The main entrance to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, which features the "Harry Potter" film series.
If you're a "Harry Potter" fan, you can't leave London without visiting the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Leavesden. Officially named as "The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter," you can step inside two sound stages filled with the real sets, costumes and props used during the filming of the "Harry Potter" movies. These two sound stages were created specifically for the tour, as the actual working film studios are still used for other projects. It opened to the public in 2012.
Before you begin the tour, everyone is brought into two rooms—one large room after another—to watch two different welcome videos. They will likely give any fan an arm full of goosebumps and a hit of nostalgia. After the second video finishes, the huge screen moves up to reveal the grand double doors that lead into the Great Hall. If it's your birthday, you'll get a special chance to open the doors.
When you're in the Great Hall, a tour guide reveals a few behind-the-scenes secrets. But from this point on, you're free to explore on your own for the rest of the tour. The tour guide says it takes an average of about three hours to walk through the two sound stages. The fastest time that someone completed the tour was 45 minutes, while the longest time was 13 hours.
There's so much to see as you explore the first sound stage. The first area beyond the Great Hall features costumes and props from the Yule Ball in the fourth movie on the right side, and makeup and wigs throughout the series on the left side. Moving forward, it's almost like a maze, with multiple displays in front and on the sides of you. Some notable sets include: the Gryffindor common room & boys' dormitory, the Potions & Defense Against the Dark Arts classrooms, Dumbledore's office, Hagrid's hut, the Weasleys' Burrow, Malfoy Manor and the Ministry of Magic. You also get to see props, such as the Quidditch broomsticks, the flying Ford Anglia and Voldemort's horcruxes, just to name a few.
At the end of March earlier this year, the studio tour opened a new exhibit featuring the Forbidden Forest. You experience the same dark and creepy feeling of the forest from the films, as you walk past Buckbeak the Hippogriff and Aragog and his family of giant spiders. But once you leave the forest, you step onto Platform 9 3/4 and see the Hogwarts Express train.
Then you'll come to the backlot, where you can get a cup of Butterbeer or Butterbeer ice cream at a café. To get to the next sound stage, you'll go outside where you can visit the Dursleys' Privet Drive house, the Knight Bus, the Potters' house at Godric's Hollow and the Hogwarts bridge.
At this point, it's hard to believe there's still another sound stage to wander through. The first room displays many of the creatures in J.K. Rowling's wizarding world, including goblins, house elves, dragons and mermaids. As you turn the corner, you become fully immersed in Diagon Alley. The Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando comes close to recreating this set, but of course, the authenticity of the wizarding shopping center here leaves you with a magical feeling. The next exhibit shows all of the conceptual art and paper models. Finally, the last room you enter contains the incredibly detailed scale model of the Hogwarts castle.
General Information
If you know exactly when you'll be in London before your trip, buy your admission ticket months in advance, or as soon as possible. Tickets sell out quickly, especially during the summer months. If your preferred dates are sold out, don't lose out hope entirely. Keep checking the website because some time slots can open up every once in a while.
Leavesden is located about 20 miles outside of London, so you need to do some planning for transportation. Unfortunately, unlike wizards and witches, you cannot 'apparate' yourself there. The simplest way to get there if you don't have a car is by an Overground train. Go to the London Euston railway station, and take a train that goes to Watford Junction. A train ticket costs about £11 roundtrip. Once you leave Watford Junction, a special studio tour shuttle will pick you up (and drop you off later) for £2.50.
If you arrive early, don't be afraid to check with a studio employee to see if you can enter the tour before your scheduled time. A digital audio guide is available for £4.95. At the end of the tour, you'll pass through a huge shop with opportunities to buy a souvenir.
