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Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour (London)
by MelissaRuth Have you devoured every page of the Harry Potter novels? Have you waited with great anticipation for each new film to be released? If so, the Warner Brothers Harry Potter studio tour should be a must on your wish list of places to visit this year. To be honest even if you are just moderately interested in the series, I think that this is ... an attraction well worth visiting as there is so much to experience. With about 80% of the tour being indoors it also makes this a perfect winter day out - something for which I was extremely grateful when I visited on a freezing cold sleety Sunday in February. What makes the tour feel so good is that you are in the actual studios where the vast majority of the filming of all eight of the Harry Potter films were shot. These are the real sets, the real props and the real costumes - no US style mock ups here and as Harry, Ron, Hermione or Draco lead you around the whole world of Hogwarts, Privet Drive and the Burrow, to name but a few, are really brought to life. I can't wait to watch the films again and spot the sets and I'm sure I'll see them in a new light now. The Warner Brothers studios are located in Leavesden in Hertfordshire, just outside of Watford and are sign posted from junctions 19 and 20 of the M25, from which it is a couple of miles away. We found it easily using their sat nav directions, but there are also clear written directions. The huge creamy yellow warehouse type structures that form the studios are located on an old airfield site and there is therefore amply parking space right outside. **Tickets please** A word of warning - tickets must be purchased on line in advance, so don't turn up expecting to just go in as no tickets are sold onsite. Adults are £29 and children £21.50 with family tickets also available for £85. You can also buy a ticket that gives an audio tour and souvenir guide. You will need to select a 30 minute window timed entry slot and can opt for your tickets to be posted to you or print an E mail receipt and collect your ticket from machines in the car park. My opinion is that these prices are a little high, and although we spent nearly 5 hours here, it is an awful lot to spend for a family and as such only myself and my 18 year old daughter went as the rest of the family were not so keen so the cost couldn't be justified. **You've arrived at the world belonging to Harry, Ron and Hermione** The big decision we faced was whether to have an audio tour or not and then whether to have one each or to share. I'm glad we did opt to have one each as there is way too much information to share. They were easy to use and contained so much interesting information. However boards and TV screens around the various sets were also really informative, so they are not essential. I would only recommend the audio tour if you have about 4 hours to spare, are really interested and have no children with you as they will get bored. The other family that we visited with ended up moving at a much faster pace with their younger children, so we lost contact with them. If travelling as a group I would just use the onset information and this should be perfectly adequate. Firstly you will be escorted into a welcoming area, followed by a cinema where Harry, Ron and Hermione tell you a bit about life filming at Leavesden and how it was home to them for 10 years. I was really interested to know how they managed their education as well as time on set here and how the crew were like family to them. And then the moment arrives when the doors to Hogwarts open and you enter the Grand Dining Hall, laid out for dinner with the staff (well models of them) on the dais at the front. It really is just as impressive as you'd expect it to be. Up until this point staff have escorted your tour and they give more introductory information in the Hall, but once you leave the Hall and enter the main studio area you are free to roam at your own speed taking as long as you like to explore. The audio guides then begin, as do the children's' passports. The passports are a fun workbook for children to answer questions, spot golden snitches on the sets and collect stamps - I even had a go myself! Children particularly seemed to like the embossing stamp machines. A few of the displays have interactive elements and there is a fun area where you can fly on a broom or in the Weasley's blue Ford Anglia in front of a green background and have your photo taken (£12 each decreasing in price with multiple purchases). Children seemed happy but I can imagine that you would whizz around quite quickly with youngsters and not really get your money's worth. I certainly wouldn't take any child who doesn't know the films well. The main studio is like a huge aircraft hanger and contains sets from all of the films and also many individual props and explanations of how things like the rotating stair cases work. My favourites had to be the boy's dormitory with Neville, Dean, Harry and Ron's beds in and the kitchen of the Weasley's home, the Burrow. I loved the fact that the characters / actors had personalised their bed areas over the course of their seven years at Hogwarts and found it really amusing to know that the set had been designed with beds to suit the eleven and twelve year old actors; by the time filming ended there was no way the now adult size actors could fit in their beds so they were always filmed in a curled up position. The burrow was the most fun and interactive set as by pressing buttons you are able to set the knitting needles knitting all on their own, the washing up brush scrubbing a pan, the chopping knife cutting up a carrot and the iron ironing; lucky Mrs Weasley having these labour saving devices! This set was also the brightest and most colourful and included so much detail. I particularly liked the food boxes with names like 'Cheery Owls'. Even without audio guides there is a good hour and a half's worth of time to be spent looking around this area, but I won't spoil the surprise by including too much more about individual exhibits. Only leave this area when you are totally sure that you have seen everything that you want as once you progress through to the backlot you won't be able to return. I was itching to get out to the backlot as through the glass doorway I could see the bright purple 3 story high knightbus and I really wanted to see this despite the sleet! You are able to stand on the conductor's platform and look into the beds but sadly can't go any further. The same with no 4 Privot drive, you may knock but not enter. You can however sit in another one of the blur Ford Anglias and pose for a photo - by the way did you know that 17 and a half of these cars were used in filming altogether! Hagrids motorbike is also great for taking photos in. The bridge which features in the later films is also here but we couldn't walk over it as it was too wet. Back in the warm again you progress through the Creatures room. I found this fascinating, especially watching 3 films that show how various creatures used in the film are made. They are easy to watch films ideal for keeping children's attention and feature one of the dwarf actors who played a goblin in Gringotts bank. It was great to see how some of the animatronics work and how Hagrid appears so big and even Dobby is here to see. Don't look up to the ceiling if you're easily frightened! Diagon Alley comes next. This set is still in-situ and ready to be used again if needed and is every bit as wonky and magical as I envisaged. Peer in the window of Olivander's wand shop or choose and owl, go to the apothecary and don't forget Weasly's bright red joke shop with its puking pastel figure out the front - gross! The logo of the studio tour is 'where secrets are revealed'. The last point on the tour is the piece de resistance and I think visitors are supposed to keep this secret too, so as not to spoil the surprise for future visitors, so I won't reveal any more other than to say that it has a real 'wow' factor and is mightily impressive and was used throughout each of the eight films. You really should go and see what it is for yourself. After seeing and hearing all that is on offer at the studios I can really see why these were such big budget films. Everything is made with such fine attention to detail and is so intricate. **Can I have a souvenir please?** I couldn't believe my eyes when I picked up something to buy in the shop. I'd planned to take some every flavour beans and a chocolate frog home, but at £8.95 and £7.95 respectively I quickly returned them to the shelf. These were small packets and I cannot see how these prices can be justified, except that there were queues at the tills so someone must be happy to part with their well earned cash. A few other examples are a robe costing £75, a small cuddly owl £12 and a mug £12. The shop is really big with pretty much any kind of souvenir you can imagine and you have no choice about going in as the tour exits through here. It may be worth priming small children first to avoid a tantrum or an expensive bill. **Butterbeer or a cake please** A good sized cafe is located in the entrance lobby with some lovely looking muffins and cakes for £2-3 and costa coffees and other drinks at about £2.50 for a small size. They also serve soups, salads and sandwiches. We chose to take a picnic as the time of our tour would mean that we were only in the lobby for what would be either a very early or very late lunch and there is a covered outdoor picnic area half way round. The tour is one way only so if you choose to go out to the cafe you cannot re-enter. There is also a small refreshment stall by the picnic area in the back lot. Again you cannot use this area, other than at the point where the tour passes through it. I really can't see why you can't walk to and fro between the parts of the exhibition, but I guess they are trying to control crowds and keep things moving. We brought butter beer from here, as that felt like an essential part of the Harry Potter experience - a strange somewhat sickly butterscotch kind of taste, but my daughter loved it. This costs between £2.50 for a plastic beaker to £6.50 for a souvenir tankard. The main toilets are located in the lobby and there are others in the largest studio area, which seemed to be plenty, but I'm not sure what you'd do if you were taken short in the back lot of second studio area. Both times I went into the toilets there was someone wiping down the sinks and dryers and they were spotless. Wheelchair access is good throughout the tour. **Summary** A visit to the Harry Potter Studio Tour gives a fascinating glimpse into the process of making a Harry Potter film. I totally recommend visiting here to anyone who loves the Harry Potter stories and has watched the films. Some sets are missing that I had really hoped to see, but they really have included a good amount to make your visit worthwhile and enjoyable. It is a shame however that the prices are so expensive, especially in the gift shop. Read the complete review |
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Old Operating Theatre, Museum and Herb Garret (London)
by alfiepeaches I visited this museum just the other day as I have a new project and I was told this would be a good place for some research! The museum is next to the St Thomas Hospital but very hidden away in the Herb Garret of St Thomas Church. You enter the museum through a small door that leads to a very narrow, wooden spiral staircase and at the ... top of these stairs is another door. I think this creates a really good atmosphere for the museum as it was quite creepy! In here is a tiny room where you pay to enter and full of little nick nacks and books to buy too. You then go up another few stairs to a large wooden attic room which is the museum basically. The actual operating theatre is in the back which I will talk about in a moment. The main room is full of all sorts including an operating chair, old medical instruments from the 18th and 19th century, packaging of pills, herbs, skeletons and even some organs in formaldehyde! Most items are labelled but aren't all explained what they are used for, although a lot of them you probably don't want to. There were a lot of scary looking tools used for midwifery! Almost everything you see in the museum is authentic from the 18th and 19th century, other things like the objects in the 'cabinet of curiosities' display were for decoration but even so these really add to the feel of the place. Some people may view the place as a little bit naff but it's so fascinating you look past it. The museum is definitely not for anyone squeamish but whilst we were there the only other people in the museum were a class of year fives on a school trip (I think you pay and book these in advance) and we were told when entering we were welcome to listen to the presentations being given by the staff there. So obviously there is no age limit and everyone is welcome to the museum and a lot of the presentation is actually aimed at KS1/KS2 ages. In this room the presentation was about all the herbs and the children were told about what they were used for and how they are still used today and then got a chance to grind herbs with a mortar and pestle. After they were done we had a look up close at the herbs and you can touch and smell them. In the operating theatre which is up another set of stairs the presentation was a lot more intense and extremely interesting! Again, definitely not for the squeamish, my friend had to leave part way through when the woman started talking about the blood and one or two of the kids left too. What interesting about this room is it where real operations and medical classes took place in the early 1800s. The presentation in here is a recreation of a story from the 1820s, when there was no anesthetic , about a woman who got her leg broken by being run over by a cart and it needed to be amputated. The woman giving the presentation got some kids to come down to the front for the demonstration, one to lie on the table who was the patient, two to hold her down and one to be the surgeon 'performing' the operation. There was a lot of explanation about infection and how unhygienic the procedures used to be, the Theatre had closed down before antiseptic surgery was invented and the main form of pain relief used was alcohol or chloroform and most operations performed were amputations. The presentation was very informative and fascinating. The woman then got out an authentic box full of real knives and saws and explained which were used, in fairly graphic detail. The presentation lasted for about 15-20 minutes and was very enjoyable, the kids definitely loved it as they were all desperate to answer and ask questions. There is also a small area in between the two rooms which has more operating instruments and some information about the hospital through the years and how things were managed back then, which is basically very sanitary and would definitely not be allowed now! These information books were also available in the gift shop for £4. Overall I would have to say The Old Operating Theatre is one of my favourite museums I have ever visited even though it is the smallest. There is absolutely nothing boring in the museum and I think it is well worth the price. The admission fee is £5 for a student like me, £6 for an adult and £3.50 for a child. You may think £5/£6 entry to just 2 rooms is a bit much however there is so much stuff to look at me and my friend were there for almost two hours. Plus the presentations are included in the price. I really recommend this museum for anyone interested in the Victorian era or medicine and operations but it still an interesting place for everyone. Read the complete review |
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Portsmouth City Museum and Records Office (Portsmouth)
by xy004998 This museum has 3 floors and is split into 4 sections. On the top floor you have Portsmouth football club's history archives. They have built this section very well, with many Tv's to relive alot of the football clubs best moments. There are also current artefacts, such as the previous FA cup win. There are spectacular views of the ... seafront from the top floor The floor underneath is Portsmouth's local history. Spanning from both wartime Portsmouth to portsmouth through the ages. The war time portsmouth part is very interesting, because of the dockyards Portsmouth has been very involved in war. Not just the newest wars, there are sections of wood from the Mary rose, which set sail under Henry VIII from Portsmouth. The Portsmouth through the ages relies on local donations, such as a fashion section with beautiful dresses donated. Aswell as replica living rooms from the 60's to jog peoples memories! On the Ground floor there is the two travelling exhibitions. Currently it is the Cannon Doyle to the left, and Dickens to the right. Dickens is very important at the moment, because he was born in Portsmouth and it is his bicentenery. The museum even borrowed an original manuscript from the British museum for the summer, so it shows there are some fantastic finds if you keep an eye out. However, Disabled access is not very good. Wheelchairs were only allowed on the bottom floor. The cafe is very good, it is run by an independent buisness and it is cheap and cheerful food. A big overflowing jacket potato for about £3, and with lovely gardens behind, which are away from the road so kids can play. In the summer the museum organises alot of events such as 'out to lunch', which are like arts and crafts events. A must do, to get the kids out of the house. However, best of all... IT IS ONE HUNDRED PERCENT FREE!!!! including the events So, I whole heartedly recommend this place. Read the complete review |
England Museum National |
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7 reviews Museum National / See how the "Harry Potter" films were made on the Warner Brothers studio tour. |
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