One of my favorite parts of our UK trip this time — HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR!!!

When we did the Warner Brothers studio tour in LA last year I’d already found out about  the Harry Potter tour outside London.  I made a mental note to go if we ever went to England again but I guess I lost the mental postit cos I forgot about it until Fatty reminded me about it.

So yay off we went!  For those who are wondering how we got there, we took a train from Euston to Watford (I think) and from there a shuttle bus carried visitors like us to the studio.

I was hoping the bus would look like the Knight Bus but sadly it turned out to be a regular looking tourist bus plastered with boring Harry Potter logos, not worth taking photos of wtf.  Besides it was damn cold and windy!

 

Anyway we got to the studio quick enough. 🙂

 

Killed some time in the souvenir shop before the tour started.  Made Fatty pose with the broomstick cos I think he looks like an Asian Harry Potter HAHAHAHA.

 

Gringotts gold!

 

A replica of the chess set in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

I’m in Hufflepuff wtf.

 

The cupboard under the stairs!  Everything in the tour was really used in the making of the movies.  I had a ball peering into the cupboard imagining how Harry lived in it hahaha.

 

The tour started… outside the Great Hall. Ahem.

 

Exactly like in the movies!!!!

Except one thing.  The awesome ceiling is actually not there at all.  There was no way they could have the ceiling up there because they had to put in the lighting and cabling and whatnot up there.

So this is what they did!  Created a miniature detailed version of the hall ceiling and when the camera panned upwards, they superimposed the shot of the ceiling with the hall.

 

Hello Dumbledore!  Tour guide giving an introduction to the tour before they let us all explore on our own time.  These were all the real costumes used in the movie – Dumbledore, Snape, Hagrid…

 

Mad Eye Moody and Sibyl Trelawney!

 

Some other costumes from the Yule Ball … clockwise from bottom left: er don’t remember WTF, Hermione, Viktor Krum, Cho Chang.

 

Forgot what this was also wtf.  Something from the Yule Ball also.  I only remember that it’s made of plastic but they lighted it up from under to look like ice.

 

Chocolate feast!  Everything was made from resin.

 

Bellatrix’s wig hahaha.

 

Can’t remember what this corridor is!  But it’s not actually as far as it looks, it’s designed with weird angles to give the illusion of it being deeper than it is.

 

A glimpse into the Gryffindor boys’ dorm room!  The bed were tinier than normal size and the description for this display said that the beds were built when the boys were younger so they fit.  But when they grew up the beds were too small hahahah so after that they had to lie down with their feet sticking out ftl and the cameras made sure not to shoot the feet.

 

Thought this was funny lol.

 

Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem!

 

Tom Riddle’s diary and the Basilisk tooth wtf.

 

A peek into Hagrid’s house.

 

The Burrow!!!! One of my favorite sets it was just so warm and real and absorbing.

 

No is it weird that my favorite was Dolores Umbridge’s room? Hahahahah everything pink what’s not to love.

Another favorite was the Weasley twins’ products manufactured into real life.

Paperwork.

BUTTERBEER OMGGGGG

Butterbeer was always described as absolutely scrumptious and I’d always wished that it was real so I could try.  So when I saw Butterbeer selling I was a bit hesitant what if it doesn’t live up to my expectations lolol.  Plus I actually don’t like sweet food so what if I find it totally gross!

 

My fears were put to rest.  Butterbeer is soooooooo good you don’t even know.

The froth is actually creamy, not just bubbles.  It tasted like melted whipped vanilla ice cream? Hahaha.  And the beer itself was sweet and fizzy yummmmm.  And I noticed the longer I left it, the more cream would appear how does it do that!

If they sold it outside I’d buy it by the bucket.

I tried googling the recipe but went aiya so many ingredients one ah lazy hahahaha.  And it’s not alcoholic so you can stop worrying about me drinking when pregnant haha.

Goblin masks!

Diagon Alley!!!  A lot smaller than it looked in the movie.  Red thing is Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes hahaha.

 

Ollivander’s wand shop!!!

 

Just cos I liked the ice cream display hehe.

 

Quidditch supplies!

The other side of the alley.  Gringotts right at the back.

Window display at Weasley’s hahaha.  The fella was really puking continuously leh hahaha.

Breathtaking miniature of Hogwarts.  It’s miniature but still taller than a few men.  This is what you see whenever the screen pans to the outside of Hogwarts.  The level of detail is amazing from the turrets to the glass house to the brick walls.

 

4 Privet Drive.

My Dobby!!!! Looking dead here fhl.

Tour ends in a massive wand room.  Each wand box has the name of a crew member who worked on the Harry Potter movies!

There’s a lot more going on that I didn’t write about, don’t want to give out too many spoilers.  But if you get a chance and you’re into Harry Potter, go!!!