Our second day in London we spent late afternoon/early evening at the Warner Brothers Studio in Leavesden, to see the Harry Potter exhibit. I haven't read the books, though my children have, and we watched the movies (again) in preparation for our visit. If I wasn't a fan before this tour, I am now. The creativity and effort employed for the sets, props, and special effects is amazing. This tour gives a very up-close and detailed experience of the art and engineering that went into these movies and celebrates the incredible talent of the people who spent many years working at this movie studio. Truly impressive and worth the journey from London. We took the train to Watford Junction where you can catch a shuttle bus to the studio (2 GBP return trip for the shuttle). Make sure to give yourselves enough time. There are excellent directions and instructions on the studio tour website.
I purchased well in advance online. No tickets are available for purchase at the venue. They are timed entry tickets so require a little planning. We started our tour around 5:00 pm, which worked really well as we had such limited time in London and were able to spend most of the day in the city, and then venture out and have the whole late afternoon/evening at this exhibit.
Photography is encouraged, except in the green screen area where they make souvenir photographs and videos for purchase. From the lobby (where you can see the cupboard under the stairs), through the Great Hall, big room (I thought Dumbledore's office was especially interesting), backlot (see the house on Privet Drive, the bus, the bridge and have a snack), Diagon Alley, to the model of Hogwarts, the scenes are impressive. There are interactive exhibits/activities my children really enjoyed, and plenty to read up on about the making of the eight movies. The website has a great map here where you can click on each area to get more detailed information and interesting facts. Here are a few pictures from our visit:
London shopping day up next and then I'll start my recap of Denmark and France.
xoxo
That is so cool! I didn't know it existed. It sounds so great for the kids. Well, adults too, if you've read the books or seen the movies.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gigi - they had an official tour opening this year with JK Rowling and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It is a really cool place.
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