For the last full day in the UK, we had reservations for the Warner Bros Harry Potter studio tour. We planned for this tour to take up most of the day. Paul and Bethany had recommended it, having taken the tour when they were there. I have a lot of photos--what I'm sharing is only 10% of the total pictures taken.
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| Our train to Watford Junction. It seems to be a couple steps up from the Underground around London. It was more like the national trains that run between large cities around the UK. |
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| Abbie is excited to be there. |
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| We reached the station at Watford Junction. We waited for a bus to take us to take us to the studio. Caroline found a "tent". |
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| Approaching the studio through the wands |
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| The kids with the Elder wand |
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| Chess pieces! |
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| We're a little early for our tour time. |
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| Caroline likes to be photographed. |
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| The cupboard under the stairs. |
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| The entrance to the Great Hall |
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| I LOVE THE PUMPKINS |
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| So many costumes on display! You are missed, Alan Rickman! |
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| Beautiful punch table from the Yule Ball |
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| Recognizable wigs! |
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| Hogwarts portraits |
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| Harry's year boys' dormitory room at the top of the tower |
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| Potions dungeon and more Snape clothing. I wish my kitchen looked like this. I might keep other things in the glass containers though. |
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| Death Eaters occasionally showed up to creep everyone out. |
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| The Headmaster's office. |
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| I loved the delicate look of the memory vials. I think I need a cabinet of memories. |
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| Hayley checks out the Pensieve |
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| My turn. |
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| Chamber of Secrets portal |
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| We have to get to Platform 9 3/4! |
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| We don't want to miss the train! |
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| Caroline wants to follow her sister and brother to Hogwarts |
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| Katie has always wanted to go to Hogwarts too. |
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| Here we are, ready to climb aboard to go to Hogwarts! |
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| One of my favorite scenes in the book. Two kids meet, they are from different backgrounds, they have different perspectives of the wizarding world, but both have some anxiety about going to a new school. They bond over food, which cheers each other up. When Harry buys some of everything from the food cart to share with Ron, I always think on the importance of sharing for both the recipient and the sharer. Sharing made Harry feel better, and Ron felt valued. |
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| The cozy Burrow. I relate to Molly. |
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| There are so many set pieces to explore! |
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| The mandrakes in the Herbology greenhouse |
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| Caroline tried it too. Where are the earmuffs? |
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| I love Jackson's face! He'll make a good motorcyclist! |
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| I liked this exhibit. It looked so real! |
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| Diagon Alley. I would love to shop here! |
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| The version of Ollivanders at the end of the series. |
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| Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I'd work here. |
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| I love this art! The good guy is in all black with glasses and no visible eyes, and not necessarily the focus of the piece. The scary thing is difficult to define visually and made of stabby lines, making the figure look unsettling. I love the harsh monochrome--not really any grey area. Normally black indicates scary and white purity, but I think that is flipped in this drawing. |
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| And this too! I would hang this in my living room! I like the coziness of the snow covering everything, hanging over the eaves, the warm lights in the windows providing a homey-ness. I'm sure inside every building is a comfy chair with fluffy pillows and semi-weighty blankets and stacks of books close enough to a fire to provide light and warmth. There would be never-ending hot cocoa and a mostly disinterested cat lounging on an ottoman. |
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| Mini Hogwarts |
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| The less-mini Hogwarts was impressive! |
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| I found a few actors' names in the wand shop area. |
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| This girl was nearing the limit of her tolerance for the tour, and by the time we reached the end and got to the gift shop, she was nearly inconsolable. I was pushing the stroller and trying to calm her down, but nothing was helping. At one point, she flung her blanket over her head in frustration and within seconds, she was asleep. She was so tired. I strolled her out of the shop and found a place to sit (my legs and feet and lower back were done too). Jim took over at one point so I could go back into the Honeydukes part of the gift shop and buy some chocolate for a few friends. |
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