The craziest thing about going to London and finding some last minute (overpriced) tickets to Harry Potter Studios was that I was currently reading the book series for the first time! As soon as the tour bus parked at the studios, I read about Dumbledore dying and was an emotional wreck. Seeing everything in person while I was so thick in the books/movies was absolutely incredible and made it so real! It was so much fun to see what a book series has turned into & how many people were there filled with so much happiness! Of course, took a trillion photos and thought I’d share a bunch, so here it goes!
We boarded our double decker tour bus and sat on the bottom because they had the first Harry Potter movie playing on a small tv during our hour ride to the studios. I was reading, Presley was watching the movie and it was a pretty magical ride because we were so excited to see the Warner Brothers Studio.
As soon as we got inside we grabbed some Potter Passports to fill out while we explored! This was perfect for Presley (I loved it too!) because we searched for hidden snitches, answered questions & even got to put a press on the pages from around the tour. Then, we grabbed a coffee and cupcake at the Frog Cafe & our jaws dropped at the giant dragon hanging from the ceiling in the main room.
We got in line at our tour time and quickly got into see Privet drive, and Harrys Cupboard under the stairs. Presley had been watching all the movies with me & is currently obsessed with all things Harry Potter so it was really awesome that she recognized everything from the movies and was so excited to see everything.
The line kept moving into the Great Hall and we got to see the tables, fireplaces, costumes & the house points. It was pretty extraordinary to see where the story came to life. The hall was large, but id didn’t look as large as it looks in the movies – they must be using a wide angle lens to make it look larger than it is!
After the hall, we headed into the bulk of the tour where we got to see costumes, sets & everything used for the movies. It was absolutely insane. I loved seeing the room set ups, but Presleys favorite part was walking through the forbidden forest. I couldn’t believe we were actually seeing everything in real life, I was stuck between taking photos of everything and breathing it all in! I could have stayed there for HOURS. Seeing Dumbledore’s study made me start crying all over again – it was gorgeous! We were told that the things in his study are so precious that during the bi-yearly cleaning there are things they cannot even touch to clean around.
Of course, we had to grab some Butter Beer and then we headed outside to look at Harry House, Cedric Hollow & then went into the animatronics portion of the tour. I could not believe everything we we’re seeing. Seeing Hagrids face moving, Voldemorts tiny baby form, among Dobby, the mermaids, Lupins werewolf, it was just insane.
Then, the final portion of the tour was going into Gringotts. Ho.LY. smokes.
After walking through Gringotts and seeing in some of the vaults, we walked down Diagon Alley and then saw the full scale model of Hogwarts. It was an absolutely incredible day & I am so thankful we got the chance to go. What is this life we are living?
Jori Thomas says
I am so super jealous!!! And all of these pictures are amazing! This is now on my bucket list ✔️ I’d better get on it