Welcome to The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford London! As seen through my eyes (that were possibly watering with excitement) and my amateur Nikon and iPhone camera skills!
I had a lovely weekend spent in Cambridge and London with my friend Amanda (stayed tuned for that post) but honestly nothing excited me more than knowing I was going on the Harry Potter studio tour.
Now in typical traveling fashion something had to go wrong, right? The sky was blue, it was the perfect day, we had amaaaaazing English breakfast with some friends, I went to King's Cross and got my picture taken at Platform 9 3/4, nothing could mess up freakin Harry Potter day right?! Wrong.
Apparently the tube really can.
The trip to Watford was quite a bit longer than we had anticipated as we had to travel on the Underground (subway), take an Overground (train), and then catch a shuttle to the studios. Travelling through London can take much more time than we had allowed ourselves.
One of the tube lines was under construction and unfortunately we had juuuuuust missed (by 5 *&$%!^ minutes...) the train to Watford Junction. My eye may have been twitching and I couldn't sit still at this point. Amanda and I were certainly not happy campers, but thankfully we switched to the train and flagged down a taxi to get to the studio. On the way to the studio we began devising a plan that involved; begging, money, crying, pulling the international card, screaming, kicking, hair yanking, literally ANYTHING in order to make it on the tour.
If I missed that tour I would have been the crankiest person of all time.
Thankfully we jumped out of the cab at 5:38 - our set tour time was at 5:30 and RAAAAN to the ticket booth prepared to pull out all the stops when the man at the desk goes, "oh no worries, your tickets are valid for anytime between 5:30 and 6." My heart erupted with pure ecstasy!
But seriously man, you could have saved us a lot of stress by mentioning that when we ordered the tickets.
Next thing I know the tickets are finally in my hands! I looked up at Amanda and we both jumped up and down screaming (possibly tearing up) and freaking out because we were finally going on the tour! After all the stress, concern, plotting, excitement, anxiety, and feeling like I was going to puke, it was finally a reality - and all the stress ultimately made it that much more rewarding!
Here are some pictures I took at the tour, I hope all you Harry Potter fans appreciate this just as much as I did! It was honestly worth all the stress, excitement, money, time, everything!
It truly was magic.
At King's Cross with Amanda!
A beautiful day in London.
On my way to Hogwarts!!!
The sun setting at the Watford Studios - after all the ticket stress we had some time to kill to snap pictures and reflect before our tour.
The really cool Harry Potter shuttle bus that take you from the train to the studios.
Acting "tough" with the chess pieces from the Philosopher's Stone that stands guard outside the studio. Trust me, I know, the statue is more bad ass than me. At least Amanda looks cute!
Huge portraits of the cast surrounded the lobby of the studio, look at little Daniel Radcliffe isn't he just so cute!
'No story lives unless someone wants to listen.' - J.K. Rowling. Thankfully Rowling did not give up on her story.
THE CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS. This was the smallest set ever built for any of the Harry Potter productions, look how wee it is! It literally all began with an eleven year boy who had a lightning bolt scar and was living in a cupboard under the stairs.
Can you tell were excited?
Welcome to the Great Hall!
After watching some short clips of the Making of Harry Potter we were finally welcomed to run up towards the doors. I stood waiting anxiously for the doors to open, I was honestly like a little kid on Christmas morning...
Myself and Amanda standing on the floor of the Great Hall, the actors all literally stood on this same set...
Draco Malfoy's (Tom Felton) Slytherin costumes that he wore in the Prisoner of Azkaban movies.
Daniel Radcliffe's first set of Gryffindor robes worn in the Philosopher's Stone, look how tiny they are!
The table is all set for the Start of Term feast!
The four houses points from left to right; Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff.
Aaaaall the selfies.
Dumbledore's "hippie" outfit and owl podium which was first seen in the Prisoner of Azkaban, with Professor McGonagall's costume posed behind him.
Hey look everyone, it's Snape! Apparently Snape's robes or wigs were never truly black in the movies but very dark shades of navy, green, or purple to give his body more shape and movement on camera. The production lights used for filming were so bright that they would completely drown out actor Allan Rickman, which is why they resorted to using colours other than Snape's usual black.
Fun Fact: Apparently in the French versions of the books they have changed Snape's last name so he is no longer Snape. I asked my friend from Paris if his name has any significance in French and she said no it's just a random name, which I thought that was really weird!
Other words like Diagon Alley are also changed, and unfortunately 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' doesn't translate into 'I Am Lord Voldemort' and 'O.W.L's' does not mean Owls in many of the translated languages.
As I had been on the same tour as people from France, Germany, Hungary, Finland, Malta, and Canada it was really awesome and interesting to realize how people from all over the world were both affected and inspired by the same story that I knew and loved growing up!
Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Cho Chang, and Viktor Krum's costumes from the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire.
Ron Weasley's unfortunate set of dress robes...I don't think him or Padma Patil were very happy with his outfit that night.
One of the Hogwarts ceilings sets.
Luna's radish earrings.
The Hogwarts gates.
The Gryffindor boys' dormitory where Harry, Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus slept.
The set designers never adjusted the beds or dormitory set as the actors grew, so by the end of the filming the boys feet were hanging off the edges of the beds. The designers also added posters and other things beside the boys beds as they grew up to make it look they had put it there themselves!
Ron's bunk!
Some pictures from the Gryffindor common room.
By the fireplace!
The portrait of the Fat Lady who guards the entrance to the Portrait Hole of the Gryffindor Common Room.
Harry and Ron's Christmas jumpers knitted by Mrs. Weasley.
Some of the over 3,000 wands handcrafted for the Potter movies.
The famous Hogwarts clock.
With the Griffin that guards the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
The cabinet that holds all of Dumbledore's memories for his Pensieve.
The sword of Godric Gryffindor.
In Potions class!
The Half Blood Prince's Advanced Potion Making book.
A little sneaky peak inside Hagrid's hut.
The vault door from Gringotts.
A peak up the enchanted stairs.
A glimpse of some Quidditch through the ages.
We illegally took this photo in the Quidditch green room and got yelled at like three times for taking pictures whilst in the robes, oops.
Say hi to Gryffindor's newest seeker! They actually take videos of you driving in the enchanted car and zooming around on a broomstick...I was honestly laughing the whole time it was so funny.
And yes, I did purchase this Quidditch photo. This is probably the nerdiest thing I have ever done.
At the Burrow - I felt right at home looking in on this set.
Mrs. Weasley's clock that says what state each of her family members are currently in.
Borgin and Burke's shop.
At Malfoy Manor surrounded by Death Eaters.
Little Lucius Malfoy to get you through the day, Jason Isaacs I love you.
Marry me?
Inside the Ministry of Magic!
The 'Magic is Might' statue showing Muggles in their rightful place and a look at some of the set pieces from the Ministry.
Haha taking goofy/ awkward pictures. A group of girls had asked us to take pictures for them then insisted we take a picture here too.
In Umbridge's office - I love cats but this is a little much eh?
Some of the costumes Umbridge wore throughout the movies.
The Death Eaters masks! The designers made multiple masks that were all handpicked and suited to specific Death Eaters for the films.
The Tombstone of Tom Riddle Senior and Junior used in the Goblet of Fire.
Butterbeer time! Sadly this is a non alcoholic drink and after the day we had I could have reaaaaally used a nice cold drink.
Beer, pizza, and garlic fingers was a must when we finally got home.
The knight bus! This is actually compromised of parts from three double decker busses sandwiched together.
Little glimpse onto Privet Drive, where are the Dursley's at?
The Hogwarts Bridge that was never mentioned in the novels but made famous in the movies.
Apparently I am obsessed with these chess pieces haha, I took approximately twenty pictures of them alone.
The cottage where the Potter's lived in Godric's Hollow and used for filming in the Philosopher's Stone and Deathly Hallows.
Were ready for hair and make up!
Mandrakes and Luna's Lion hat.
Fawkes the phoenix.
The robotic body of Voldemort before he returned to his full-size and power - this thing would move and it was really really creepy.
Some of the creatures from the movie series!
Aragog...ew.
The basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets.
One of Hagrid's many pets - Buckbeak the Hippogriff.
It's a dragon!
A small scale model of the entrance to Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
On the set of Diagon Alley!
Puking Pastilles at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
A little look at the Marauder's Map and the Quibbler!
The first Hogwarts acceptance letter that Harry received in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
A collection of some handmade props used throughout the movies.
Here lies Dobby, a free elf.
Personally this was my favourite part of the tour. At the end of the Creatures and Props section you walked down this darkly lit corridor and then into this huge open room with this model of the Hogwarts castle.
The lights were subtle, changing from soft blues to golds with the movie soundtracks faintly playing in the background.
Have a listen!
It was honestly so so so magical.
This last section of the tour was a vast room lined with boxes and boxes of wands with all of the names of the cast and crew involved with the making of the Harry Potter movies.
In the bottom picture you can see J.K. Rowling's wand box.
The tour wouldn't be complete without spending some time (and money) at the gift shop right?
A last glimpse of the gift shop and lobby.
I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the Making of Harry Potter, it was honestly such an amazing evening. I really can't express how happy I was to experience all of this.
- Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
"After all this time?"
"Always," said Snape.- Pp. 687-688
Cheers,
Meagan
