loopyloulaura

When an email pinged in my mailbox with an invite to the Harry Potter Studio, I almost didn’t believe my eyes. Add to that, I didn’t get a letter by owl…

I may be a teeny bit of a Potter fan having read the books and seen the films many times over but I have never been to the tour which opened in 2012.

I am proud that Matthew has finally embarked on his Harry Potter journey and loves the books so all of us were beyond excited to be invited to a family blogger event. The lovely thing about this event was that although we were all bloggers or influencers, on this night we were all just parents with our families enjoying an evening together.

The tour begins with a quick introduction to Harry Potter and then you sit in a cinema as the main actors introduce the tour. Then you enter the Great Hall set and, wow, it is impressive and there are loads of little details that you may not have spotted in the film but the set-makers have included.

At one end of the Hall are the costumes for the main Hogwarts teachers. On this visit there was also the Triwizard Cup and Fred and George Weasley as the tour is showcasing the Goblet of Fire this summer.

Moving on is a huge warehouse packed with sets, scenes, costumes and props. There is so much to see and I could easily have spent hours looking at everything but I was mindful that I had 3 small children with me and it was already past their bedtime so I didn’t linger as long as I would have liked!

There is also the opportunity to have yourself photographed or videoed against a green screen whilst on a broomstick! I think this is an essential part of the tour!

There are other areas for photographs such as accessing Platform 9 and 3/4 but these photos can be taken personally.

At the cafe we decided to try Butterbeer and Butterbeer ice cream! The ice cream was delicious. The children were less keen on the Butterbeer itself as it is slightly fizzy and very creamy but Chris and I enjoyed it.

We sat outside as the sun set and admired the Knight Bus and 4 Privet Drive which was originally a house in Bracknell which is near where we live. We enjoyed walking across the covered gantry which was surprisingly wonky underfoot!

The second warehouse area is full of special effects including animatronics and models. We loved walking alon Diagon Alley admiring the shop window displays and imagining we were looking for our Hogwarts requirements. The final room is truly magnificent: a huge model of Hogwarts that really makes you gasp with amazement at the scale of detail.

We had an amazing time at the Harry Potter Studio Tour and I am so grateful for being invited to the event. My mum hates me just a little bit for not taking her with us as both of my parents are avid fans as well. The children had a brilliant time even though they haven’t seen the films as it was simply magical…