Lauren Does London: Harry Potter Studio Tour

Posted March 5, 2021 by shooting in Travel / 22 Comments

Lauren Does London: Harry Potter Studio Tour

As soon as my trip to London was a definite “go”, I knew that I had to do the WB Studio Tour for Harry Potter. This is a must for any big Harry Potter fan, no matter what age you are. I went with my sister and we got our tickets through Golden Tours. We met up at a designated spot in London with other fans going to the Harry Potter studio tour and we were all loaded onto a bus to take us to Leavesden.

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I think the Golden Tours bus is a great way to travel because you don’t have to worry about getting there and back. There is a limited amount of time to do the tour and shop before the bus leaves, so if you’re someone who can take hours, you might want another option. My sister and I felt like we had more than enough time to really take everything in and enjoy ourselves. Another thing that I really loved about the bus is that they played the first Harry Potter movie so you could watch that while you traveled to the studio.

 

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Once there, you wait in line for your turn and you are taken into a theater. There is a video that plays with Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint (Harry, Hermione, and Ron in the films) and the video ends with them opening a set of doors – which are right behind the screen. It’s time to enter those doors and begin the tour!

 

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This tour is not guided; depending on how much time you have, you can go at your own pace. There are all sorts of things to look at from costumes to props.

 

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I loved that some sections were created to look like a set – such as the Weasley kitchen or Snape’s potions. Props are moving as you watch, and it’s almost like being there yourself and witnessing true magic. I definitely took a lot of photos and videos while doing the tour.

 

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The studio tour starts in the Great Hall, but the rest is not in any sort of order. Each room you enter has a variety of things to look and marvel at. There’s a place where you can put your hand over a broom, yell “up” and the broom lifts to your hand. It’s made more for younger kids, but I definitely waited in line to do it myself, and it didn’t quite reach up to my hand. It was still fun though!

 

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Another cool aspect of the tour is that there is a Hogwarts Express that you can get on and walk through, with various compartments showing certain scenes from the films. It’s not terribly big, and all you can do is walk through and peek into compartments, but it felt real and it was fun to be “on” the Hogwarts Express for a bit. There is even a trolley stuck halfway in a wall where you can pose for pictures as if you are headed to Platform 9 ¾.

 

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Close to the end of the Harry Potter studio tour is a cafeteria where you can get some food and drinks. I definitely got the butterbeer, which was really tasty! It was a nice way to rest for a minute and just relax.

 

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You leave this area and you are outside, which is full of all sorts of replicas. There’s the Knight Bus that you can take pictures in front of, and there is part of the Dursley house where you can enter and see Harry’s cupboard under the stairs.

 

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There is also a bridge that you can cross, which I believe is from the fifth Harry Potter film. Finally, you can ride on Hagrid’s motorbike or get inside the Ford Anglia Harry and Ron take to school in Chamber of Secrets. This was fun, and it definitely made for some great photo ops.

 

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After all of this, you go back inside and find more props and information. I took a video of that small, baby looking Voldemort at the end of the final film. You pressed a button and he moved. It was so cool, but creepy!

 

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You can then enter a room that just has a huge replica of Hogwarts Castle. It was such an amazing thing to see and you could walk all around it and really see the details. During the holiday/winter they add snow to the castle, I believe, so that would have been really fun to see.

 

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There are definitely things added and changed throughout the year so even if you’ve been once, you can always go and do the tour again! I know I would if I was back in London!

 

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Of course, at the very end of the tour is the shop. There are so many things to buy: candy, clothes, blankets, wands, and more. This can definitely take up a lot of your money, so be careful with how much you spend.

 

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Definitely get a souvenir but watch how much everything costs before just grabbing things left and right. And if you have tons of money to spend? Then go at it! I got a Slytherin hoodie that I’m still always wearing, a chocolate frog that was fantastic, and a couple little items for friends based on their house.

After the shop, the Harry Potter studio tour is over. My sister and I still had time before our bus left so we went to hang out in the cafe at the front of the building. We got a snack and just rested before it was time to head outside and board the bus again. It took us back to where we’d left and from there, my sister and I made our way back to our hotel, tired but full of Harry Potter love.

Have you been to the Harry Potter studio tour? Would you ever go? 

Visiting London, England

For more of my London adventures, please check out the following links-

3 Things to Know Before Riding the London Eye

5 Things to Explore in the London Dungeon

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Live in London

Churchill War Rooms

Camden Market

Visiting 221B Baker Street + the Sherlock Holmes Museum Shop

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea at One Aldwych Hotel

22 responses to “Lauren Does London: Harry Potter Studio Tour

  1. My kids would love this. I would love the photo opportunities! I’m not so sure about supporting HP things anymore, which makes me sad.

  2. Very cool! I’ve only read the first book and have never seen any of the movies, but I can still appreciate this from a booknerd point of view.

    It looks like you had a ton of fun!

  3. Meg

    I’m jealous! Your photos are great! I went to see the Harry Potter park a few years ago, when my husband had an assignment in Florida. But, ugh, no idea when travel is going to be safe again here.

    Meg recently posted: Firekeeper’s Daughter
  4. This sounds like a lot of fun, but I’ll probably pass on it myself. I did visit the Wizarding World park in Orlando a few years ago and was heartbroken by their lack of plus size accommodations (compared to no issues whatsoever at Disney) plus them not having staff at the seat test station so I went through the ride line (instead of the scenery tour) expecting to be able to go only to be taken out last minute in front of everyone.
    I also refuse to support Rowling since her transphobic comments have come to light, so won’t be spending money on her work until apologies are made.
    Besides all that, I don’t even have a passport lol

  5. It looks like you had so much fun! I did this tour twice (the perks of living in London haha) and I am planning to go there a third time – as soon as it’s allowed. I think one of the best things of that place is the butterbeer haha!

  6. I went to the Studio Tour back when it first opened and then again in October last year and I couldn’t believe the difference from the first time to the most recent! They’ve really improved it. It looks like since you visited they’ve opened the Forbidden Forest feature (which is so cool) but everything else is the same. 🙂

    It’s definitely worth a visit for any Potter fan. Although, I’m not a fan of butterbeer! The butterbeer ice-cream however… Yum!

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