Last week, The Sibling and I flew from Dublin to London for a couple of days. This was the result of a random and a sporadic idea a couple of months ago. The last time I travelled to London was around three years ago when I was sixteen in Transition Year so I felt it was time to pay a visit once more.
On the first day, we travelled to the Warner Bros Studio Tour London which is the Making of Harry Potter. My brother and I have been fans of Harry Potter since we were children. I can recall being read 'The Philosopher's Stone' by my Mam when I was around four or five. Summers in my childhood were dominated by the latest Harry Potter book release, either reading the books myself or asking my Mam to read them, aswell as watching the latest film and listening to the audio books.
Halloween in childhood was for dressing up as my idol, Hermione Granger. The smart, intelligent girl who many never took seriously or liked, even though she was always correct. She was also kind and caring but still managed to put those who wronged her in their place. (Hermione punching Draco Malfoy in the Prisoner of Azkaban was goals). As a child in primary school, I related a lot to Hermione, I felt out of place and at odds with my school environment despite flourishing academically. However, reading the books brought me strength, In essence, Harry Potter had a huge effect on my character and personality and helped mould me into who I am now.
Which is why I felt it was time to pay a visit to the Studio Tour in the UK.
A nice trip back into childhood can be a wonderful experience as I found out. The magic never really leaves you. The Sibling and I got the Harry Potter bus from the nearby station to the studio. As soon as we walked in the doors, the magic of Harry Potter burst back into our lives quicker than you could say alohomora.
In total, we spent around 3 hours between the studio tour and the giftshop. Between us, The Sibling and I took over 300+ photos, a small selection of which are included here. To say I enjoyed the experience is an understatement. To see where the films were shot, the actual props used and find out little nuggets of information was worth everything. I felt like a child going around looking at the sets. I succumbed to fits of excitement and giggles, especially upon seeing The Knight Bus and tasting Butterbeer ice-cream! (Also seeing the Hogwarts Express as the video above illustrates)
Have you ever been to the Harry Potter Studio Tour? What did you think of it?
Let me know, in the comments or tweet me!
Mischief Managed,
Aveen.
