Vacations to London are always fun with lots of museums, many iconic churches, buildings, and locations. My family and I went to London a few years ago and it wasn’t too long before my daughters were groaning about seeing another museum or walking through yet another church. Couple this with cold and rainy days in June (how nice…not!), and the best respite we had from traditional London was a side trip to Warner Brothers’ Harry Potter Experience. This is the main movie set for the Harry Potter movies and contains countless memorabilia from all the movies!
Getting There
For those that are a bit nervous riding public transport, you can obviously hire a cab, take an Uber, or, if really adventurous, rent a car and drive directly to the Warner Bros. front door. We are a family of 6, and many times we have a hard time finding a cab that will fit us all, so we found the simplest way was to take the train. If you are in central London, the easiest way is to take the underground to Euston station and from there, buy tickets for the 20-minute ride to Watford Junction. Once you are at Watford Junction, you can connect to the shuttle bus to the Harry Potter Experience. Plan accordingly for slight delays and allow time for connecting. I budgeted 1 hour for transiting so we would be sure not to miss our reservation time.
Planning Your Experience
Given the overwhelming love for all things Harry Potter, please book your tickets well in advance of your travel to London. Depending on time of year I would plan to reserve your tickets and tour time 30-60 days in advance. I would even consider 90 days, in advance, if looking to tour on a Saturday. When you arrive at the Harry Potter Experience the courteous staff will help get you situated. I recommended a quick visit to the bathroom (loos) so we weren’t backtracking in the first 5 minutes of the tour.
A close up looks like you are in movie 
Ah the magic of movies…the stairs to nowhere 
A lot of attention to detail
Lets Begin
The timing of our Harry Potter Experience was ideal because not only did we escape the cold and gloom outside, (unexpected in June), the weather kept many tourists at home, ensuring we didn’t have too many people on our tour. One of the first highlights of the tour is the opening of the doors to Hogwarts’ Great Hall. I scored points, by proxy, when my daughter was selected to open the doors for our group.
Inside the tour, you will find iconic clothing pieces, wigs and sets used in creating the magical world of Harry Potter. Seeing the sets in person you can easily imagine seeing yourself interacting with the characters…”Hello Professor Snape or Headmaster Dumbledore” We settled for many glamor shots of us near the sets.
Warner Bros. also incorporated activities where you can get a video recording of yourself on a broomstick ride (Green screen) in one of 4 sequences, plus a photo! This costs a bit more but the studio has some freebies souvenirs like the invitation letters that swarmed all over the Dursley home.
Time for a Break!
Midway through the tour you can rest your feet and grab a butter beer plus get a bite for lunch. Nearby, just outside, is the Knight bus, Hogwarts bridge and #4 Privet Drive. Once recharged take the time to grab your souvenir pictures before exploring the second half of the tour.
Meow! 
Needing Flue Powder 
Into the Wall! 
Knight Time 
Ready for Lunch! 
Invitations Sent
Second Half
Following up our lunch, we explored the town of Hogsmeade, saw many of the animatronics magic used in the film(s), models, images and we finished with pièce de résistance, the complete 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts. It truly is magnificent as 86 artists worked on it (74-man years of work) with over 2500 fiber optic lights. Overhead lighting can change the look too from daylight to dusk and even a full moon glow.
While not technically part of the tour, the true end, as you can imagine, is where they dump you out into the gift shop. You may be able to purchase many of their items at Harry Potter Amazon.com or via Warner Brother’s Harry Potter online shop. I must admit I was a bit caught up in the experience too and appreciated the higher end products (non plastic junk). It was a good time to donate a little to the UK economy so the girls (and I) all got their favorite items.
Heading Home!
If I had been on the fence before, I am not now. It was a great experience and should be on the “must do” list for all Harry Potter fans in the London area. This is a memorable interlude to put somewhere between London Eye, Westminster, British Museum, Buckingham Palace, Windsor or any other typical London tourist site when with family. I hope you liked my brief overview and found the information helpful if you are planning a good family side trip from London. I appreciate your comments and thoughts .
The Sane Adventurer 
Leave a comment