Have you heard about that tour of the Harry Potter Film studios in London that started recently? Well, some relatives of mine got me and my siblings tickets to it.

The first thing you see when arriving are two massive yellow warehouses (named, appropriately, Studios J & K), plastered with what look like scenes from each of the movies. At the door, you get a Harry Potter 'passport', which is really just a blue book with areas for stamping at of the main attractions.

Once inside, there is a large atrium complete with overpriced cafe and a gift shop (more on that later). After about half an hour of queuing, you and about fifty other people are ushered into a small room where you are told about the history of the Harry Potter films.

After that has finished, you are taken into a miniature cinema where you are shown clips from each of the films - advertising, basically, but it has very comfy chairs. That lasts for around twenty minutes, until the screen rises dramatically, revealing the doors to the Great Hall. Inside are the house tables (pushed to the walls for convenience), the plates and cutlery used in the films, and some of the uniform types. A 'host' then talks you through some Harry Potter lore. Apparently, Alan Rickman used the same costume for Snape throughout the eight movies. When I asked her why it was different in the last two, she said, pretty much, 'because'.

Anyway, then you're allowed to 'roam free'. But not backwards, because then they might lose money. They had lots of the sets on show - Hagrid's hut (Mk. 1), the Weasley kitchen and Dumbledore's office, for example. It sounds like a cliché, but everything was a lot 'bigger' in real life. That "Might Makes Right" statue is friggin' scary up close. Same with Umbridge's office - lots of pink and gold.

To the side, there's an option to ride a broomstick against a green-screen, which my brother took advantage of quickly. The pictures are bloody expensive by the way.

Outside, there were the (full size) props of No. 4 Privet Drive, the Knight Bus and the Ford Anglia. There was Butterbeer too, but it sucks.

Going back in, you can see the make up and robotics that were used to make the characters like Hagrid and Dobby. There was even a replica of an Acromantula, but we went past it pretty quickly (my sister hates spiders), and into the Diagon Alley section, which is awesome. Seriously, there's even a full-sized robotic copy of the giant Fred/George outside of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

After some concept artwork (which was pretty damn good), you get to the final attraction; a complete, scaled-down model of Hogwarts. It's impressive, really.

To finish, you exit predictably through the gift shop, where you can buy things like replica wands and house robes for large amounts of money. Since it wasn't actually my money, I had no problem buying myself a Ravenclaw scarf. My brother got a wand.

All in all, it took around three hours (it wasn't a short trip), and was pretty fun. Not sure how they could have made it better, really, so it gets a good 3.5/5. Still not as good as Legoland, though.

EDIT: I would put some pictures up, but I can't be arsed. Maybe once I've figured out how.

 

Is the Butterbeer not the same as the stuff you get in Wizarding World of Harry Potter?

Because that Buttterbeer is akin to liquid crack.

 

Naw, the stuff you get there is basically butter, mixed with fizzy water and about seven tonnes of sugar. AND they serve it cold.

You can drink it, but liquid crack would probably be better tasting and healthier.

 

A large photo album of this was posted to Reddit a couple weeks back:

http://imgur.com/a/xiWgx

 

I wished to sample butterbeer but only had crack at hand. Turns out it has a bitter taste. You shall rue this day.

ON TOPIC! I may be going in a group large enough to net the awesome discount that they don't even advertise for fear poor people will show up in minibuses and camper sledges. This will be very near the end of August, and there might be a possibility that I can squeeze DLPers into this for the discount if anyone around wants to try. I think it's cheap enough that the discount won't make a huge difference, and I'll probably look at your penis at least once with an angry or sorrowful expression, but the possibility is there.

Go with family if you can. Little kids get enthusiastic about shit we wouldn't, and it can be contagious enough to perk up dull spots.

 

It's pretty interesting, if you're thinking of going - there's even House Elf plate armour, which brings up the question of when House Elves (or at least one of them) were used to fight.

 

It wasn't armour, but lego outfits. They would put elves in them as a source of heat and insulation, then stack them together to build their houses.

Muggles made do with one stray cat per family of five.

 

Awesome link, thanks! Man what I wouldn't give to have access to those sets. They're incredible.