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The Ultimate Guide to Harry Potter Studio Tour in London

Author: undefined Published: 8th September 2020 05:45

You walk through the doors to the Great Hall, lined with authentic benches and tables, and there’s Albus Dumbledore on the golden platform. Such is the experience at the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour. It re-enacts everything you’ve seen on the screen and read in the books, making your Hogwartz fantasies come true.

The Harry Potter Studio Tour in London is famous all over the world, which is why it can be hard to get tickets in time. This post will give you the hacks to ensure you get the tickets, but also give you the tricks to enjoy the experience to the fullest.

After all, it’s an award-winning tour that’s a must-have for any Harry Potter fan visiting London.

  

Getting the Tickets

Getting a ticket for this sought-after tour is just as difficult as getting into Gryffindor. You really have to have the fight in you to get in. In other words, you’re going to struggle to get tickets as they usually get sold out immediately on the official website.

Don’t worry! There is an alternative to getting the London Harry Potter tickets, even at the last minute. There are a lot of resales of the tickets available online, so try your luck at TourScanner. If you keep looking, some tickets might come up, even a day or two before the tour.

Resale tickets are usually a bit more expensive, but you can also get a bargain sometimes if someone is really desperate to sell them fast. So keep hunting and don’t give up, just like Harry didn’t give up on finding the truth about his parents.

Getting to the Studio

Even though it’s often called Harry Potter Studio Tour London, it’s not quite in London. The studio is located 20 miles north of London, in a town called Leavesden. So allow yourself plenty of time to reach there.

Public transportation in London is one of the best in the world. But still, it’s public transport, so you have to be extra punctual. If you’re driving there, add 15 minutes on top of the journey time, Google map is predicting an hour before you plan on leaving.

If taking the train, just get to Euston Station of the tube, and change the train to reach Watford Junction station. This station is also served by the Abbey Line that comes from Hertfordshire (Yorkshire) from the north. Once at the station, just get on the shuttle bus.

Pro Tip: Arrive a day earlier, and spend the night in Watford. It’s a lovely, quaint town, with the added bonus of avoiding crowds at the gates of the studio.

You’re on Your Own, so Explore

 Don’t expect it to be a guided tour, as it’s more like a visit to the museum where you explore by yourself. This is actually great as you’re free to really look at the details, which are worth giving some time. A lot of work and cutting-edge technology has gone into making this studio.

You can even challenge yourself by identifying which props appeared in which movie. Just a heads up, you’ll find plenty of props never shown on screen. They simply never made it to the scenes that ended up in the movies, which makes this tour all the more special.

Take Part in Interactive Experiences

It’s not all museumy, as the tour also offers some interactive experiences. The best one is riding the broomstick. Others include performing spells that are enacted using special effects and other technologies. It’s super fun and everyone should try some of them. 

If you’re into immersive experiences, make sure to see the Forbidden Forest section. That’s all you get to know right now!

Look Out for Special Events

All year-round, they add special exhibitions to the standard tour features. You can check the official website to see if there’s anything special coming the time you’re planning on visiting. It usually happens around the holiday seasons.

Again, tickets will sell out pretty quickly, especially if there’s a special exhibition.

Harry Potter Studio Alternatives

What if you can’t find the tickets anywhere? Or you don’t make it to the studio on time? That’s fine, there are plenty of Harry Potter tours in London, and even in other places in England. There’s the famous London Harry Potter Walking Tour, where a Potterphile guide takes you through places featured or inspired by the franchise.

Another great option is the Harry Potter Locations Tour in Oxford, where you get to see the location where they shot some of the scenes.

Prepare to Be Blown Away

If you plan ahead (at least two weeks in advance), you have a good chance of finding the tickets. When you do get the tickets and visit, it will be an experience you’ll truly cherish.

Make sure to pay extra attention to the details. You’ll be surprised to see how intricate some of the props are. You can never really see it on the big screen, but hey, you get to because you made it to the Harry Potter Studio!

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