Attraction Review: Bringing Out The Kid In You – Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter

Its a beautiful Saturday morning and I’m off to Leavesden, United Kingdom. I’ve not been to this area before and have never heard of it either. But, its the home of Warner Brothers Studio Tour London and The Making of Harry Potter. You know, that movie about the kid wizard written by J.K. Rowling.

 

 

I managed to secure complimentary tickets from Warner Brothers Studios and visited as their guest so I could check it out and let you all know what I think. Yeah, I’m still a kid at heart. Its fun to never grow up inside :-).

I was up really early for a Saturday morning, but its quite worth it so far. But let me know get carried, here are some facts first.

 

 

 

The Cost

 

I estimate that you’ll spend about 100 USD equivalent per person for the day (transportation, tickets, and food) minus souvenirs you may purchase. At the time of this writing, adults tickets are 33 GBP, and children 25.50 GBP. You can also get family tickets in various combinations and there are group rates as well.

 

 

Getting There

 

Warner Brothers Studio Tour London is located in a small town called Leavesden just northwest of the city of London. You can catch frequent trains from the Euston station in Central London to Watford Junction, then take the 311, a bus painted with the Harry Potter logo, etc. (the official Tour bus) on it so you can’t miss it. You pay 2 GBP on this bus for the return fare.

 

 

My current ride: This is the 311 bus from Watford Junction to a special place… The Warner Brothers Studio Tour London aka The Harry Potter Tour. Or just a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. The cost is 2 GBP return and takes about 10 minutes through a very beautiful part of the country. It’s the perfect day for a visit to Hogwarts. #WhereisKerwin #WBLondonTour #Leavesden #VisitBritain #WBTourLondon #WatsfordJunction #UnitedKingdom #ukpotd #UK #HarryPotter

A photo posted by Kerwin McKenzie (@mskonfa1990) on Aug 15, 2015 at 3:51am PDT

  It’s a beautiful ride out to the studio through the Watford area past the M25 that goes to Heathrow and then you arrive at the studio in about 10 minutes or so. The 311 runs on the 0:20 and 0:50 so its not too long to wait. I recommend using the City Mapper App (IOS, Android) to get directions and timings for your journey.   The Tour Itself     They let in about 133 persons at a time, give you a talk, show you a movie (no photos in either of these) and then, I won’t ruin it for you the real tour starts :-). Now you can take all the photos you want except in the green screen area where you get to ride a broom or fly in the blue Anglia car.  

  You really get a feel for how the movie was made, the detailed work that goes into it. You see the gigantic sets as well as the small ones too, the props, etc. The only people missing are the real actors as you do get to see wax figures as well as mannequin stand ins.   My favorite part of the tour is seeing a 1:24 scale version of Hogwarts Castle this what’s used for the close up shots since there is not a real castle out there like that for them to shoot. I paused for a moment and listened to what people had to say when they saw it for the first time like I did and the word is always the same, “Wow!”  

  Hogwarts Castle. This is a 1:24 scale model. It’s simply magnificent! Plus there is music from the Goblets of Fire being played in the room and the lighting cycles from dawn till dusk till dawn again… #WhereisKerwin #WBTourLondon #Leavesden #HarryPotter #London #UnitedKingdom #VisitBritain   A photo posted by Kerwin McKenzie (@mskonfa1990) on Aug 15, 2015 at 8:14am PDT

I’m just going to let the photos speak for themselves from this point on as that’s so much better, but first a summary of what I though of it all.

 

Summary

 

I loved it! I mean, what’s not to like? The staff is very cordial and genuine and also very approachable, not to mention knowledgeable. You get to see behind the scenes stuff that just blows your mind. Also, as a result of my visit I’m watching all the movies again; have seen the first three so far and its a totally different experience.

So I’d rate it a 5 out of 5 stars!

Have you been? What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment below.