We recently had the pleasure of an invitation to the Warner Bros. Studios Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, and here is the review of the day, written by Paul (and Lisa) from Gold Crest Holidays.
It’s not that I hate Harry Potter, it’s just that the whole phenomenon managed to pass me by. Despite having no interest in the books though I’ve somehow seen all of the movies. Apparently it’s hard to avoid them when I know so many people who are fans. So when I was taken along to the “Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry” (to give it it’s full title) I wasn’t initially that excited. Sure it would be good to get some behind the scenes insight into how the films were made but for me it was more the process I was excited about rather than the source material.
The tour itself is based at the Leavesdon film studio just outside central London. A lot the scenes were filmed there and thus it housed a lot of the sets. Once filming wrapped up on the last film rather than just destroy the sets or put them into storage the whole studio was transformed into a Harry Potter film museum for everyone to see. The very first place you literally set foot on is in exactly the same place it has been since filming began on the very first Harry Potter film and for good reason too…
After a brief introduction you’re lead into The Great Hall. The Tour Guide was very quick to point out the “solid York stone floor” laid underfoot. The crew she explained, needed something that would last being trampled by hundreds of children and filming equipment across all of the Harry Potter films. Something so solid to stand on helps ground the hall in reality and opening with such an iconic set really impresses. The room however is a lot narrower than it appears on screen and the benches a lot lower. Also and rather unfortunately there is no enchanted ceiling, that being a work of CGI magic rather than practical effects. Though I guess suspending a hundred or so actual lit candles from the roof probably wasn’t something the health and safety department were happy to agree to, despite how amusing it would have been to see Harry and co avoid the hot dripping wax.
But I digress, the Hall has a number of other features you may not have spotted during the films and this is something that soon becomes a theme across the whole tour. A lot of the sets have a lot more detail to them than you’re likely to ever see on the films themselves. The Hall for example has four gargoyles in the shape of an animal representing each of the four houses. A Griffin for Gryffindor, a Snake for Slytherin and a Badger (Yes, a mighty badger) for Huffelpuff.
You’re then lead from the hall into a wide open space and then basically left to your own devices. You’re not hurried along by an impatient tour guide, it’s up to you how much or how little time you want to spend scrutinising each of the sets. If you’re afraid of missing something almost every set has a guide stationed near it whose job it is to explain them in great detail to you. These guides are supposed to be something of an expert on all things Harry Potter and you’re actively encouraged to ask them questions to try and stump them. Alas, I can’t vouch for their knowledge because I didn’t know enough to ask anything. All of the guides who did speak to me though defiantly knew their stuff.
It was astounding to see some of the detail on the sets. Places like Harry’s bedroom, the common room, Dumbledore’s office and some of the classrooms are crammed full of so many items and props it really does make them look like lived in places. Only the surreal nature of the tour itself pulls you out and back to reality as opposite one set you can turn around and wonder directly into another totally unrelated set. Unfortunately it never feels like you’re walking through the halls of Hogwarts wondering into different rooms but that would be an impossible task. Rather you’re wondering around almost looking into pockets of this other world all conveniently placed next to one another.
A real highlight was the Ministry of Magic statue that depicts humans being crushed under a giant monolith. I don’t really remember it being shown off in the films for that long but being able to walk around it is staggering, especially when you realise every human carved into the statue is unique. Also an excited guide was more than happy to show off a display case featuring a small libraries worth of printed material. Newspapers, posters, flyers, the lot. I went in for a closer look expecting the newspapers to be full of jargon text just to fill paper as they’re never seen on screen close up. So colour me surprised when I saw that the news stories were actually written in full; In odd joined up handwriting that made them hard to read but written in full none the less.
The first area also shows off some green screen trickery. Yes if you really want to you can ride a broomstick surrounded by a green screen. Then on several monitors around the room you can see yourself flying round Hogwats, down the streets of London or racing the Hogwats Express Train. Obviously the films have a bit more sophisticated tech behind them to make the scenes look a little more real but the basic idea is sound and looks quite striking. The only downside to this is that there doesn’t seem to be a way to buy a video of your broomstick ride; only a static photo is available that looks a lot less impressive I’m afraid. A real missed opportunity.
Once you’ve had your fill inside there is an outside space with more sets and an opportunity to buy some Butterbeer. This was another highlight of the tour and something that is unique to only Universal Studios Harry Potter Theme Park in Florida here and. Indeed he drink is so exclusive that we were told by the woman serving us the liquid and the froth that sits on top are made in secret by two separate people. I’d say it tastes a little like a root beer float but with a slimy butterscotch substance rather than ice-cream. Very nice though.
Once inside again the next section of the tour abandons the wide open area full of sets and instead funnels you through a number of corridors featuring a wide array of the animatronics used, concept models and art. Just as you start getting used to the confined spaces you turn a corner and find yourself on one end of Diagon Alley. I lied earlier when I said nothing truly feels like you’re actually there. While the rest of the tour looks like a museum with you wondering from one exhibit to the next Diagon Alley is laid out for you to walk down and soak in. Every shop looks authentic and every window has something in. Some pieces even move inside such as in the joke shop and the entire street is full or story and lore. Only the ceiling betrays the illusion featuring the now familiar sight of scaffolding and studio lights. Oh, and the railings put up to stop you from touching the sets.
Nearing the end you might start to wonder what could possibly top that. Well how about a massive 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts? The castle is amazing. It’s full of tiny details and was used for the many sweeping shots seen in the films. I also feel the need to emphasise the “massive” part of the scale model. It is the jewel in the crown of the tour and was defiantly put last on purpose, giving you that wow factor and making sure you leave with a good impression.
Or that should be almost last. Before you can make your exit to the gift shop you come across the wand room. Initially it doesn’t seem that impressive; it’s a room made to look like the inside of a wand shop full to the brim with wooden boxes made out to look like wand boxes. It’s only after speaking to the guide does the magic of this room become apparent. He explained that the names on the wand boxes feature the real names of a lot of the people who worked on the Harry Potter films. I might not know a lot about Potter but I know quite a few films and asked the guide where Alan Rickman’s name was. Without skipping a beat he lead me straight to it and pointed out a few extra names along the way. Actors, costume designers, makeup artists, all were represented on the wall of names.
The guide was so full of passion and knowledge for Harry Potter that I never once thought he’d had to learn this because it was his job. In fact that goes for all the guides on the tour. All of them were just bursting to tell us things about the sets, little insights and facts that they were proud to know and share with everyone they could. They came across as fans who were glad to be talking to other fans about something they all loved. Even though I wasn’t a fan it was hard not to get caught up in the mood an attentively listen to some of the facts, some I’ve remembered weeks after my visit well enough to write down here.
So if you’re a fan and want to experience the world of Harry Potter in person this is a great opportunity. And even if like me you’re not a fan but just love movies you can treat this as a real life “making of” feature ripped from the special features of a DVD and put in front of you to walk round, examine and experience.
Here you will find details of Gold Crest Holidays 1-night short break to The Making of Harry Potter.
