Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

Thanks to my daughter, I'm pretty sure the last 4 or 5 of our family trips had to have some focus on Harry Potter. The whole Europe trip got planned specifically so Mariah could not only visit King's Cross Station, but so she could also go on the Warner Brother's Studio Tour and see all of the sets and props from the Harry Potter films. *Just a head's up: this is going to be a photo heavy post!*

Mariah thought it was a bit serendipitous that when she woke up that morning and checked her Facebook, her memories timeline popped up showing it had been exactly 5 years to the date that she made a post wishing she could visit The Warner Brother's Studio Tour - Making of Harry Potter.
 
Even though we booked our time slot before arriving, we did still had about a 30 minute wait to get into the actual tour. There were a few spots for photo opps while waiting though, like this iconic cupboard under the stairs set.

The tour starts with entrance to The Great Hall, which is quite impressive and sets the tone for the remainder of the tour.

After a brief informational message from the tour guides, the doors open to the remainder of the building and you are free to roam from there on out on your own.

I thought my girls were giddy going to Universal Studios and seeing the replica sets and props, but their excitement over viewing the real sets was totally worth this trip. They were flitting around from set to set and prop to prop just breathing in all of the magic that blew life into the movies.

You do get to climb aboard the Hogwart's Express and check out the cabin cars, and just like at the real King's Cross Station, there is a spot for photo opps to walk through Platform 9¾.

 

Midway through the tour, there is a spot to stop for refreshments. You absolutely cannot leave without a mug of Butterbeer. We noticed they were also selling Butterbeer flavored ice cream cones and decided we would grab one of those first, then would grab a mug of the beverage before leaving the tour at the cafe we spotted when we first arrived. Little did we know, this is the ONLY time on the tour you will be able to buy Butterbeer as it must be finished before returning on the tour due to licensing and not being able to carry it out of the attraction. We didn't think we would be allowed back through the tour to buy Butterbeer since we had already finished our tour, but thankfully the attendants were super awesome and called someone to walk us back through to purchase some.

For those who have been to Universal Studios, you'll be disappointed to know that they do not offer frozen Butterbeer here and the liquid isn't as tasty as what you'll find there, but the cream topping is much better than what you find at Universal.

You can take your refreshments back outside to tour the house on Privet Drive, The Knight Bus, Hogwarts Bridge, The Potter's Cottage, as well as hop in the Weasley's muggle mobile and climb aboard Hagrid's motorbike for a few more photo opps.

The final stretch of the tour is where you'll find the grand prize. The humongous replica of Hogwart's Castle.

It took us around 3 hours to go through the tour from start to finish, though you may need to factor in more or less time depending on how thoroughly you want to study each set and prop. While we've been to Universal Studios in both California and Florida and have experienced the magic of Harry Potter there, the Warner Brother's Studio Tour in London is a definite must-do for any Harry Potter fan. I'm glad we made time to see it during our European travels and would absolutely recommend booking a tour whether you're a fan of the series or just a lover of film making in general. The behind-the-scenes look is fascinating any way you slice it.

Does this look like a tour that would interest you if you were traveling to London?