HARRY POTTER | WHERE NOW
Green screen experience
The Great Hall
IMAGES COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. STUDIO TOUR
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r and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.” With these two sentences, the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone book began and a cultural phenomenon was born. No one could have predicted it – and the Dursleys didn’t know just how strange things would get. Harry Potter’s aunt and uncle would not approve of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, as it’s overflowing with Potter paraphernalia. For Potter fans, however, there are few places that generate as much excitement, because this is where much of the film series was shot. The films were being made while J.K. Rowling was still writing the books, so props and sets were kept at Leavesden in case they were needed later. When filming wrapped in 2010, efforts began to preserve this haul: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter opened in 2012.
MORE MAGIC After seven magical years, the tour has just been expanded to include Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Walk through the banking hall, with its marble Diagon Alley pillars and crystal chandeliers, before exploring the treasure-filled Lestrange vault. See costumes, goblin prosthetics and piles of galleons, sickles and knuts. It’s the biggest expansion to date and incorporates a new entrance hall as well as a café, which serves food inspired by the world of Harry Potter. Whether or not you’re a Harry Potter obsessive, the elaborate Studio Tour is hugely enjoyable. It begins with a video that tells the story of the books and the films, which is played on a large screen that opens to reveal the Great Hall set. Hogwarts Castle is here too which, at its pinnacle, is four times taller than an adult. The detailed model measures approximately 15m (50ft)
across – the length of one-and-a-half London buses. The Studio Tour is open from early until late every day and it’s essential to book tickets. It’s incredibly popular, but it is possible to purchase last-minute tickets: the website’s ticket availability is 100 per cent live, which means that you can find last-minute cancellations, even if you’re checking in the morning for later that same day. You can jump on a train from Euston to Watford Junction and catch a shuttle bus to the Studio Tour, or book a bus from central London direct with operators such as Golden Tours. www.wbstudiotour.co.uk w w w.wh e ret r ave l e r. com 11
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