Tourist Tuesday: Harry Potter Studios

Before we moved to London I made a list of places I wanted to visit in and around London. The top two things on my list were Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Harry Potter Studios. I visited the Globe on week 1, but it took me longer to get to see Harry Potter.

It took me awhile first because it’s expensive with an entrance fee of about £30. Second, I didn’t really want to go alone. Ryan is not a Harry Potter fan and said he would go with me if I really wanted him to. So, I knew  if he’d go and that there might be some moaning and my crazy enthusiasm wouldn’t be reciprocated. Then I thought, maybe I’ll just go by myself. I’m not opposed to doing things alone, but this is something where I wanted to go with someone who would get hyped up and nerd out with me. Thankfully, my friend Charlotte from work said she’d go with me. YAY!

We went last week and it was decorated for Christmas and overall really amazing! I love Harry Potter. Some of you might be rolling your eyes at me right now, but hold on a moment and hear me out. I was an English major in college. I love stories. And a good story should make you feel. It should make you feel happy, and angry, and sad, and hopeful, and invested. It should make you feel empathy for the characters. It should make you strategize about what you would do. It should make you disagree and sometimes also nod your head emphatically. It should connect to yourself and think about how you would react. It should transport you to another world and make you want to be a part of it. Harry Potter has done all of that for me. I have cheered for the characters, I’ve been angry at them, I’ve cried, I’ve been surprised.  It’s wonderful. It is a story that I love, and I only hope you have a story that makes you feel the same way.

And so it was wonderful to get to immerse myself in something I’ve spent so much time reading and watching and talking about. Harry Potter is also important to me because it’s such a big part of my relationship with my oldest friends. At the beginning of the tour we watched a short movie and when the opening music came on I had chills. I was transported back to high school and I remembered leaving school as soon as possible, skipping soccer practice, and getting in line at the Senator Theatre in Baltimore with my friends. That music brought me back to the excitement and anticipation we used to feel. Everything used to stop for Harry Potter, and I liked having that feeling again.

Anyway, I’m going to try not to gush too much more so I can let the photos speak for themselves. I saw the cupboard under the stairs which had a tiny pair of Harry’s original glasses. And then the next real set we saw was the great hall. It was amazing. The floor is real stone, the ceilings are high, and the long tables were set with a Christmas feast. What I was astounded by throughout the entire tour was the attention to detail. There are so many things that would have been seen only quickly, but help make the whole story feel real. I loved the giant wreaths, the stone animals on the wall, and the fireplaces.

Also, there were costumes and props throughout the whole place. They were just lovely. It really helped bring everything to life. Like, the Mirror of Erised. That was one of those things that made me go “oh yeah” because it was something I had forgotten. I also loved the wigs. I took way more pictures of the wigs than are shown, but Bellatrix’s was my favorite one.

My favorite set in the whole thing might have been Dumbledore’s office. I just wanted to say “sherbert lemon” or something else to gain entry. What I found so impressive, again, was the detail. There were so many books – which were UK phone books just bound in leather. And there were so many oil paintings (not pictured) and an artist had to paint all of them! I thought the pensieve looked like a baptismal font, but I still took a picture anyway. I think the pensieve would change the world if it was real. I tried to explain the podcast Serial to Charlotte, and I said that if the pensieve existed, it would solve that case. (A quick digression, download Serial, it’s awesome – and then you’ll get the reference and totally agree)

After Dumbledore’s office, I really liked the Gryffindor scenes. Who read the books and didn’t think about being in Gryffindor? I recently joined Pottermore.com, and I was sorted into Hufflepuff. I’m ok with that because I’m not brave like someone from Gryffindor. And Hufflepuffs have Cedric Diggory and are good with food and cooking, so a girl could do worse. But even so, who doesn’t dream of being in Gryffindor? I loved the Christmas jumpers (yeah I’m saying jumper instead of sweater). They sold them in the gift shop. If I had an R or and H name, I would have thought of buying it. The boys dorm was cool, but tiny. Apparently they used the same tiny set the whole series – even when the boys hit puberty and were too tall!

Snape’s office and all the potions were really cool. I would love it if making potions was a real thing. True story, when I was a kid I wanted to make a potion like a witch, so I mixed water and glitter and colored sand together to pretend. I think Snape’s story line is amazing. It’s one of the best twists of any story I’ve ever read. It’s amazing that you can hate a character for so long, them empathize with him, and then love him. One time my mom and I saw Alan Rickman in New York City and she exclaimed “that’s Snape!” Also, while we’re talking celebrities on my 5th day working at the Science Museum I saw Jason Isaacs (and he spoke to me). He played Lucius Malfoy.

While I was there I did try butterbeer. You can see me drinking it on the night bus. I feel mixed about it. It’s sort of like cream soda, but it has actual cream on top. It’s sort of nice, but also weird to have bubbly soda with a head of cream. I was really impressed by all the creatures I saw in the studio. I think it really helps the movies that there was a combination of CGI and real props, puppets, and robots. For me, when things are over CGI’ed then all I can think about is how it looks fake and computery (think Yoda in the new Star Wars). I can’t suspend my disbelief as well. I thought little Voldemort was scary and I also like Dobby’s head in the background. Also, I didn’t post a picture here, but did you know that sometime Hagrid was an animatronic head? In order to make him so tall, sometimes the body double wore an animatronic head that had MOVING EYES!

Have you read that JK Rowling says she thinks maybe Hermoine should have ended up with Harry? I do agree that maybe they would have been more compatible. But I like her with Ron for a number of reasons. First, in so many stories the hero gets everything. I like that sometimes Harry is annoying and feels alone and has a hard time. I think it is good for the story that Harry didn’t get the girl. I also think Ron getting all jealous and being an awkward blustering teenager was amazing and fits with his character. Harry wouldn’t have been jealous in the same way. And finally, Harry didn’t really have a family and was adopted into the Weasley’s. By ending up with Ginny he really gets to be part of their family. The set for their home was cool. Charlotte and I pressed buttons to make the knife chop, iron move, and knitting needles knit. Their family clock is the best though.

I took a lot of pictures of some of the tiny props too. I sort of want Hermione’s time turner as a regular piece of jewelry. You might be surprised to know, I did not go crazy in the gift shop. I just bought a mug and a chocolate frog. But, believe me I was tempted to buy snitches and a broomstick and all that. I did see a woman on the bus with a broomstick. Some child is going to have a happy Christmas.

Towards the end of the tour is Diagon Alley. I think that felt so special because there aren’t cute streets like that in the US. It was tiny, curvy, and cobble stoned. They had a little demonstration about snow and making the footprints when Harry was invisible. I loved Olivander’s. How bad do you want a wand to choose you? After Diagon Alley there were models and drawings and artwork of the sets and scenes. I have said it already, but the attention to detail is immense. People had to design, then carve, the triwizard cup! They had to create Hagrid’s house (photo I didn’t include). I mean there were artists, craftsman, architects, special effects people, designers, etc, etc etc. It was amazing and my description cannot do it justice. But the best object was the giant model of Hogwarts (pictured at the top). It was gorgeous and Charlotte and I agreed we just wanted to shrink down and be in the model.

There was obviously so much time, money, love, and attention that went into making the book a real world. It was overwhelming and outstanding and I kinda want to go back right now. Instead though, I reserved a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone from the library, so I can start with the story all over again.