HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR LONDON
Visit the Real Film Magic of the Wizard World
Searching for Harry Potter? On a hunt for the magical wizarding world of the creatures and spells of the favorite films of millions. Sure you can now go to a theme park for a glossy attraction and gift shops, but on a visit to London, after a stop at the Kings Cross/St Pancras station where the international Chunnel train now departs for Paris (see London to Paris Chunnel) for the original Track Nine and a Half, head out to the movie studio where most of the Harry Potter movies’ interiors were filmed. Hogwarts is really just to the north of London in Leavesden at Warner Bros. Studio.
For almost a decade, film goers, both young and old were enchanted by the amazing special effects and creepy creatures of the wizard academy of Hogwarts. Now, for the first time since filming began, the secrets behind the studio gates are open to the public. Pull back the curtain and go behind the scenes to view what the cameras didn’t show. Wander through the stunning, magnificently detailed sets and see the costumes, props and animatronics which made the magic appear on screen. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour on London offers a rich showcase of the British film industry’s artistry, talent and technology which made for the most successful film story series of all time.
The Leavesden Aerodrome was once the location of the aircraft factory where aircraft which helped win the Second World War were built (see Duxford Air Museum) . Halifax bombers and Mosquito fights bombers flew from the factory landing strip where the movie studio now stands. The Concorde supersonic jet also landed at the Leavesden runway. In the 1990s, James Bond took over the empty hangars, with Pierce Brosnan in the character for “Golden Eye” turning the former aircraft facility into the Leavesden Studios. In 1999, when Warner Bros. set out to turn JK Rowlings’ ultra popular novels about the boy with the scar who would take on the evil Voldemort in an epic battle of the imagination, the company leased the Leavesden stages to film the first of the series. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone” commenced production at Leavesden Studios the 29th of September, 2000. The some of the first scenes to be shot were in the stunning set of the Great Hall where 400 kids at Hogwarts would first be divided by a talking hat into the houses of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. This set is the beginning of your journey on the Harry Potter tour, one of the only sets to be used throughout the entire series of films, while other scenes were shot on locations (see Gloucester Cathedral) to complete the school.
Among the many sets at the studio are Dumbledore’s office, classrooms, the Knight Bus, which raced Harry Potter through London guided by a shrunken head, the Weasley Kitchen, the wands shops of Diagon Alley, the giant Ministry of Magic, the largest set built for the films, the water tank where Harry dived to save his friends in the wizard’s tournament. Behind the sets, you see props and special effect wizardry and a whole lot of movie magic.
For book lovers get a copy of the Secret Memoirs of Mary Shelley and follow the Romantics authors from London to Paris.
Visiting the Harry Potter Studio Tour at Leavesden
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is located 20 miles North-West of London near the M1 and M25 motorways. By train or underground from London Euston Station or Kings Cross, there is a shuttle service to the studio from Watford Junction Station. The studio tour at Warner Bros. London is open all year round except Christmas and Boxing Day. Depending on the time of year, the first tour starts between 9am and 10am with the last tour between 4pm and 6:30pm. The studio closing time is 3 hours after the last tour time slot. Prices for the tour are £29.00 for Adults, £21.50 for children 5 to 15 years, and kids under 4 are free. Tickets must be booked in advance. Photography and handheld video footage is allowed on the studio tour (with a few exceptions), so lots of opportunities for memorable pictures in the real Harry Potter world. The nearby Grove Estate Hotel offers a special package for the luxury minded (The
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Harry Potter Studio Tour
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SEE ALSO:
NORTH
YORKSHIRE MOORS RAILWAY - THE HOGWARTS TRAIN
ROMAN TOWN ST ALBANS
CRICK TRAM VILLAGE MATLOCK
HAUNTED
HOGHTON TOWER
LONDON SIGHTSEEING BY HELICOPTER
