Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Making of Harry Potter

When we were planning the itinerary for Sugar Bear's first trip to England, we loaded it up with history and iconic landmarks... basically stuff that we thought she should see.  After a weekend in Cornwall with my girl-child, we realized that her idea of fun and interesting is a little different from ours.  These young people today (sigh).

So discussion and compromise ensued.  The Tower of London turned into a drive-by wave from a double decker bus and the Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour was added to the agenda. 


She was right on with the Cider Farm and the Otter Sanctuary, so we easily got behind the idea (after a mild nosebleed when we checked out the rates.)

SB is a pretty big fan.  TE and I enjoyed the movies but didn't actually see them all.  I think I read the first book when it came out.  

We scheduled our time, paid £28 for each ticket and added on an audio/visual guide for about £6 each.  Tickets must be purchased in advance.  We took a train out to Watford Junction, hopped onto the studio bus and after a short trip we arrived at Warner Brothers Studio Tour London to experience The Making of Harry Potter.  

From the very beginning, we were drawn into the world of magic that is Harry Potter.  

The tour is divided into three sections.  Other than the introduction, the tour is self-guided.  You can explore each area as long as you want, but once you move to the next section, you can't go back.  They say it will take about three hours to see everything and that was right on for us.  We spent a majority of our time in the first area.  It's chock full of thousands of props, costumes and sets from the films.  




You can take pictures to your hearts content.  And the audio/visual tour absolutely added to the experience.  It was full of extra information and clips.  I would definitely recommend it. 


 
The displays are numbered for convenience and so you can coordinate with the audio/visual guide.  SB flitted about and explored.  TE and I, being the type of people that we are (ahem), had to go through in numerical order.  There we several occasions of me looking around in a panic for the next number.  SB would roll her eyes (a maneuver she had perfected by the age of two) and point me in the right direction. 





There were a lot of people there, but it wasn't too crowded.  Sometimes you had to be patient to get an open shot of something.  There was quite of bit of dodging teen girls holding up iPhones.  The RULES say  not to use flash photography and there was this one woman that kept using it with her big honkin' camera.  I wanted to shake my finger at her, but instead just mumbled something like "not supposed to use flash,"  hoping she would overhear me.  I'm such a rule follower... and passive/aggressive a wuss. 





The second section is outside in a courtyard and includes some of the larger props.  There is a little snack bar if your sugar levels are dropping.  Speaking of sugar levels, be sure to taste Butter Beer.  It was pretty good... very sweet!






The third section includes special effects, animatronics, and the Diagon Alley set.  Absolutely fascinating!  There is so much to see, everywhere you look is something amazing. 

 
 


They have done such a superb job of taking something as complex as making a movie and giving you a good breakdown of the process.  They cover every aspect and give you a behind the scenes and very intimate look at the people involved. 



 


There is a WOW moment at the end, but I didn't want to spoil it by showing you a picture.  Not to mention the huge Gift Shop at the end including fun Harry Potter memorabilia at every price range.  

Our assessment?  It was worth every penny.  Fascinating, engaging and intimate.  They've done a fantastic job.  We came out wanting to have a Harry Potter movie marathon.  

"This boy will be famous. 
There won't be a child in our world who doesn't know his name."
  -Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling


xoxo
Selena 




24 comments:

  1. I am SO jealous! This is awesome and makes me want to come to England. Not that I don't already want to come, but it makes me want to come even more!

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    Replies
    1. So glad you enjoyed! There are a million and one reasons to come to England. I'm missing Texas... we should do a house swap a la "The Holiday"

      btw, I was born in South Carolina!

      Have a lovely 4th of July. I'll be thinking of home!!

      xoxo
      Selena

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  2. It looks amazing! I had been in two minds about visiting (on account of the admission price) but I think I will definitely make a turn later in the year. I would enjoy the first part and the Diagon Alley set the best, I think!

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    1. It was fun... as much about the movie making process as the Harry Potter Series. I'd love to hear your take on it.

      See you soon!!

      xoxo
      Selena

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  3. Oh I'd love to see this. I'd heard about the price but having read your post, it seems absolutely worth it. Moving it up the bucket list now...

    ps thanks for being part of POTM Club - otherwise I may never have found you!

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    Replies
    1. Kym,

      I'm thrilled you stopped by! I love to hear from fellow expats. My hubby actually lived in Oz for about 6 years and got his citizenship. I've never been but would love to!

      You've been in the UK for awhile now. I've only been here six months. But, so far, so good :D

      Let me know what you think about the Harry Potter tour is you go.

      xoxo
      Selena

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  4. This looks fabulous. I really want to go and see this aswell!

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    1. It was very engrossing. I'm glad we went. As much about the movie making process as anything. The hard part was getting out of that gift shop unscathed. :D

      Thanks for stopping by!!!

      xoxo
      Selena

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  5. I've been debating going to the Harry Potter thing, since it's only open for such a short time, but neither of us are Harry Potter people... we'll probably go, though, then watch the movies! Do you think you missed out on a lot that SB got, since she'd seen the movies and you hadn't? We've been to various filming locations, just by being tourists- The Shambles in York, Alnwick Castle, Glenfinnan Viaduct, etc.
    I HATE when people use flash when you're not supposed to- it makes me SO ANGRY! Part of my anger is because if you're around old paintings, woodwork, or basically anything but stone, the flash of thousands of visitors a day can be quite damaging. The other part is that I'm a compulsive rule follower, too :)

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    1. Hi Gesci,

      I didn't realize it was only temporary. Do you know how long it will be open? We had seen the last three movies recently which I think helped us enjoy the tour more. It's as much about the process of moving making as anything. I need to check out the other places you mentioned. I'm excited to see more of England. :D

      xoxo
      Selena

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  6. I wrote about it this month too - wasn't it fabulous?! You captured it wonderfully here!

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    1. Wasn't it fun? Did you do the green screen filming? We skipped over that part because the line was so long. Thanks for commenting :D

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  7. This just gave me chills. Yep, it's official. I MUST COME TO LONDON IMMEDIATELY AND GO THERE.

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    1. England is such an amazing place! More than I ever dreamed. You should start planning your trip. Let me know when you're in London!!

      xoxo
      Selena

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  8. Hi Selena I found this fascinating as the whole phenomenon somehow passed me by ☺. Thanks so much for joining the POTMC. J x

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    1. Hi Jane,

      It was pretty cool! Thanks for stopping by. I need to get over to the POTMC and enjoy some wonderful blogs!

      xoxo
      Selena

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  9. Oh! Sounds amazing. I've been dying to go cause I'm such a Harry Potter geek but think I'll have to wait until the little one is a bit older or I get a day off!

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  12. Thank you so much for sharing! I LOVE Harry Potter!


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  13. I do so have to go there one day, but when I visited London I thought I would not have time for it...

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  14. I spent nearly three months in Europe, and I have to say that the Harry Potter Experience was one of the major, major highlights of the whole trip. I spent about five hours there and would go back again in a heartbeat!


    -Abby
    www.PictureBritain.com

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  15. This is awesome. I have my review here http://samtravelled.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/harry-potter-studio-watford.html. It was great!

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  16. Just saw this on your London tab. LOVE IT!!!!! This is a must for me! I am obsessed with Harry Potter and would be in heaven if I ever got to go to this!

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Thanks for commenting. I love to hear from you!