If you are a fan of Harry Potter, or like us, you are one of what we call “Generation Harry Potter”, you have surely ever considered visiting the Warner Bross studios in London.
Today we tell you everything you need to know about the studies before going, in great detail. We have prepared a video with all the detailed information, in case you want to go faster, we leave it HERE .
I remember being 14 years old, Harry Potter was in full swing, the movies came out annually and we still didn't know what the ending would be, since the last book had not yet been published. I was absolutely in love with the saga, it was my refuge and the place where I felt understood (like so many thousands of this and other generations), and I admired Emma Watson. I daydreamed all day imagining that I was also an actress and was in a film studio instead of those tedious classrooms. Although today I am grateful that I spent my childhood in a school classroom (and how lucky I am for that!), for me, the magic of cinema remains unique and has never stopped making me fall in love. Hence, one of the best birthday gifts I have ever received was admission to the Harry Potter studios. And who better to give that gift than my partner. And just with how special it was, it already had promise. It did not disappoint.
One of the most special moments was seeing the sweater that Hermione was wearing in the first movie on display, identical to the one I had (and which I obviously always wanted to wear from then on). I was transported to that movie theater in Barcelona, where at the age of 9, I met Harry Potter. That exact day many things changed in the course of my life, because for the girl I was, the teenager I was going to be and the adult I am, it was the beginning of something, but also the end of something more. Some pillars of my life and my family were shaking that day. Harry arrived at the perfect time, and it was in that movie theater, without even knowing it, that I began to build the person I would become, and to fall in love with the city that would make her dream and fight for her dreams.
TICKETS . The big issue, where and when to buy your tickets. There are many types of tickets. We recommend the simplest one, which includes only access to the studies. Here is the link for the tickets .
Many tickets are also sold with transportation to the studios, we believe that they do this to get an extra in transfers, so they sell you the “0 complications” so that you decide to buy transfer and entrance for almost double what it really costs (arriving to the studies is very simple, we will tell you about it later).
The only impediment is that tickets sell out long in advance, so if you run out on the official website, you will find much more expensive tickets in other places or agencies (if that happens to you, we leave you the best link to buy tickets if They have been sold out on the official website , we leave you the best link to buy tickets if they have been sold out on the official website .
God helps those who get up early, so if you want to have the best option, book your ticket in advance. In high season they sell out up to 6 months in advance.
A question that many people ask us when they come to the tours and have run out of tickets is whether it is worth arriving at the studios without a ticket and asking for last-minute tickets. We asked 3 different people at the studios and they all told us the same thing: don't do it. As you can already imagine, it is not the case that there are excess tickets, so it makes it very difficult for them when people go to the window without a ticket. Most likely, you have spent money on transportation and almost 3 hours of your time walking around, for nothing. If you haven't gotten tickets, you will have to return to London. We will always be waiting for you.
HOW TO GET? Okay, girls, I already have my ticket as you told me, without transportation, from the website. Now how do I get there?
The fastest way is by train. It departs from Euston station, right next to King's Cross (if you've listened to our podcast episode where we talk about Harry Potter, you'll have already heard that JK Rowling had this station in mind when describing King's Cross in the books) .
We leave you here our favorite website to book your train ticket .
Depending on what area of London you are in, you can also go with overground . The overground is a metro line but it runs outside (like a train) instead of underground. It does not go through the center of London, but in this case it will be great for you, since you are going beyond even zone 6 of London. In fact, technically the studios are just outside London. But don't listen to me, the point is that with how well connected this city is, you don't even need to know where the studios are.
How knowledge does not take up space, and in case you are curious, we tell you that they are in Leavesden (by the way, a place with a lot of history and a very old enclave, but that is another story). Your goal, however, is this: Watford Junction .
The journey will take you between 30 and 40 minutes.
If you have questions about public transport in London, If you have questions about public transport in London .
So you know, train or overground to Watford Junction. And what happens when you get there?
The most likely thing is that you will get off the train with a lot of people who are going to the same thing as you, in fact, at the station there are signs warning you to get off there if you are going to the studios. It's really all so intuitive that there are no problems or mistakes, no one beats the English in terms of organization and practicality.
When you leave the station, at the same door, you will see a bus stop, with buses with huge Harry Potter letters. You just have to get on that bus, and pay attention because it is completely free . You show your entry and end.
The only downside is that it is not the Knight Bus. But don't be too disappointed, because it takes you along a beautiful path, while they play a video to anticipate everything you are going to see and prepare you for your visit. And that's where the adventure has already begun.
To return to London you have to do exactly the same, but in reverse. And don't worry because the bus services last until the studios are empty, meaning that if they close, you can get on a bus back. There are trains back to London.
WHAT TO EXPECT? Okay, we're past all the tedious and boring part. Take out your wand because now comes the hard part.
Many times you ask what is in the studios and what is the difference between them and those at Orlando. Well, these studios are a movie set. It's literally the place where all this film crew and actors went daily to work for the movies. That's where for 10 years they worked tirelessly to create the true magic of Harry Potter. That is, the place we all dreamed of going to as children.
It is not an amusement park, nor is it a place to go to release your adrenaline. It is more like the holy place for fans of the saga.
This film set was not intended to be maintained, as is the case with all films generally. They recreate them, build them and then dismantle them, and the studio is occupied by another team for another film. I can't imagine how much it must cost to dismantle them, honestly. Honestly, until you see with your own eyes the hours and hours of work involved, you won't believe it. Obviously, it is not in vain, and it does not have any other function, nor would there be space in the world to leave all these sets assembled, so they create it to film and then dismantle everything.
The success of the Harry Potter films was such that they decided to use all the material they had and turn these studios into a museum.
what does it mean exactly? Well, you will see a thousand objects ( props , what they call them in English) and material that was used during the movies and even entire filming sets. They have prepared a tour with a little bit of everything so that you can learn, reveal all the secrets and see a summary of those 10 years of work. This means that not all sets are the “real” ones.
Some like Diagón Alley or the Great Hall are. The reason for this is quite obvious. They needed these sets in all the movies, so they built them and left them built. Others, such as the Ministry of Magic (which according to the actor who plays Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, is the most impressive he has ever seen), were dismantled and have now exposed a small part so you can imagine it. Some reuse them multiple times for different purposes and some will be right next to each other while filming. For example, (I'm making this up), they say that on one side was Dumbledore's office, and on the other, the Malfoys' dining room... the magic of cinema! .
The route is enormous, you can spend about 4 hours perfectly inside these studios, and it is easy to imagine these actors with golf carts going from one side of the studios to the other.
They also show you the work of the entire team behind it: carpenters, electricians, cameramen, focus pullers, makeup artists, hairdressers, special effects people, inventors, painters,... real artists who work wonders. They leave you exposed wigs, machines that they design especially for the movies, and fake masks (like Mrs. Doubtfire's) for a thousand characters.
What we liked the most was a kind of backpack with Hagrid's face, so real that it was even impressive to see it! The extra had to be placed on top, to look much bigger. In the books Hagrid is 3 meters tall, but in the movies, despite all their efforts, they could make him look as tall as 2 and a half meters. It's not that easy!
Other curiosities that we discovered and liked were decoration details. For example, in Dumbledore's office you can see a thousand books in the background. They are old telephone directories (evidently, no one uses them anymore) covered in leather to give the touch of an old book. Or the more than 350 paintings seen throughout the films at Hogwarts, which were painted by hand. Many members of the film crew posed to be painted live and appear in frames during the films.
You will have the opportunity to take photos , some imitating techniques that they use to give effects on camera. Although there are a couple of photographs that you will have to pay for. For example, you can record a video as if you were flying on a broom in front of the mythical green Croma and the price of that video is 16 pounds.
And there is not one, not 2, but 4 carts to take photos as if you were entering platform 9 and ¾ of King's Cross (these are free).
In short, a tour that goes a long way and that you will thoroughly enjoy if you are a true magician.
RECOMMENDATIONS . You already know how to get there and what you will see there, but we still have to leave you some tips, notes, recommendations or whatever you want to call them, that may be useful to you.
- Please note that everything is in English . Yes, we don't understand why, but everything is only in English. Actually, it is not a very serious problem, because you can translate the texts easily, and it is more about seeing than hearing. But all the staff who are working there and who know absolutely everything about the movies, speak English. Likewise, the way you enter the studios (which is a surprise) includes content only...in English. You're in luck, many of the instructions they will tell you, we are also telling you in this post ;).
- You can take photos of ALMOST everything . Except for the first 10 minutes, in which they prohibit you from taking photographs (or ask you politely not to take them, since they are English). You can photograph and record the rest of the tour as much as you want. Even so, try not to reveal too many secrets to your friends or acquaintances who are going to visit the studios, we firmly believe that magic needs a surprise factor.
- Take your food . Halfway along the route you arrive at a dining room with a restaurant. The restaurant's food is of quite poor quality at a fairly high price. So, if you feel like eating well, take your food, even if it is a sandwich, a bottle of water and some nuts. Plus, you'll avoid queues. They go fast, but in high season, no matter how fast they go, there is too much “wasted” time. If you feel like trying the butterbeer, yourself…for us there is no doubt, it is terrible! Of course, keep in mind that you will not be able to eat or drink (excluding water, of course), during the tour, only in this restaurant or the one at the entrance.
- Use of the wardrobe . When you arrive at the studios, they will offer you a completely free cloakroom service. You can leave whatever you want there, but keep in mind that a part (albeit small) of the tour is outdoors, so if you visit the studios in the cold season, you won't need your coat. We didn't leave it, in fact, at times, even if it was internal, it was also good for us. Obviously, it's up to you, but keep this in mind. The same if you are going to bring your food. You will have to take it with you, since you will only return to the cloakroom when you finish the entire tour.
- Keep in mind that what is seen is seen . The tour is designed to be one-way, so you can enjoy everything you see because you will leave it behind and you will not return there.
- You don't have to be ultra punctual . Obviously, I don't mean that you can be 3 hours late, but they are quite flexible. As long as you have a ticket and you are more or less in your zone, you are fine. In fact, the most likely thing is that between the time you arrive, go to the bathroom, have a coffee and join the queue for the tour entrance, you will end up entering later. This means that if, for whatever reason, your train is late, the bus does not arrive or you have any error in calculating your schedules, you do not have to suffer because they will let you in.
- Do not buy entry with transportation . I think it is already clear, but just in case, or in case you have come directly to this section. It's very easy to get to the studios, so don't pay extra. Buy the single ticket and get to the studios yourself by train. The price of the round trip train is about 20 pounds, and you can pay without complications, passing your credit or debit card at the turnstiles at the stations or the Oyster card (if you have doubts about transportation, we have the reels on our Instagram “Quick guide to transport in London” that will answer all your doubts regarding this).
- Don't go to the studios without a ticket . Again, just in case it's not clear, you have virtually no chance of getting there and entering the studios last minute. So don't waste your time visiting London trying to get ticket at the window.
- Don't be afraid to go in costume . Many people ask us if it is crazy to go in costume and we assure you that it is NOT. Many people go in costume and you can even bring a wand or a scarf so you can take photos like a real professional. If you go in costume, you won't be alone.
- And finally, a warning . On the tour you will find a thousand effects, sounds, smoke, lights and they modify the shows , but they will do small shows with actors simulating death eaters. It is forbidden to touch them and they will not do it with you, but if you go with scared little ones (like I was), explain to them what they are going to see. In fact, the point of studies is to discover the magic behind all those effects, so it is ideal for losing the “fear.” Likewise, if for whatever reason you are very afraid of something (for example, spiders), let a member of the team know and they will help you avoid areas where you might see something that makes you suffer. The truth is that the entire team is great. They love their job and will help you with everything.
And since we love curiosities we leave you two:
- These studios were created during World War II, in 1940, and were actually built to be airfields, where they built and stored airplanes and light aircraft for the war. In the 90s they will convert it, given its size, into studios for James Bond films. They used these studios because there were none available and they needed a new one. Since 2001 their fate was sealed when Harry Potter came to them.
- Technically these studios are not in London, but in Hertfordshire. If you are a literary person, this name will sound familiar to you, and the Bennet family from Pride and Prejudice lives in Hertfordshire (but it takes them half a day by carriage to get to London, not the 40 minutes it will take you).
With all this, I think you are more than prepared for this special and magical visit. But, most importantly, remember that you are there to have a good time, and that, as we say on our tours, magic exists if you know how to see it. The magic is carried by you and the thousands of fans who come to this place daily, so enjoy it and enjoy your visit to this wonderful place.
If you are left wanting more, our Harry Potter tours are as magical as the studies , because we are first-class Hogwarts students. We visit filming sites and share with you a thousand details and secrets of the saga and the places of worship and filming in London.
You can book a private tour: https://www.julietsbridge.com/products/the-harry-potter-london-tour
or sign up for our Free Tour: https://www.julietsbridge.com/products/free-tour-harry-potter
We are looking forward to meeting you.
Until then,
Mischief done
👩🏻🦰
