Bow Down to Buckbeak
05:52:00
It is definitely no secret how much I love Harry Potter. My love extends to the small but very permanent Deathly Hallows tattoo on my right ankle and I always grab at the chance to participate in something related to my favourite boy wizard. If you follow me on either Twitter or Instagram the trip I am about to write about will definitely not be new to you as I have not shied away at sharing photos of our day on Tuesday. Our trip into The Forbidden Forest.
The trip was long overdue; we previously visited the Warner Bros. Studio Tour three years ago in 2014 and I later revisited the studios in 2015 with my mum and sister. When we visited together it was still in the first stages and had not been open long and so my friend had yet to witness many of the new features on offer now. At the time the main feature she wanted to see was the Hogwarts Express. Originally we had thought a good time to go would at the same time we went to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, we went in December so we would also get to see Hogwarts in the Snow for the first time; making it a full on Harry Potter trip.
Sadly, due to University commitments that I could not get out of, this plan was not feasible as I could only commit to the one day of the show; and so our trip to the studios was put on a back burner. Time passed and soon it was approaching my friends birthday and we started making plans for me to come to Southampton on a visit. With my teacher training there is limited time for me to get down as during placement I cannot take time off between Monday to Friday; and so it was arranged for me to visit during the Easter Holidays. Plans came together and so did discussions about what we could do during my visit. The studios were mentioned and finally it was put into motion; tickets were bought and everything was coming together. The news of the brand new Forbidden Forest was announced which made our excitement even bigger and the countdown began.
We were booked in for the 6:30 tour on Tuesday 11th April; it was a busy period with children off for the easter holidays and so the late tour was all that was available. We had planned to head into London for the hours before the tour; so we had an early start, jumping into the car for 8:30am and stopping off for a quick McDonalds breakfast on the way. We filled our road trip by reliving our childhood, singing at the top of our voices to the songs of Hannah Montana and Camp Rock; don't worry we did include some current artists in the mix as well.
We spend the day wandering through the streets of Piccadilly Circus before making our way back to Watford with plenty of time to make our designated tour slot. The closer it got, the bigger the excitement built and we were pretty much giddy as we pulled into the car park. After a quick search through our bags we were inside, it was about to begin.
Warning: Just be warned that the rest of this post will contain spoilers for the studio tour.
Like our previous time we waited in the queue, the anticipation building inside, the opening of the doors that would allow for us to step inside the poster room, leading through to the cinema room where it all began. We chatted animatedly about what was to come, we had already experience the broomsticks and the flying car and got the photos to prove it so we chose to skip that part, allowing for extra time to spend on the newer attractions. We were on a time limit after all, the studios shut at 10pm sadly.
Finally after watching the short, but brilliant film we passed through those spectacular doors and into The Great Hall. Even after 2 visits, nothing beats those first few steps into the place that became the setting of some iconic scenes within the series; walking through the same doors that our favourite golden trio walked through all those years ago, making your way to the front where the teachers stood tall and proud. We had done this part already but it was still just as magical.
We allowed our eyes to wander along the displays in The Great Hall as the guide told us a few things about the significance of the set we currently occupied. It was magnificent, even after previous visits it still had the ability to make you pause and just cherish the magnitude of where we stood. Once the guide had stopped talking and our pictures were took we headed into the first sound stage; strolling along and taking in the props and sets that filled our screens throughout the 8 magical movies.
People have said that seeing the sets in such a way that the tour presents them can take away some of that magic that we feel when we watch the movies but I don't feel that way. Sure it's crazy to see the iconic sets so isolated from what they look like on screen, without the green screens and the golden trio giving them life. But when watching the movies I become so enticed by the world that I forget about the sets I have viewed on the sound screen and how different they actually are.
We followed the path, peering inside Hagrid's Hut and dropping by the Gryffindor Classroom; like I have previously mentioned we have done this tour before and so we did not linger as long as we had the previous time, we were eager to move on and visit the sets we hadn't yet visited. That been said we are still huge fans and so we didn't skip many parts, we just simply wandered along quicker this time.
To make room for the forbidden forest they had been a little rearrangement within the studios but everything that had been there previously was still there. We did skip past the broom sticks and the flying car as we already had our pictures from this feature, but we did participate in the levitating of the broom stick and sitting inside Hagrid's Hut.
Finally it was time, time to follow the spiders and enter the forbidden forest. The lady in the cinema room had explained that with the new set having only been around for less than two weeks we were one of the first to be entering. It was an exciting prospect, we couldn't wait to see what new features lay hidden in the shadows of the trees. Walking through those heavy iron gates we were finally among the spiders.
The floor that we walked along had been cleverly designed to feel as though you were walking inside a forest due to the bark like consistency; the air surrounding us smelt almost like a forest and the lighting had been cleverly crafted so that it felt we were stepping into the forbidden forest to take part in one of the nightly detentions.
We followed the path behind all the other visitors, delving further into the forest. The creatures inside the magical world have always been a favourite element of mine; and Buckbeck was always one of my favourites. It was brilliant to see him in the forest, stood proud and majestic. He was definitely one of the highlights, but nothing compared to the special effects show that we got to witness in relation to Aragog and his family of spiders.
With the help of a guide we were able to witness a demonstration of special effects used in the movies as the spiders fell from the sky. Smoke surrounded us and the sky cracked with strobe lighting to create the atmosphere of lightening striking the sky as the spiders fell down from their hiding places in the trees to surround us just like they had Harry and Ron back in the Chamber of Secrets movie. It was amazing and luckily I managed to get it all on camera to relive the moment again and again.
We came out from the forbidden forest and entered onto Platform 9 and 3 quarters; a feature my friend had not previously participated in and one that was definitely one of my favourite parts of the tour. Getting the chance to board the very train that was the location of the meeting point for our beloved golden trio as well as wrap a house scarf round our necks as we grab hold of the trolley thats travelling through the wall. We easily spent 40 minutes on that platform, checking out the cool features and browsing through the shop - I couldn't resist buying my one way ticket to Hogwarts. It was lovely to experience together before we stepped out into the cold, crisp spring air to visit the outside attractions.
We had reached the half way point and therefore decided to take a small break at the Backlot cafe, taking a seat as we drank our butterbears and discussed the tour so far as well as what we were looking forward to see during the next points of call. The Hogwarts Castle had been my favourite part on the previous tours and I was already excited to see it again, along with the many more features the studios had on offer.
Once our drinks were drunk we heading back out onto the tour, taking a ride on the nightbus, a spin on Hagrid's motorbike and walking along the crooked bridge. Another pleasant surprise we had witness to was that number 4 privet drive was no longer just a locked house which you posed for your photos in front of; no this time we had the opportunity to step inside. Have a look into the house that Harry had grew up in; that famous living room that saw the hundreds of letters from Hogwarts flying out from everywhere. It was another fascinating, and new feature to add to our ever growing list.
We heading back inside, into soundstage K and followed on our journey. Walking down the cobbled street that was Diagon Alley, peering inside Weasley's Wizards Weasers and posing for a selfie in front of Gringott's Bank. As we continued forward we knew we were heading towards the highlight of the tour; the structure that signifies the entire magical world. Even after 3 visits it is still my favourite part of the entire tour; nothing can compare.
The Hogwarts Castle is the centre of what is the magic of Harry Potter. From that moment when Harry, Ron, Hermione and the other pupils cast there eyes on the school that will be their home for the next seven years you know that you are looking at something special. That very feeling fills you as you round the corner and cast your eyes on the stunning structure. The Hogwarts castle is definitely the most spectacular piece of movie memorabilia that the studio tour houses; to be up close to such a magnificent piece of art work and see all the hard work and detail that as gone into it definitely has the ability to leave goosebumps along the skin.
With the castle done it was time to head back into the shop, browse through the various Harry Potter merchandise - pick up a few items - and then head back to the car for our journey home. It had been a fantastic day, filled with Harry Potter memories to cherish. Another post will be coming soon about our trip to House of Minalima and the stunning pieces of art we saw. But for now I will leave you with this.
Don't forget to follow the spiders.
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