So, on Friday morning, my sister, mum and I bundled into the car and got ready to set off. I was practically jiggling with excitement the entire way there until we drew up outside the Warner Bros. studios. Cameras at the ready, we charged towards the entrance where we were confronted with some giant chess pieces standing guard at the front of the building. After a few snaps (there were going to be a lot of photos taken that day!) we headed inside. I was particularly excited since we were lucky enough to be going around Christmas time and so all the sets were all themed as 'Hogwarts in the snow' which would make everything that little bit more magical!
At the start of the tour, we were herded into a small room where a short film was played, depicting how the Harry Potter phenomenon had spread around the world. I felt quite emotional at this point as I realised that I would never again experience the hype around a new book coming out, and the fact that there would never be any more to Harry's story. Then, we filed into a large cinema room where we saw another short film presented by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint explaining how they'd grown up on set and telling us a little about the people involved. Then, the screen lifted and we were faced with the huge doors of the Great Hall!
We streamed through and began admiring everything, from the plates and plates of festive food, to the amazing decorations everywhere and the costumes at the end of the hall. Since the set had been dressed up to look all Christmassy, you could really feel the magic seeping out of every corner. Everything glittered and you felt as if you'd been transported straight into the life of a real Hogwarts student. We were told a little about the set and I was amazed at the level of detail that went into everything! For example, the Great Hall was actually built out of solid stone (and not just made to look like it as I'd assumed it would be) as they'd needed it to withstand the feet of hundreds of Hogwarts students' feet over the course of eight movies.
Before long, we exited the Great Hall and entered the main exhibition where we were free to roam! Here, there were different pieces of scenery and thousands of different props which had been used in the films! There was everything from the flying car, the trunk that Mad Eye Moody was looked in (with its amazing mechanical workings- it really did do what it did in the film in real life!), Hagrid's hut (built as a self contained unit that could be picked up and taken anyway in the world!), to the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore's office and the Weasley's house!
We had a go at flying on broomsticks and travelled by flying car before racing around to see everything else that was on offer. I just couldn't get over the level of detail that was put into everything! Many things that I'd assumed had just been animated in the film actually existed and worked in real life such as the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and the vault door at Gringotts. Every painting you see in the film was actually hand painted in oils and every little wand box in Ollivander's wand shop (and there were thousands!) had a hand written label stuck on it. There were even four different 'types' of snow used to make all the snow scenes look as authentic as possible! Not only that, but certain things such as 'The Monster Book of Monsters' and the mandrake roots where completely mechanical and all moved by themselves!
About halfway through the tour, we got a chance to sit down and have a well needed coffee, or in my case, a Butterbeer! It was delicious! Very sweet with a thick, creamy foam on top that left you with a frothy, white moustache. However, before long we were back on our feet and heading round to look at the remainder of the tour. I won't tell you everything we saw, but I will say there were some pretty breath taking surprises that made many people gasp audibly!
I grew up with Harry Potter. Each year as Harry got a year older, so did I. I waited in line outside book shops and went to pre-premieres of the films. I dressed up and went to Harry Potter themed parties and late at night, would hide under my covers with a torch and read the books until I couldn't keep my eyes open for a second longer. Still, I love the stories and keep revisiting them. Maybe therefore it doesn't come as a surprise when I say I couldn't recommend the studio tour more. But, consider this- I was apprehensive it would take away some of the magic that I'd grown up with. It didn't- seeing everything for real just brought everything to life that little bit more. The tour was an incredible (and surprisingly emotional) trip. So jump on your broomsticks or utilise your local floo network and get yourself down to the Warner Bros. studios!
