Harry Potter Studios Tour
I have really been looking forward to this for a long time!
I had done a lot of research about the best way to get to the studio, since it is located outside of London in sort of a suburb called Watford Junction. One option was a tour that picked up and dropped off near my hotel, but only allowed me to stay for an allotted time with travel on a bus for 45 minutes each way. The second option was to travel on my own--plan and negotiate the Tube, then a train, and then a shuttle to the studio. The benefit here would be my own freedom to come and go. So I opted to figure out the travel on my own.
8:45 Tube to Euston Station
9:05 Train to Watford Junction
10:00 Shuttle to the studio
10:30 Tour begins
There is a lot of walking and waiting in this scenario. Maybe I should've paid for ease of transport. But I made it. And it was incredible! The photos don't do it justice, just like anything in life.
They start off the group in a movie theater setting and show a short intro to the experience with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), and Rupert Grint (Ron) speaking. Then the movie screen is retracted and you are at the door to the Great Hall. The fellow who was kind of a narrator asked if it was anyone's birthday and an older gentleman came forward and he got to open the door! How cute. It was such a dramatic entrance with the HP music going. Very theatrical and exciting.
I liked how the tour was laid out; it was sort of in chronological order. I'm just going to post a lot of pics and people familiar with HP know what everything is! I didn't edit the photos so they aren't cropped and don't look as good as they could, but there are too many for that!
I was on the verge of tears through a lot of this because I'm a nimrod, but also because it's just meaningful for me and I love it so much.
It was surreal to be where they shot the movies almost in their entirety and to see the sets and props and costumes in person. The artistry and amount of work and detail that went into everything was absurd.
This isn't even half of my pics, but I'll stop here. It was truly dreamy. Amazing. The last pic is the last room on the tour. Each cast and crew member has a wand in this room. 😠This photo captures about 1/6 of how big the room was. Each box has a person's name on it. I saw Daniel Radcliffe's, Maggie Smith's (McGonagall), JK Rowling's, and Evanna Lynch's (Luna) wand boxes.
Tomorrow I head home! I am ready. I love it here and every time I come I am more and more comfortable. This time it almost feels like I live here. This trip has felt long and I'm grateful, but let's get back to real life. ❤
I had done a lot of research about the best way to get to the studio, since it is located outside of London in sort of a suburb called Watford Junction. One option was a tour that picked up and dropped off near my hotel, but only allowed me to stay for an allotted time with travel on a bus for 45 minutes each way. The second option was to travel on my own--plan and negotiate the Tube, then a train, and then a shuttle to the studio. The benefit here would be my own freedom to come and go. So I opted to figure out the travel on my own.
8:45 Tube to Euston Station
9:05 Train to Watford Junction
10:00 Shuttle to the studio
10:30 Tour begins
There is a lot of walking and waiting in this scenario. Maybe I should've paid for ease of transport. But I made it. And it was incredible! The photos don't do it justice, just like anything in life.
They start off the group in a movie theater setting and show a short intro to the experience with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), and Rupert Grint (Ron) speaking. Then the movie screen is retracted and you are at the door to the Great Hall. The fellow who was kind of a narrator asked if it was anyone's birthday and an older gentleman came forward and he got to open the door! How cute. It was such a dramatic entrance with the HP music going. Very theatrical and exciting.
I liked how the tour was laid out; it was sort of in chronological order. I'm just going to post a lot of pics and people familiar with HP know what everything is! I didn't edit the photos so they aren't cropped and don't look as good as they could, but there are too many for that!
I was on the verge of tears through a lot of this because I'm a nimrod, but also because it's just meaningful for me and I love it so much.
It was surreal to be where they shot the movies almost in their entirety and to see the sets and props and costumes in person. The artistry and amount of work and detail that went into everything was absurd.
This isn't even half of my pics, but I'll stop here. It was truly dreamy. Amazing. The last pic is the last room on the tour. Each cast and crew member has a wand in this room. 😠This photo captures about 1/6 of how big the room was. Each box has a person's name on it. I saw Daniel Radcliffe's, Maggie Smith's (McGonagall), JK Rowling's, and Evanna Lynch's (Luna) wand boxes.
Tomorrow I head home! I am ready. I love it here and every time I come I am more and more comfortable. This time it almost feels like I live here. This trip has felt long and I'm grateful, but let's get back to real life. ❤