This post won’t really be a travel post, per se, since, let’s face it, it will simply chronicle one place and one place only: the Harry Potter studios in Watford, England, just north of London.
Yes, I have told many people about my trip to this amazing location, and every single person I’ve told was supremely jealous. Obviously I don’t want to make people jealous, in fact coming here is probably not something I would have done on my own, since apparently it cost far upwards of $100 CAD, however due to my sister’s incessant nagging toward my mother, my mom finally caved and booked us all a trip to probably one of the coolest places you could visit.
If you’ve read the books and/or watched the movies, everything you can see inside the studios is a dream come true to you. Just to make a list of the sets I was able to walk into:
Hagrid’s hut
Olivander’s
Dumbledore’s office
The Great Hall (featuring the sorting hat)
Number 4, Privet drive (including going inside!)
The Gryffindor common room and dormitory
The Burrow (the model was destroyed in the sixth movie, but I saw the inside)
Umbridge’s office
The Knight Bus
The Hogwarts Bridge
Snape’s potions’ class
12 Grimmauld Place
But that’s not all, these studios featured a lot more, most of these in the form of props:
Everyone’s wand
The Goblet of Fire
The Triwizard Cup and the golden egg from the second task
The Philospher’s Stone
The Weasleys’ flying car
Quidditch!
The 7 Horcruxes
Dementors
Wizard money
The marauder’s map
The chess pieces from the first book/movie
All the mythical creatures, such as Aragog, Dobby, Hedwig, Buckbeak (who actually bowed!) the dragons, and even a mechanical version of Hagrid’s head
And all these were great, but there were some sets for me that just, well let’s say they stuck out, let’s see if you can recognize any of them:
Indeed, behold:
The Hogwarts Express
Diagon Alley
And, of course, the Hogwarts castle itself, one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen
Truly, truly an amazing experience, I would recommend a visit to this amazing place to anybody considering themselves to be a Harry Potter fanatic, such as myself. Every little aspect of the book and movies is featured at these studios, even Butterbeer and Butterbeer ice cream, and it really makes you appreciate all the hard work that goes into crafting such an amazing movie series, especially by all the behind-the-scenes people.
The castle, I must insist, was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen!
-Daniele
