Ellie and the Harry Potter Adventure

So for my 19th Birthday present this year, after banging on about it for literal years, I received tickets to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour. Yeah, for realsies. It was fair to say I was excited - I squealed when I opened up the envelope with the tickets in it and bounced around the living room a little bit. As someone who's kind of fascinated by 'movie magic' and the way things come to fruition on the big screen, as well as being a Harry Potter addict, this was my dream day out, and I thought I'd share it with you lot.

First of all, here's a bit of background about Haz & I. I got into the Harry Potter series much later than the average millennial; I think I must've been 16? I remember going round a friends' house with the sole purpose of watching the Philosopher's Stone movie because she was disgusted I'd never seen the films before, and from that moment on, I was hooked. I bought the box set, watched them all in super speedy succession, then bought the books, read them all, and immediately wanted to read them all again. Back then, why I was so besotted with a 'kids' story in the latter part of my teenage years was a bit of a mystery, but I've done some thinking and I've come to this philosophical reason: 

Not only is a completely brilliant story with awesome characters, JK Rowling has gone to extreme lengths to create such an immersive, thrilling wizarding world that I just love to escape to. The Harry Potter series is pure escapism - whether that's getting lost in the written word or the way those words translate on screen. And as the books get longer and the story develops, the younger characters age and become richer personas with adult emotions I know in my late teens I've felt too. 

I suppose it's kind of my happy place? Which is a bit weird since it doesn't actually exist. But how incredible is it that just the imagination of one individual has become a bit of a comfort blanket for little old me, and so many other people across the globe? As someone with a crazy imagination and love for writing and stories myself, I find that pretty mad. I could go on about why I love Harry Potter for ages (don't even get me started on the soundtrack omg) but let's get on with my adventures at the studio tour, shall we? 

So if you've ever been to the studio tour before, you'll know you're first greeted with the gift shop of dreams. After a spot of lunch, I explored the shop for ages, picking out all the things I was gonna buy after the tour was over (spoiler: I got a Sirius Black mug that's nearly the size of my head and some charms for my Pandora bracelet, but I could've bought so much more). Then we queued for a little while, before we watched a feature narrated by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson and the entrance great hall was revealed behind the screen. That was a crazy moment, I wasn't expecting it at all. The doors were pushed open and dummies wearing the character costumes lined the way to the table at the front, where the professors stood. At the moment there's a Goblet of Fire event going on with lots of never-before-seen props from the movie on display, including the Goblet itself at the end of the hall. If this is your favourite Harry Potter movie, I'd definitely recommend checking it out! 

Past the great hall, you're led into a portion which I'm going to call the 'hall of sets'. Past more Goblet of Fire themed memorabilia - such as the multi-coloured prefect bathroom taps, which were pretty damn cool, and the ice sculpture at the Yule Ball - you're surrounded by the sets for iconic scenes, such as the Gryffindor common room, the Gryffindor boys' room, Dumbledore's office and the Potions classroom, as well as props such as the Mirror of Erised and some of the main characters' wands. I'd also recommend getting a digital guide with your tour, as these give you a load of information about the smallest of props. I think my favourite set was The Burrow, where the Weasley's live, just because I think it's such a cool set filled with a load of magical touches. 

After the sets, there were demonstrations of the SFX and VFX they have throughout the films, which was so interesting to see (but also a little soul-destroying that it's not actual magic). You can fly your own broomstick too, which I didn't do, but would be so much fun for the younger fans especially. Following these bits were some later sets, like Malfoy Manor - which I loved, because they played scenes filmed here alongside the set, which bought home the fact you were really there - and the Ministry of Magic. I'm just still amazed by the detail that went into creating all the sets, and the Magic is Might statue found in the Ministry of Magic is a fab example of that. 

Next you move into the Forbidden Forest, which showcased some very intricate animatronics, such as Buckbeak, Aragog and Harry's Patronus. This section was made all the more magical with the lighting and smoke effects - at this section especially, the tour makes huge effort to fully immerse you in movie experience.

And suddenly we were on Platform 9 and 3/4. This was definitely one of my favourite moments of the tour; the set itself was insane. You get the opportunity to get on the Hogwarts Express itself, and each cabin was themed to its part in the different films, which I thought was a super cute touch. 

After that, we sat in the Back Lot Cafe sipping on some Butterbeer (which the best if you have a massive sweet tooth like me) before heading out into the back lot itself, which holds the Knight Bus, Privet Drive, Godric's Hollow and the Hogwarts Bridge. Here, you can also have your photo taken in the flying Ford Anglia and/or Hagrid's motorbike...yes, of course I did.

Back inside, you're able to get a closer look into how some of the creatures - like Dobby and the Gringotts goblins - were made, before taking a drip down Diagon Alley. I wish you could've gone in the shops there, but then if they were actually selling things, I would've come away from this trip completely penniless. 

One of the most interesting parts for me came afterwards, which was the section in which the concept art and models were displayed. I've never really thought about this part of the movie making process before, so it was amazing to see how the very early stages informed what I know and love today. The highlight of the whole tour for me, however, was the final model - the giant model of Hogwarts. So so so so beautiful. It was so gorgeously detailed and just incredible to see, even if a rogue pigeon somehow got in to land on the castle. A little bit breathtaking. 

A bus trip and a couple of train journeys later and I was back to reality at home, just scrolling through my photos wishing I was back there. So I guess this post is as much for me as it is for you, so I can look back on a day that is surely going to be a highlight of 2018. 

From. 

Eleanor