The Harry Potter Studio Tour will open its gates on March 31st but a special preview happened four days ago and Alex Korting a faithful D&M reader was there, shot plenty of pictures, and kindly allowed me to post them on Disney and more. First, let me tell you that this is a major exhibit - i should say a "E-Ticket exhibit" - which is obviously going to be tremendously successful - and not only to Harry Potter fans as you will be able to walk in the real sets that were built for the Harry Potter movies. If you can't go in Orlando to visit the Harry Potter land at IOA this is the closer you can get to be immerse in Harry Potter's world. You must note that all tickets must be booked in advance on the Harry Potter Studio Tour website HERE as no tickets will be sold at the entrance.
As it is written on their site: " Warner Bros Studio Tour London provides an amazing new opportunity to explore the magic of the Harry Potter films – the most successful film series of all time. This unique walking tour takes you behind-the-scenes and showcases a huge array of beautiful sets, costumes and props. It also reveals some closely guarded secrets, including facts about the special effects and animatronics that made these films so hugely popular all over the world.
Here are just some of the things you can expect to see and do:
Step inside and discover the actual Great Hall.
Explore Dumbledore’s office and discover never-before-seen treasures.
Step onto the famous cobbles of Diagon Alley, featuring the shop fronts of Ollivanders wand shop, Flourish and Blotts, the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Eeylops Owl Emporium.
See iconic props from the films, including Harry’s Nimbus 2000 and Hagrid’s motorcycle.
Learn how creatures were brought to life with green screen effects, animatronics and life-sized models.
Rediscover other memorable sets from the film series, including the Gryffindor common room, the boys’ dormitory, Hagrid’s hut, Potion’s classroom and Professor Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic.
Located just 20 miles from the heart of London at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the very place where it all began and where all eight of the Harry Potter films were brought to life. The Studio Tour is accessible to everyone and promises to be a truly memorable experience - whether you’re an avid Harry Potter fan, an all-round movie buff or you just want to try something that’s a little bit different.
The tour is estimated to take approximately three hours, however, as the tour is mostly self guided, you are free to explore the attraction at your own pace. During this time you will be able to see many of the best-loved sets and exhibits from the films. Unique and precious items from the films will also be on display, alongside some exciting hands-on interactive exhibits that will make you feel like you’re actually there."
Here is the map of the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
Ready for a pictorial tour of the exhibit? There we go, don't forget to click on each picture to see them in larger scale, and we begin by the studio entrance that you can see at the top. The first set you will enter is the famous Hogwarts Great Hall. In this iconic and breathtaking Great Hall, you will walk on the actual solid York stone floor laid 11 years ago, and see the solid oak and pine house tables that were built for the films and aged with axes and chains. You will discover the graffiti carved into the tables by Hogwarts pupils (which production designer Stuart Craig encouraged, as this would happen at all schools!). You can also learn about the unique house points bead system that was said to have caused a national bead shortage when it was first installed back in 2000.
...in which you'll see real size statues of the main Hogwarts characters including Dumbledore and Hagrid...
Close to them, the scale model used for the movie to be added on the great hall set.
The tour continues with some of the largest, most detailed sets ever produced in the UK. In Dumbledore's office, you can see the authentic Sword of Gryffindor, the Sorting Hat and the Hogwarts headmaster portraits.
The costumes department.
The Gringotts vehicle!
The Chamber of Secrets door.
The Portraits from the Hall of Portraits.
Hagrid's hut where guests can see his famous motorcycle and learn how his larger-than-life character was realised on screen..
The Potions classroom set.
The Gryffindor common room,, one of the films' oldest and most beloved sets, sits alongside the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, including the original beds made for Harry, Ron, Seamus, Neville and Dean for the first film. Learn how the filmmakers had to adapt and find unique camera angles as the years went by, hiding the fact that the cast had clearly outgrown the beds.
On the road to Hogwarts...
Dumbledore's office, interior.
Dumbledore's office, exterior.
Astronomy tower, exterior.
Gryffindor common room set.
The legendary flying brooms! Here, guests will discover how green-screen technology helped create many iconic sequences for the films, including the spectacular Quidditch matches. You will see Harry's Nimbus 2000 and Draco Malfoy's Nimbus 2001, plus Harry's treasured Firebolt, given to him by his godfather Sirius Black.
Harry Potter Studio Tour guests can try the brooms and be filmed!
The Burrow set.
The Ministry of Magic set.
Voldemort's gang.
Professor Umbridge's office, which is radiant in its fluffy pink magnificence, with her amazingly detailed cat porcelain plates, created especially for the films.
Death eater mask.
Don't miss the part two of this great Harry Potter Studio Tour report with more amazing sets and Potter movies creatures! It's now online HERE.
And if you're a Harry Potter super-fan you'll be probably happy to know the release September 7 of this stunning and beautiful Harry Potter Wizard's Collection limited edition Blu-ray / DVD Combo + UltraViolet Digital Copy box that you can order through Amazon HERE. This 31-disc set will include everything that's been released in the previous Ultimate Collector's Edition sets - all 8 films on Blu-ray, DVD and UltraViolet Digital Copy plus extras, including the extended versions of Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets and the 2D/3D versions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2. The set will also include 10 hours of "new to disc" bonus content and 5 hours of never-before-seen material. This material includes all new featurettes (The Harry Potters You Never Met, Creating the World of Harry Potter, Pt. 7: Story, Creating the World of Harry Potter, Pt. 8: Growing Up and A Conversation with JK Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe) and there's more that will be announced in the coming weeks on harrypotter.com. This set comes packaged in a 19-pound/foot-wide gift box and includes additional items like a Map of Hogwarts, concept art prints, catalogs of props, posters and more!
All pictures: copyright Alex Korting
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