Welcome to Hogwarts!
I visited the "Harry Potter" film set in Leavesden, UK in July. It was fantastic!
I booked the tour through Golden Tours and this included the transfer on a special "Harry Potter" bus from London, plus the entrance fee. I bought a ticket for a butterbeer, which was extra and optional.
The bus left London at 9am for entrance at 11am. I actually entered at 10:40am, so it was great!
First you are greeted in a room with eight screens. A short film is shown about the film production and the aftermath showing the film openings. Then in the next room, which is set up as a theatre, a short film is shown where Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint talk about filming. After that the tour starts in the Great Hall.
This is one of two large sets. The detail was amazing! Only one table is set up showing how the plates etc were placed. At the far end there are mannequins of the professors in costume showing how they stood to greet the students.
After the Great Hall, you enter first part of the studio. This had a lot of sets all meshed together. By that, I mean that the outside of the Great Hall was decorated with Umbridge's plaques beside a wall of portraits with a staircase. Just one staircase was used, the others were added in post-production. Then, you can see the Gryffindor Common Room, Hagrid's Hut, the clock, Dumbledore's office and the Ministry of Magic all in the same large studio.
One of my favourite sets was the Malfoy's home where the Deatheaters and Voldemort met and the lady was tortured in the Deathly Hallows. The lady who was tortured is hanging from the ceiling. It is quite impressive!
The Forbidden Forest was a new attraction that recently opened. This was a small section of trees and spider webs. You are met at the entrance by Hagrid, ready to lead you through. This is a mannequin with a lamp. There is Buckbeak and of course, Aragog. It was quite creepy. I kept thinking: "A spider had better not fall on me!"
The next room was the other larger set. It was Platform 9 3/4. This included the train, a train station platform, and three areas where you can take photos pushing carts through the wall. You can also go through the train car that was used for filming. I felt a bit rushed in this part, as there was limited space and a line-up of people on my heels. Not my favourite part of the tour. I wish I could have taken more time to take that set in.
I bought some souvenirs at the shop there and then went to enjoy my butterbeer.
After this there are some sets in the back lot outside. These included the Knight Bus, #4 Privet Drive, the Potter home in Godric's Hollow and the rickety bridge. The rickety bridge was only one section that was used during filming. The Visual Effects department added the rest of the bridge during post-production.
The Art Department came next. It was amazing to see the different masks and props that were used. A gallery of paper models showed the various houses and sets in simple first-draft form.
My favourite part of the tour was seeing the model of the Castle grounds. This was amazing! the details that went into the massive model were awesome! The model was the size of the entire room! I loved it!
My tour allowed three hours to go through the entire set, eat something and shop at the gift store. I think, overall, that was enough time.
There is so much to see, I wish I had spent more time in the first part with the actual sets.
It was an amazing experience!
I booked the tour through Golden Tours and this included the transfer on a special "Harry Potter" bus from London, plus the entrance fee. I bought a ticket for a butterbeer, which was extra and optional.
The bus left London at 9am for entrance at 11am. I actually entered at 10:40am, so it was great!
 |
| The door to the Chamber of Secrets |
First you are greeted in a room with eight screens. A short film is shown about the film production and the aftermath showing the film openings. Then in the next room, which is set up as a theatre, a short film is shown where Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint talk about filming. After that the tour starts in the Great Hall.
This is one of two large sets. The detail was amazing! Only one table is set up showing how the plates etc were placed. At the far end there are mannequins of the professors in costume showing how they stood to greet the students.
After the Great Hall, you enter first part of the studio. This had a lot of sets all meshed together. By that, I mean that the outside of the Great Hall was decorated with Umbridge's plaques beside a wall of portraits with a staircase. Just one staircase was used, the others were added in post-production. Then, you can see the Gryffindor Common Room, Hagrid's Hut, the clock, Dumbledore's office and the Ministry of Magic all in the same large studio.
One of my favourite sets was the Malfoy's home where the Deatheaters and Voldemort met and the lady was tortured in the Deathly Hallows. The lady who was tortured is hanging from the ceiling. It is quite impressive!
 |
| The Deatheaters meeting in the Malfoy home |
The Forbidden Forest was a new attraction that recently opened. This was a small section of trees and spider webs. You are met at the entrance by Hagrid, ready to lead you through. This is a mannequin with a lamp. There is Buckbeak and of course, Aragog. It was quite creepy. I kept thinking: "A spider had better not fall on me!"
The next room was the other larger set. It was Platform 9 3/4. This included the train, a train station platform, and three areas where you can take photos pushing carts through the wall. You can also go through the train car that was used for filming. I felt a bit rushed in this part, as there was limited space and a line-up of people on my heels. Not my favourite part of the tour. I wish I could have taken more time to take that set in.
 |
| Platform 9 3/4 |
I bought some souvenirs at the shop there and then went to enjoy my butterbeer.
After this there are some sets in the back lot outside. These included the Knight Bus, #4 Privet Drive, the Potter home in Godric's Hollow and the rickety bridge. The rickety bridge was only one section that was used during filming. The Visual Effects department added the rest of the bridge during post-production.
The Art Department came next. It was amazing to see the different masks and props that were used. A gallery of paper models showed the various houses and sets in simple first-draft form.
My favourite part of the tour was seeing the model of the Castle grounds. This was amazing! the details that went into the massive model were awesome! The model was the size of the entire room! I loved it!
 |
| Castle model |
My tour allowed three hours to go through the entire set, eat something and shop at the gift store. I think, overall, that was enough time.
There is so much to see, I wish I had spent more time in the first part with the actual sets.
It was an amazing experience!
