Wizarding weekend in Watford

After visiting the Warner Bros. 'The Making of Harry Potter' Studio Tour last October with a group of friends, I knew I absolutely had to go back there one day. I thought my husband would enjoy the studio tour nearly as much as I did so, for partly selfish reasons, I bought him a ticket as a gift for his birthday in March.

We decided to make a proper weekend of it and booked two nights at a Premier Inn nearby. As it was our third anniversary at the end of August (yesterday, in fact), we thought we'd make it part of our extended anniversary celebrations to make it an extra special weekend.

I'm going to give you a little warning at this point. I'm going to post some spoilers about the tour, so if you're planning a visit at any point and don't want to ruin any of the surprises in store, it's best not to read any further!

It would be impossible for me to blog about every aspect of the studio tour without writing a post the length of a dissertation. And, as much fun as that would be, I unfortunately haven't got the time. So, to solve this problem, I thought I'd just summarise some of my favourite elements and include lots of photos along the way.



The Great Hall 

Walking in to The Great Hall through those famous doors made me want to cry. It really is an awe-inspiring sight. Seeing all the famous costumes such as Harry Potter's robes, Neville's cardigan and Cedric Diggory's Triwizard Tournament outfit brings back so many unforgettable memories from the films, and I'm so glad that this is where the studio tour begins.

The Potions classroom 

I could spend all day staring at this part of the set! The intricate details of the dungeon classroom are astounding, from the tiny labels on each and every potion bottle to the various intriguing instruments on the tables. And who could forget the legendary Professor Snape who takes centre stage?

The Burrow 

I think the films perfectly capture the cosy essence of the Weasley's home, and I love peering at all the different details and costumes inside the well laid out set for the Burrow. I particularly love the Weasley Clock in the corner!

The Forbidden Forest 

This is a brand new area of the tour which wasn't there last time I visited, so I was very excited about seeing this addition. It's a smaller area than I imagined but it's pretty spooky... let's just say you'll definitely come across more than one giant spider.

4 Privet Drive 

4 Privet Drive is home to the Dursleys and is one of the external areas of the studio tour. This time around, we were able to have a sneak peek inside the house itself where we stumbled across a very famous scene in the living room!

Diagon Alley 

The set of Diagon Alley is hugely impressive. It makes me feel as if I'm preparing to go off to Hogwarts myself and need to go shopping for my wand and study books! I'm a proud Ravenclaw, so of course I'm choosing to focus on study books rather than broomsticks or joke products from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The Diagon Alley area of the tour reminds me of its new(ish) equivalent in Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and it makes me wish I could use some floo powder to transport myself there...

Wizarding Wardrobes 

We were lucky enough to visit the studio tour during a special six-week feature called Wizarding Wardrobes. This meant we had an opportunity to see lots of costumes and make-up effects which I didn't see last time around. Gilderoy Lockhart and Rita Skeeter were two particular favourites!

Hogwarts model 

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN. And yes, the capital letters are completely necessary. The sheer scale, the haunting and mesmerising music, the insane level of detail, the general spellbinding atmosphere... I could stand and stare at it forever.

As we enjoyed the studio tour so much, we're now watching all the films again to point out all the different elements of the set. 'Ooh look, we've been there!'

Have you ever visited 'The Making of Harry Potter' studio tour? What did you think?