Today I was able to travel 20 miles outside of London to Waltham, where I immersed myself in one of my childhood (and teen, and current, let's be honest) obsessions: HARRY POTTER. That's right, today Eric and I went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour!
We took a high-speed train (which only took about 15 minutes) from Euston Station to the Watford Junction train stop, where we then boarded the Harry Potter Studio Tour shuttle bus to Warner Brother's Studios. It was a little pricey, and I was worried that it would not be worth the money, but boy was I wrong.
Although much of the 8 films were shot in locations around London and the United Kingdom, there were certain sets, such as the Great Hall and the Gryffindor Common Room, that remained in Warner Brother's Studios for the duration of filming, and are now open to the public. Even cooler than that, the Warner Brother's Studio also houses hundreds of props from the films, as well as exhibits about the set designs, costumes, and technology involved in creating each movie. Here is the day in pictures and captions!
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| Arrival! |
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| Waiting in line to enter the tour; Harry's cupboard under the stairs |
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| Entrance to the Great Hall |
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| The Great Hall of Hogwarts |
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| Front of the Great Hall |
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| Hogwarts Gates |
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| Gryffindor Dormitory |
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| Potions Class! |
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| Gryffindor Common Room |
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| Dumbledore's Office |
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| Harry's first Golden Snitch! |
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| The Goblet of Fire |
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| Tom Riddle's Diary |
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| Door to the Chamber of Secrets |
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| The note that started it all! |
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| Enjoying some Butterbeer - I have to say it was amazing! |
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| Riding the "Knight Bus!" |
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| #4 Privet Drive |
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| Hogwarts Bridge |
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| Dobby the Elf! |
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| Gringott's Bank |
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| Diagon Alley |
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| Ollivander's Wand Store |
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| Weasley's Wizard Wheezes! |
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| Architectural model of Hogwarts |
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Hogwarts Castle! This model was 1/124th of the real thing.
It was filmed against a green screen to shoot scenes of the castle! |
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| Hogwarts Castle |
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| Hogwarts Castle |
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| So many wands! |
If you're not a Harry Potter fan (Dad), then this post probably didn't mean anything to you. But if you are a Harry Potter fan (Kim J - I was thinking of you all day!), then you understand how epic this is! Going to school in London always reminds me of scenes and references from Harry Potter, but this day took that to a new level!
"The stories we love best do live in us forever, so whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."
-J.K. Rowling
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