actors, costumers, etc talking--mostly video clips.  It was never just long, boring commentary.  

--Hadley