For my birthday two years ago my mum and sister gave me tickets for The Making of Harry Potter at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London. We had to wait because of the pandemic, but it was worth it — I had no idea what to expect and it completely blew me away. If you want to be surprised when you visit, stop reading now; otherwise, here’s what to expect.
We’re big Harry Potter fans at home, so a visit was always on the list. What I loved most about the tour was how revealing the filmmaking secrets somehow made the magic feel even more real. Seeing the actual sets, props and costumes brought the stories to life in a way I didn’t expect.
Learning a bit about the story behind the books was fascinating too — J.K. Rowling began writing on a train home from Scotland, and the book might never have reached screens if a reader at a producer’s office hadn’t taken the time to champion it. The tour is full of those little facts alongside the real movie pieces.
One of my favourite spots was the Great Hall — it’s the first room you enter and it literally takes your breath away. It’s the real filming set, with flagstone floors, carved doors, pillars you can touch and even the smell of the fire. The level of detail is incredible.
You follow a set route but you can move at your own pace, which I loved because it let us stop, read everything and take it all in. The tour usually takes a few hours; we spent five and a half hours and could have stayed longer. I now understand how magical it must have felt for the young actors to live and work in those sets for years.
There are always new things to see. My mum hadn’t been for about five years and she spotted additions like the Forbidden Forest, a new Christmas shop and new videos about how characters were created. Everything feels like stepping into the films.
A quick spoiler warning for anyone who hasn’t visited recently: there’s an area dedicated to Gringotts Wizarding Bank, with the gleaming marble set and the impressive basement effects used in the films. It’s the actual set and it looks magnificent — there’s also a smaller, less shiny bank set with a surprise, so be sure to wait and see.
Tickets start from £49.95 and family tickets are available. If you love Harry Potter, you’ll enjoy this place. Have you been? What did you think?
