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The magic of Harry Potter is real!

I was going through the pictures on my phone from my December trip to the UK, and got really nostalgic going through my memories from Warner Brothers Studio Tour on the old set of Harry Potter movies. If you are not a Potterhead, you can’t really understand my nostalgia now or my excitement then when I visited the place. But if you grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione, love the movies and is a fan in general, I am very happy to share with you what I saw.

The people behind the studios did a wonderful job of recreating the feeling of magic that Harry Potter world has as well as the sense of wonder I am sure all cast and crew members shared while working on these wonderful movies for over 10 years in a row.

The studio tour starts with a short film of how the books and later the movies came to be (cue tears for romantic and nostalgic idiots like me). And then the Great Hall doors open and you are part of magic!
The Great Hall with Christmas Decorations

Robes and food!

Here are the teachers, or their mannequins 
I think I spent a good half hour wandering the Great Hall (which was one of the permanent sets, meaning they built it up for the first movie and kept it throughout the years) before realizing that I do have a lot of ground to cover before my adventure in Potter-land is over and moved on. Another highlight from the Great Hall (not here on pictures) is the very first robe that Daniel Radcliffe wore on his very first day of filming, it was so tiny! :-)

Griffindor Commons Room

 I really appreciated how well-worn everything looked but at the same time, so well-taken care of! You really feel like you are hanging in Harry's and Ron's and Hermione's living room and they are just about to come out of the dorm-rooms. 

Entry to Headmaster's Office
Entrance to the Headmaster's office looks impressive, and you just feel that Dumbledore is right there behind the revolving staircase, at least on his moving portrait. 

Dumbledore is in his office
And sure enough, here is is, looking very important and serious (Honestly, some of the mannequins are kind of creepy, which only adds to the whole aura of magic, out-of-this-worldliness and wonder). 

Potions classroom
Potions classroom was also one of the more permanent sets (used a few times for various movies). You can't touch anything on the display (with a good reason, obviously!) but my hands were itching to mix and measure and whip up some love potion or something!

The Hogwarts Express and the Platform 9 3/4 takes your breath away! The train is real and they had to move it in on real tracks for shooting, how cool is that? And the platform outside looks just like any regular train station on a busy afternoon :-)

Hogwarts Express

Platform 9 3/4
The whole studios complex is divided into two large (I mean gigantic) rooms and there is some space in between them. You can take a break after Stage 1 and have a butter beer or some lunch before exploring the wonders of Stage 2. There are also sights to see in the open space between two Stages.

First of, BUTTER BEER!
The Dursley's House


The Night Bus

One of the few sad places :-(

Stage 2 or the second part of the studios starts with an array of different creatures, heads, mannequins and other paraphernalia that they used for filming, and then you walk right in to Diagon Alley. I know I have already said it a few times, but it looks so magical and real!! All I was missing is some wizards since there were plenty of mugs mulling about. 

Dragon Alley
Last but not least exhibit, something that truly took my breath away, was the miniature of Hogwarts Castle. 

Hogwarts


It is so well done, with so many details and in great proportions (they used the miniature of all "arial" shots of the castle, and numerous iPads around it show exact movie segments when the miniature was being used) that you can't do anything but stand and simply marvel for many long minutes. 

I knew there was a lot of work, dedication, love and commitment behind the movies and this whole massive production that brought Harry Potter to the screens, but I have not truly realized the epicness and the proportions of those efforts. The Warner Brothers Studio Tour definitely was eye-opening for me. I truly enjoyed every single second I spent there, and when I have a chance, I will definite go back there and explore more! 

As I was finishing this story, I came across J.K. Rowling’s tweets she shared about never giving up. She published copies of rejection letters she received on her Robert Galbraith novels (books she started publishing under a pseudonym)  and I thought back to the late 90s when she was going from publishing house to publishing house, trying to make Harry Potter happen, trying to make the book, this whole world of Harry Potter that I so much love and enjoy happen. And THANK YOU J.K. Rowling for your perseverance, because without it, we would have so much less joy in Harry Potter-less world…


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Location: Watford, Hertfordshire, UK

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