HARRY POTTER WORLD

I wish I was a witch! As huge fans of the Harry Potter novels and movie series, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Harry Potter World, was a highly anticipated part of our London experience. And it did not disappoint!

Maggy gave us her car again (and some hand written directions) and we made the trip to Watford. We were greeted by the enormous wizards chess pieces from, The Philosophers Stone, and upon picking up our tickets entered a world of magic and wonder. After a quick lunch to pass the time (the cafe could have really gone to town with dish names the Weasley Twins would have been proud of, but was just like every other cafe) before our tour started, we joined the line to start our magical adventure.

First was a quick run down of how J.K. Rowling’s novels were discovered and the process of making them into a film series. Then on into a movie theater for a quick run through the highlights of all 7 movies. They joked about it being all 7 movies in full, back to back. I would have been fine with that! After this the screen was pulled up to reveal the entrance to the great hall. Amazing! Even more amazing was what we saw when the ornate doors were opened.

The great hall was all decorated for Christmas. The Christmas banquet was laid out along the table that runs the length of the room. The Christmas trees were complete with witches on broomsticks flying around the top and beautifully decorated. The robes of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and our personal favourite Gryffindor were on display with the house crest. With these were the uniform worn by Robert Pattinson, as Cedric Diggory, during the Triwizard Tournament, The dress robes worn by Cho Chang, Neville Longbottom’s cardigan and Harry’s Gryffindor gear! At the teachers table stood Snape, McGonagall, Filch, Trelawney, Flitwick, Mad Eye Moody and most noticeably Hagrid. Most notably Professor Dumbledore stands front and center. 

Time in this room is limited as there are tour groups sent through on a regular basis but after leaving the great hall our time was our own. As you will see from our photo’s there is so much to see whilst walking through each studio and set. I don’t think you would be able to see absolutely everything in one trip. It is all done in so much detail and we discovered things that you would never pick out just by watching the movie. It’s even hard to pick out highlights because it is all so interesting and astounding but I will try.

For me the costumes, make up artistry and wigs were outstanding. As were the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore’s office and, I hate to say it but, Umbridge’s office in the Ministry of Magic. In my defense, it is pink!, The Burrow (The Weasley’s Home) is absolutely my favourite set in the movie, novels and now in person in the studio. The clock on the wall with the whereabouts of family members, the self knitting needles and the self washing dishes are incredible. I wish all dishes washed themselves! The potions classroom in the dungeons is fantastic too, every bottle has a different potion or ingredient on the label and the potions stir themselves.

We got to ride a broomstick while wearing a Gryffindor robe (sit on a broomstick and pretend to ride it while watching ourselves on a computer generated background). And did the same in Arthur Weasley’s magical Ford Anglia. In an outside set we had photos in the car, on the knight bus, riding Hagrid’s motorcycle, at the door of number 4 Privet Drive, and at the gate of the Potters’ cottage in Godric’s Hollow. We even tried butterbeer! Mikayla and I thought it was delicious, although very sweet and one glass was more than enough. Mum had tried it before and already knew it was way too sweet for her!

All this was finished off with the castle room. I can’t even explain just how amazing the model of the castle is but breathtaking and spectacular are a good start. It is cast in daylight and night time intermittently and at the moment is dusted with snow for Christmas. Absolutely stunning!!

Four hours and 516 photos later we had seen Harry Potter World, and already wanted to go through and do it all again! We survived the shop unscathed, i.e. didn’t buy anything, and headed out into the freezing cold to start our journey home. And boy was it a trek!! We started on the M25 and and were going quite well until about 4 miles from the exit we needed to take onto the A12. We hit traffic. London traffic that is a million times worse than Perth traffic (yes, yes it is possible). Stop start all the way to the exit and this continued along the A12. Suddenly we heard sirens behind us and everyone moved to the side to create a third lane through the middle of the two lane road. Five ambulances, five fire engines and three police cars went through and traffic stopped completely, we thought it must have been a huge crash and hoped no one was hurt.

When traffic had been stopped for quite a while mum decided it was time to turn off the engine, as did everyone in the jam. One girl even jumped out of her car to retrieve a sleeping bag from her car boot, she obviously knows London traffic and came prepared. Mum was very tired and finding it hard to stay awake so we encouraged her to have a sleep while we kept an eye out to wake her up when the traffic started moving. Mikayla and I took turns holding her head up and comfortable while she slept for about an hour. Yes you read that correctly, one hour asleep in the drivers seat on a major road! Crazy! We eventually arrived home to Maggy and Graham’s after a one and a half hour trip that ended up taking four! All in all Harry Potter World was very much worth it!