Harry Potter Studio Tour London - What to Expect!!

In honor of the new Fantastic Beasts movie coming out this week (Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore), I want to take you with me on the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. We were just there last month and it was AMAZING!!! Are you a fan of all things Harry Potter, too??

The Harry Potter Studio Tour in London houses sets, costumes and props from the eight Harry Potter movies. Some of the sets were actually used in the movies, while other’s were replicas recreated for the tour. The attention to detail on the costumes and props are mind blowing. Here is what you can expect on the tour:

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First off, plan plenty of time to be there. We only had a few hours allotted and we easily could’ve spent all day. (But if half a day is all you’ve got, it’s totally worth it to go!) There was way more than we were able to see.

Another important tip, reserve your tickets online, and do it as far ahead as you can. Purchasing at the door is not an option. The studio is quite a bit outside of London, so it would be awful to travel all the way out there and not be able to do a tour. We drove there and parked, but there is also a bus stop right outside the studio, if you are arriving that way.

Also, just a heads up, if you aren’t familiar with the movies, this post will probably way more information than you ever needed on this subject! But if you are a big HP fan, you will love this!!

Are you ready?? Let’s begin the tour!!

When you enter the building, there is a giant dragon hanging from the ceiling! You can see a little cafe, an information desk, and a food hall. There so much going on, we were a bit overwhelmed where to start. We chose not to purchase the audio tour, and had plenty to see and enjoy without it. We grabbed a map at the info desk and then went to the “Tour Entrance”.

Once through the entrance, you walk into a room where you join a queue waiting for the tour to begin. You immediately see Harry’s cupboard under the stairs bedroom, and posters and fun facts about the movies from when they were first announced around the world.

Next you walk into a room that you stand in, surrounded on all sides by TV screens where you are welcomed to your tour by the Weasley twins and some other characters and staff members. You aren’t allowed to use cameras or phones in this area or the next room which is a mini theater. In these rooms you are given a short introduction to the tour. But right after this, get your camera ready, because you will be entering the grand Great Hall!! Cameras are allowed for the remainder of your stay.

The Great Hall is even bigger than I expected and you walk right into the scene where the Weasley brothers are setting off fireworks during the OWL examinations from The Order of the Phoenix.

Next, you walk into a giant room that has been partitioned off into different areas with costumes, props and sets such . You’ll see scenes from the Yule ball, potions class, Hagrid’s hut, the mirror of Erised (you can even see yourself in it), Goblet of Fire, the house common rooms and many more. You will even see lighted footprints walking around mimicking the Marauder’s Map.

Dumbledore’s office is pretty incredible, and you can even stick your face in the pensieve. There is an area where you can pay to have a picture flying on a broom and have a chance at saying “up” and the broom flying into your hand. So fun!!

I think my favorite set was the Burrow (the Weasley’s house), where the vegetables are chopping themselves, dishes are washing on their own, the knitting needles are hard at work, and you can see the iconic clock on the wall. I wanted to stay for dinner with the Weasley family around the table!

As you go through the tour, not only can you relish in the sets, props and costumes, but you get to learn about movie making tricks. You learn about camera angles to make Hagrid appear bigger than life, fun facts about the actors and characters, and the magic of what a green screen can do to enhance a scene.

Keep on walking and you will enter an area dedicated to the Dark Arts where you can see the scene from the Malfoy’s mansion with Nagini the snake slithering on the dining room table. The Ministry of Magic entrance is in there as well.

I loved the little facts we learned, for example, Dolores Umbridge’s dress gets more and more pink the more powerful she gets throughout the movie.

It was cool and creepy walking through the Forbidden Forest and meeting with Aragog the spider and his scary friends.

All aboard the Polar Express!!

As you exit the forest, you go through a corridor into a long room featuring the Hogwarts Express!! You can board the train and peer into different cars that represent the 7 different movies. For instance, the first car had Harry and Ron sitting inside enjoying their treats from the trolley, like in The Sorcerer’s Stone. As you go through the train, the cars sequentially go through the movies. The train billows steam and is beautiful shiny red, just like the movies. There are awesome spots to take pictures. You can even pose with a luggage cart running towards the brick wall at platform 9 3/4.

After the train, there is a brief break in the tour, which is absolutely brilliant by the way, where you enter an eatery where you can grab food, drinks, eats and treats. This would be a really great midtour break if you had lot of time to spend here. There are plenty of tables and chairs where you can sit and give your feet a break. We were in a bit of a time crunch, so we grabbed some butterbeers and headed on our way.

Once out of the eatery, the tour veers outside into a courtyard. You immediately see the giant triple decker Knight Bus, the outside of Privet Drive, the Hogwarts bridge and Sirius Black’s motorcycle. This area was my daughter’s favorite spot.

Your time outside can be as brief as you need it to be. We spent awhile taking pictures there. When you are done with your photo shoots, you head back inside to the other side of the building to learn more about the costumes and props. You see how the goblin heads are made and enter Gringott’s Bank!! This set is also much larger than I expected.

While in Gringotts you can stroll down the long main lobby, lined with goblins and shiny, elegant teller stations. After you have passed through the lobby, you can take pictures in the different vaults, and then watch a demonstration of the old dragon destroying the bank. If you have little kids with you, this part may be a bit overwhelming. There were some crying toddlers when the dragon charged through the set!!

When you exit Gringotts, you step into Diagon Alley. You feel like you are in the movie as you window shop you way down the street. It was fun to see the apothecary, Ollivander’s Wand shop and Weasley Wizard Wheezes.

The next room is a massive replica of the outside of the Hogwarts Castle. It’s beautiful and so intricately detailed. It fills the whole room and you can circle it to see every angle. I loved seeing the full layout of the school.

Lastly, you head into an enormous gift shop where every Harry Potter item you can think of is for sale. Everything is very expensive, so be prepared for that if you want to bring home some fun swag.

Overall, it was an incredible experience!! We love the Harry Potter movies and books so much. We can hardly wait to continue the adventure as we watch the new Fantastic Beasts movie!!

Have some more time in London?

Check out these posts for other experiences you don’t want to miss:

Here are some Harry Potter products our family has really enjoyed. Maybe you will love them, too!

We were invited to a Harry Potter Christmas party and were asked to bring the cake. We opted for a cake that looked like Nagini the snake! It was made up of our Andes Mint Bundt Cakes and some coco pebbles treats (for the head and tip of the tail). You can see it here on our Helping of Happiness Pinterest Board. Grab the cake recipe here!

Check out some of our other travel tips below:

Hogwarts Express

Harry Potter Studio Tour London - Knight Bus
Hillary HessComment