May 22nd
I don't usually sleep in, but when I do it is for the trip I have been planning for days. We decided to meet to leave the flat at 8:30am the night before. I got tied up writing papers and blogging and watching graduation so I forgot to set an alarm for the next morning and just drifted off. Justyne woke me up just before Sarah knocked on the door at 8:30. We left at 8:40. Skill. I feel very accomplished, but don't judge my pictures too harshly. On that note, we set off for the Warner Brother's Harry Potter Studio Tour.
Going somewhere you have never been on a schedule is always stressful. We got on the overground instead of the midway train so it had ten more stops. That meant the commute was much longer than we though, but we made it on time and everything worked! Here are the lovely Raeni and Delanie on the Harry Potter Tour bus. Hello Watford!
Sarah and I. I love this girl. She reminds me so much of Marie and I am missing my roommates sorely. Sarah is always up for adventures, has tons of great ideas, and such a kind heart. I am so glad she is willing to hang out with me. I know this wasn't as exciting for her as the Dr. Who experience, but we were still freaking out!
We arrived! Me, Raeni, Delanie, and Sarah.
Side note: the bus hit the branches of nearly every single tree. What? Why don't they trim them? Double decker problems....
Walking into the studio they have these large canvas pictures all along the perimeter.
A few more decorations while waiting in line to go in.
Poor quality since the line finally started picking up, but here is the cupboard under the stairs.
Once you make it through the first line you enter a room with four long, rectangular screens on each side. It is a little like walking into the Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror at Disneyland. A guide begins speaking a mic pack and then begins a movie. The movie covered JK's story about writing Harry Potter and the producers that found it. Goosebumps. Need I say more? I truly did not expect to get emotional on this tour, but the video hit home. This series was our childhood! So a few tears MIGHT have brimmed over, but I held it together pretty well. After the dark room with screens we sat in a movie theatre.
What am I standing in front of you ask? THE DOORS TO HOGWARTS! After watching a short video about the producing of Harry Potter and then an intro to the tour by Dan, Emma, and Rupert, the screen rose to reveal the doors in to the great hall. Can you say magical?? We are really here!!!
I still cannot believe this happened. The Great Hall has a floor of stone just like traditional castles. The walls are simply painted really well. You may notice there is no ceiling. Since the ceiling had to reflect the night sky, it was a separate piece and needed lots of altering by the special effects team.
One of my favorite parts of Hogwarts castle is the four hour glasses that keep track of house points. I have always loved the idea. It makes me giddy to know they really exist.
Costumes Galore!
Ravenclaw table!!!
Looking into the mirror of erised. That is the real mirror. That is it!!!!
The Yule Ball
You would be surprised how many wigs there are. These were just a handful. Actors even had wigs that looked like their own hair. I think it was so they did not have to style it every single day. I had to get a shot of Lucius Malfoy's luscious locks.
Costumes on display included Luna, Lockhart, and Fleur.
Proclamations from book five!
Fat Lady? Love her!
Standing in front of the Gates of Hogwarts. It's like we just got off the train.
Sarah, Raeni, Delanie, and I.
Sneaking into the boys' dormitory? Perhaps....
All of the wands!!!
After you exit the great hall you turn into this room full of sets and props. Many thigns are laid out like they were just set down after filming a scene, but the middle of the room is also crowded with props. Here is the goblet of fine, Lupin's gramophone, and trophies from Hogwarts.
Potions with Snape and Slughorn.
The Triwizard Cup, the egg, and I'm sure immortal glory and riches are around here somewhere too.
Chillin in front of the giant clock.
Isn't it majestic? I really like clocks.
I wonder what could be in here? Perhaps Dumbledore's office?
Correct! Sent to the headmaster on account of using magic in the halls. His offices is complete with paintings, books, memories, and the sorting hat! We had a little chat.
Nearby were all the destroyed horcruxes. I want the diadem so bad.
Hagrid's Hut
Good luck breaking these doors. Here are the locks to a vault in Gringott's and Hogwarts' doors.
Best keep on the staircases. They like to change.
Moody's trunk.
Knowing parsletonge got me into the Chamber of Secrets.
Sarah and I prepping for our broom ride across London. Go Ravenclaw!!! We actually did get to wear these real quidditch robes and sit on real brooms in a green screen. A video was recorded of us flying over different areas of the wizard and muggle world. Raeni bought the picture from the studios. She loos like a true quidditch player.
Waiting in line for the broom ride. Here is almost everything you could need to watch a quidditch match.
Who do you love to hate? Dolores Umbridge of course!
Popping into the Ministry.
For Megan. Yes, it is real. Helen Bonham Carter were that. She is a boss.
Villians
I'm pretty convinced our Islands house was the muggle version of the burrow. I loved it here.
I would willing steal something from the cabinet. It holds tons of props from all of the movies. The Marauder's Map, Fred and Geroge's jokes, Luna's glasses, the paper from the Goblet of fire, Ministry of Magic items, and so on all live inside.
Just in case you needed to take care of some Black family history work.
Can it be? YES! We are standing on the Hogwarts bridge. Sarah, Delanie, and I all lounging about as if we are the trio on a weekend.
The Knight Bus is real too! I love this purple bus.
Tom Riddle's tomb. *shivers*
4 Privet Drive
The Potter's Cottage from Godric's Hollow. *tears*
I'm next to the real moving chess pieces! "That's barbaric... That's wizard's chess."
*you may notice the small children behind me and how they are all dressed the same. Wearing uniforms in London is very common. Most of the school children, and even some older students, we have seen wear matching uniforms. It also shows how Harry Potter appeals to all age groups. Our tour contained all ages from eight to probably eighty.
Driving the Ford Angelina with Sarah. There are actually tons of food pics from us playing in the car.
And that, my friends, is Fawkes the Phoenix.
Dolls they used for lifeless bodies. Excuse me while I cry over all the characters we saw.
For Megan
A dragon?!?!
Buckbeak the Hippogriff
We turned the corner and were suddenly on Diagon Alley. It's not everyday your dreams of spending a shopping day in Diagon Alley come true. Pinch me please.
All of our favorite shops were there. Ollivander's of course, Gringott's to make withdraws, Flourish & Blotts for books, the new arrival of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Quality Quidditch Supplies, and so on. My absolute favorite store is actually Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. It does not appear in the movie and only has small appearances in the book. All of the ice cream flavors always sounded so good. Mr. Fortescue seemed so nice too. I know we would have been friends. I was heart broken when he went M.I.A. during the seventh book. The shop was there on set. It was almost exactly how I pictured it. Thank you Warner Brothers, for respecting the small things.
A statue from Hogwarts.
The small white scale model. They had a whole case of these from the designers. It was pretty impressive, but.....
Not as impressive as this!!! This is the real castle. It takes up a whole room. The whole thing has such extreme detail. I could not believe it. Every little brick and tree and rock and window was designed to be there. They added onto the castle for almost every movie.
The last room of the tour has a wand box and name on it for every single person that worked on the films. It was incredible. So many people went into making these movies.
The truly last part of the tour. It almost brought me to tears again. Watching JK say this at the premier of the last movie was too perfect. She touched so many lives.
I didn't buy anything from the shop, but I was highly tempted. There was real magic going on in that place to bring such a wonderful book to life. JK Rowling never ceased to amaze me from the beginning of the Scorer's Stone to the epilogue in Deathly Hallows.
What a fun time. Going to the studios is totally worth it. Believe it or not, I even have a few pictures from today that I didn't share just because I was tired and this post is probably the longest one I have ever done.
Mischief Managed!
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