Oh my goodness, this tour! I just got home from our trip to England last week and I’ve been itching to write a post about the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour with Transport from London. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip! We almost didn’t even go on the tour because we’d already spent 10 days hiking through the Cotswolds on the 103-mile Cotswold Way Trail (don’t worry, I’ll be sharing posts about that whole experience soon too). We ended up booking it for our very last day in London and it was 100% worth it.
While my husband and I both enjoy watching the Harry Potter films about once a year in the fall, we’re not super fans by any means. We weren’t sure if it was going to be a fun experience for us or if the whole thing was really meant for true Harry Potter fans only. But it is honestly an experience that anyone of any age could enjoy.
The bus ride from London was about an hour long and then we were given from 9:30am to 2:00pm to enjoy the Harry Potter experience on our own. There is no designated tour guide for the day but you have the option to purchase digital headsets to listen to key facts as you’re moving along. However, we didn’t opt for the headsets and we still thoroughly enjoyed everything and didn’t feel like we missed out on anything. There are plenty of signs, videos, and plaques along the way so you’ll get tons of information from those.
You start off in the Great Hall where you get to see the actual set that they used for the movie, including the magical floating candles and long tables! It was stunning. After the Great Hall, you enter a much larger room filled with props, videos, outfits, entire sets, and so much more. It was insane how much there was to see! We were lucky enough to be there for the “Tri-Wizard Tournament” so there were actors and dancers adding even more magic to the day. I don’t want to spoil too much so I’ll just include a few photos of my favorite moments from throughout the day. I will say that it’s important not to spend too much time on any one thing. There’s so much to see and do and you don’t want to run out of time!
Once you reach the cafeteria, you’re about halfway through the experience. We finally got to try Butterbeer and even got a Butterbeer cupcake and doughnut too! There are burgers, hotdogs, burritos and all sorts of food options for lunch. They have vegan options as well! I tried the vegan burrito and it was pretty good. Not amazing or anything, but decently yummy! The Butterbeer cupcake was delish though. 🙂
Throughout the day you’ll wander through the Forbidden Forest, stroll through Diagon Alley and board the Hogwarts Express. You’ll see thousands of props, hundreds of outfits worn by the cast, and dozens of different activities and interactive experiences. It was truly such a fun day and so incredibly memorable. I’d even go back and do the whole thing again next time I’m in London!
There’s a section of the tour that is outside so just make sure to bring an umbrella if it’s a rainy day! Though you could easily view those sections from inside the cafeteria and some of them are walk-through or have indoor portions, so even if you don’t have an umbrella, you’d be perfectly fine.
We didn’t have much time in the gift shop but we ended up visiting the Harry Potter shop at Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross Station in London and we were able to buy most of the same products there.
If you’re interested in booking the same tour, you can find it on Viator here! I’d 100,000% recommend this tour, as it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience! It’s amazing to see the sets they used to film the movies and we learned so much about how much time, money, energy and work went into their creation. We both came home wanting to watch documentaries about the making of the Harry Potter films because the lengths they went to to make these movies magical is truly epic. I’ve been raving about this tour ever since we got home. The only downside was that I would have liked a little more time to look at everything, but it also left me wanting more which is probably better than being “over it” by the end of the day. I’d gladly go back on this tour again if any of my friends or family members want to go next time we’re in London. We absolutely loved every second of it.
Thanks so much for reading! You can find out more about this tour on my photography blog here. If you’d like to see more of my recommended tours around the world, check out my Viator shop here! Happy travels!
❤ Myles Katherine
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