If you’re thinking of visiting Harry Potter Studios then my biggest top tip would be to book well in advance. Tickets sell out quickly months in advance, especially when there are special events taking place such as Hogwarts in the snow around Christmas.
Travelling To Harry Potter Studios
If you’re driving to Warner Bros Studio Tour London, it’s useful to know there is a very large and free car park on site for visitors. The Sat Nav postcode is WD25 7LR. There are plenty of attendants directing you to the nearest available space.
Driving to Watford from the South of England takes you on the M3 Junction 2 Thorpe Interchange, M25 until Junction 20 and onto the A41 which is close to the Studios.
Driving to Watford from the North, your journey takes you on the M1 until Junction 6a and onto the M25 until Junction 20 onto the A41.
If you don’t fancy driving to the Studios, then there are bus transfers from Central London. There are also train services between Watford Junction and London Euston and Birmingham New Street Station. Free shuttle buses are available between Watford Junction and the Studios.
Arriving At Warner Bros Studios
When you arrive at Warner Bros. Studios, take advantage of the outside photo opportunities before you join the queues to enter.
Once inside before you join the studio tour, there is the opportunity to purchase refreshments. It’s here you can also use the facilities and take in the amazing details.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour – The Making Of Harry Potter
You can expect your Harry Potter tour to last around three hours once you begin the tour. There is so much to look at and interact with, take the time to really look at everything.
At the beginning of the tour, you are taken into two rooms where photography isn’t allowed. You will be given information about what to expect on the tour, and shown a short movie featuring some special guests.
The Great Hall
Your Harry Potter Studios tour begins in the Great Hall. This is an impressive room with long dining tables laid out with plenty of food. If you’re visiting at Christmas time, then this will feature the festive feast.
At this point in the tour, there is a tour guide providing information about the Great Hall and a little more of what you can expect on your tour. There are hidden items and plenty of information to look out for. Don’t forget to collect your passport from a staff member if you wish to collect the stamps along the way.
Harry Potter Sets
Once through the Great Hall, you’ll notice the group will begin to disperse as you are left to explore as you wish. The sets include many hand crafted props that feature throughout the films.
The Harry Potter films were all filmed next to the Studios Tour. Each of the sets were kept after being made and used in case they were ever needed again in the future. Today we the public get to enjoy them.
Harry Potter Props
A true Harry Potter fan will really love seeing the props up close. Whilst you may not be able to touch them, you cannot help but admire the amazing work that went into creating them.
In the potions classroom, the potions jars include baked animal bones from a local butcher shop. The dried leaves, herbs and shrunken heads were made by the props department.
The labels on the memory vials for example in Professor Dumbledore’s office were hand designed by the graphics department before being sent to the props department.
An amazing amount of work went into making the Harry Potter films.
Harry Potter Costumes
The costumes you see on the mannequins during your Studios tour are the real costumes worn by the actors in the films.
Harry Potter Studios Tour Experience
If you are thinking about booking Harry Potter Studios tickets, I recommend doing them months in advance. They sell out really quickly, and whilst cancellations do occur, the tickets are gone as quick as they are released back online.
Our Studios tour experience was in November and during Howarts in the Snow. It was exciting to be able to see Hogwarts and Diagon Alley with snow. As I mentioned it’s really important to take it all in (or as much as you can) and not rush through.
The crowds really do disperse from your group once you are through the Great Hall and into the sets. This isn’t a guided tour which means you can take your time and enjoy it all. Seeing the sets on a TV screen and seeing them in person made you really appreciate the detailing that went into everything.
There are helpful information points everywhere you look. There’s also lots of things to read that may remind you of sets and props missed during watching the films. Along the tour you’ll also spot some green screens where you take advantage of photo opportunities.
Some of these allow photos from yourself, and others are images available for purchase such as riding the motorcycle and broomstick.
The tour flows nicely through sets, props and plenty of information. At the almost half way point, there is a merchandise shop just after the Forbidden Forest.
This is actually a good point to just stop and look at something else for a few minutes. Platform 9 ¾ is a great photo opportunity and a chance to walk through the Hogwarts Express.
The next pit stop after the Forbidden Forest is the Backlot Cafe. This is the only place on the tour where you can get a Butterbeer. There are also plenty of refreshment options and seating available for a rest.
The tour then takes you outside to see the Knight Bus and Number 4 Privet Drive. You can walk through the house and see the living room and kitchen area. Onto Professor Sprout’s Greenhouse and a photo opportunity in the flying car and motorbike.
There really is so much to see and do. You are led through an amazing display of how special effects were created for the films. Then it’s into Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley and the chance to see Hogwarts castle in its finest glory.
You will be cleverly brought out of the tour area into the gift shop that is huge in itself. Then it’s back to the area where you began.
If you’re wondering whether the Harry Potter Studios tour is worth it, then I can happily say yes it is. It’s a great day trip near London for the Harry Potter fans. If you’re discovering all the Harry Potter places to visit around the UK, then this is a great start.
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