Is Harry Potter Studio Tour Worth The Time And Money?
We are Jeff and Sandra, senior nomads, retired and traveling full-time as ‘citizens of the world’. Which is to say, we’re homeless but in a socially acceptable way. While visiting England (May 2024), we went and experienced London’s Warner Bros ‘Making of Harry Potter’ Studio Tour. In this post we’ll tell you a bit about the tour; what to expect and what we thought of it. Additionally, we’ll share a couple of tips on things we would have liked to have known prior to arrival.
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Do you need to be a Potterhead to enjoy the Harry Potter Studio tour?
Nope. Not a requirement at all. I read most of the books (Azkahban through Deathly Hallows) and I’ve seen all the films at least 2 or 3 times but I’m not a hardcore fan; I wouldn’t pick ‘Harry Potter’ as a trivia category with any real confidence.
Sandra had seen bits and pieces of some of the movies (a lot less than she thought, it turns out). She didn’t even know what the significance of No. 4 Privet Drive was, and she really enjoyed the tour. So, you don’t need to be a very serious fan to have a pleasant experience.
When we were making plans to spend time in England I was aware that there were some walking tours in London and Oxford that included Harry Potter filming locations and I thought we might try to incorporate one or more of those locations into our visit just as a curiosity. That was the extent of my research into it.
This tour wasn’t even on our radar until about 2 weeks prior to doing it. I happened to see an advert on the back of a bus for this tour and made a note to check into it later. I went back and forth with myself about whether it was a good use of time and money. Especially since we only had 1 full day free on this part of our visit to London.
How much does the ‘Making of Harry Potter’ studio tour cost?
For a couple visiting London, the tour is essentially a US$180 to US$200 investment for a half day activity. That assumes JUST doing the tour; no snacks or souvenirs. Tour tickets were ~$135 (£53.50 each at £1 = US$1.28) and we took the train from Euston station to Watford Junction.
Family and group ticket options are available
Kids = £43 (under 4 are free)
Family (2 adult/2 kids <or> 1 Adult/3 kids) = £172
If you ARE a Potterhead and you want to REAALLY get your nerd on, there are specialty ticket experiences available all the way up to a private, guided tour but at £250 per person (US$320) that was beyond our level of interest. (Although, quite honestly, it’s more beyond our level of budget. We are traveling the world but we aren’t wealthy so that would exhaust our ‘activities’ budget for almost 2 months.)
The additional digital souvenirs package includes some green screen photos and videos; you can be filmed flying a broom or added to a ‘Wanted’ poster, for instance. We didn’t add that package to our tour but it was a close run thing, to be honest. I almost did it then decided that $50+ (£20 each) would be better spent elsewhere. Fair warning, you get one chance only to add that package when you are booking your tickets. Add it before you go to your cart to pay or you’ve lost the opportunity. There is no additional ‘upsell’ screen and even if you back up, you have to go all the way to the start, delete your tickets and do the whole thing over again.
How long does the ‘Making of Harry Potter’ studio tour take?
We spent a total of just over 4 hours on site. We started with a quick sandwich in the cafe because the day had gotten out of control before arrival. Normally we try to avoid eating AT attractions because well it can be pricey. This was really not bad at all. We each had a sandwich, a pain au chocolate and a bottle of water for a total of about US$25. Not fantastic value but certainly not stadium pricing.
What is the entry to the ‘Making of Harry Potter’ studio tour like?
Be prepared to show your tickets to get on the shuttle bus, once to get into the building and again to actually enter the tour.
From the parking lot you will queue up for a security screening to enter the building. We arrived at 3 p.m. on a Monday while schools were still in session. The line was maybe 10 minutes. Be ready to empty your pockets and go through a metal detector. If you have a purse, bag or backpack, they will manually check that first.
Tickets are sold for specific time slots and they suggest arriving at least 20 minutes prior to your assigned entry time. We booked for 3 p.m. and I was a little nervous because we were delayed in London. At 2:45 we were still on the shuttle bus headed to the studio. By the time we had a snack it was 3:15 when we got in line to actually enter. Nobody cared. Maybe if we had showed up an hour early it would have been an issue but a few minutes late isn’t a big deal.
The entry to the tour itself is controlled but somehow feels slightly chaotic. Everyone is queued up and trickles through a sort of intro area before stopping at the theater entrance. There is a fully managed group entry to the theater, you watch a little film then gather at the doors to the great hall. The great hall experience is the only part that is like a formal tour and is also the only part that is time limited. The hall is cleared between groups. Once you’re through the great hall, the rest is fully self-guided and you can stay until they close if you like.
Can I take photos and videos on the ‘Making of Harry Potter’ studio tour?
Aside from the security screening area, the theater and the green screens, there are no real restrictions on photography/videography. There ARE restrictions on things like tripods (not allowed) that would just be rude to try and use in a crowded public space. If you feel a need to have selfie type photos better than what you can get by holding out your arm, pay for the digital package and let a pro (someone who spends hours every day taking photos and videos in that exact environment) handle it or make sure you stick with your travel buddy.
No one wants to deal with your 3 foot selfie stick nonsense. No one. Okay. Enough of that. Just be considerate of others.
There are a number of photo opportunities for proper fans included in the standard tour ticket price; you can use the sword of Gryffindor to retrieve the chalice in Bellatrix LeStrange’s vault, you can levitate a broom, there is a ‘forced perspective’ station (Three Broomsticks table and tankards); you can also get a photo on the bridge, at the fountain, in the Weasley’s Anglia or even on Hagrid’s motorcycle.
What will I see on the ‘Making of Harry Potter’ studio tour?
Sets on the tour include the Slytherin Common Room, the Gryffindor Common Room, Potions Lab, Dumbeldore’s office, Divinations classroom, Diagon Alley, the Forbidden Forest and so much more.
Aside from the model of the Burrow on the backlot, there is a full set inside – kitchen and living room with a few different animations
You can see Tom Riddle’s grave, the entry to Dumbledore’s staircase plus an absolutely massive and beautiful model of the Hogwarts Castle.
So much stuff to see and experience. Walk through the lobby at Gringott’s Bank.
You can even get a look inside the Ministry of Magic Atrium
As an American, especially, walking through the house at No. 4 Privet Dr helps to get a sense of scale. The typical suburban English semi-detached house is tiny by American standards but that isn’t as obvious on film. We knew because we lived in one for 4 years. We know how steep those stairs were and how cozy that sitting room was. On film they can remove walls and open the space up, in the properly sized model of the house you get a real feel for the conditions.
Does the ‘Making of Harry Potter’ tour include effects and makeup?
Some special effects are part of the tour; there is a model of the Knight bus showing how it moves. There is also a station where you can ‘levitate’ a broom into your hand. Some animations are available – for example, in Harry’s room at The Leaky Cauldron you can watch the ‘Monster Book of Monsters’ come out from under the bed and in the Weasleys kitchen see the pot in the sink ‘washing itself’.
Getting there
You can drive there, take a taxi or ride-share, book a package tour that includes transportation or use the studio provided shuttle service.
By car, you’ll need to watch for signs that point you to the studio once you get into Leavesden or use GPS. If you are navigating with What3Words, the words are ‘grabs.intent.movies’ Parking is plentiful and free.
For us, the most convenient way to travel to the studio was to take the Overground train from Euston (central London) to Watford Junction and then get the (free) shuttle to the studio.
The train journey from Euston to Watford Junction can be 20ish minutes or nearly an hour. There is a train that stops twice and there is a train that stops everywhere. That train is an Overground. There are platform areas at Euston for train, Underground and Overground (find this one). Don’t take the underground (tube) to Watford; it’s not the same.
Once you arrive at Watford Junction the signage is great. Super easy to find the shuttle bus pickup spot. I meant to time the journey but I got distracted. It felt like 15 minutes, for whatever that’s worth.
If you are in London and need to get to Euston station via bus, car, tube or whatever, be aware that it will almost certainly take longer than you thought it would. We got a bus across town and it took almost the same time as if we’d walked the mile and a half.
If you drive, the address is:
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
Studio Tour Drive
Leavesden
WD25 7LR
What not so obvious things should I know before going ?
Food: Once past the security lobby you will find yourself in a huge open space – There is a ‘quick-serve’ cafe at the front and, not immediately obvious from there, a more thorough cafe at the back; go under the ‘Food Hall’ sign and look to the right for a restaurant.
There’s also a cafe where you can have a butterbeer and get something to eat just as you are leaving the 1st soundstage to enter the backlot. If you aren’t eating, look sharp because there is a smaller stand off towards the side (with a shorter line) that just has Butterbeer.
You can also pack a picnic and eat at any of the picnic tables.
The Digital Tour, available when you first enter the building, is NOT an audio tour; not a step-by-step guide. The staff at the entrance under-sold the digital tour made it sound like it was just ‘things like directors commentary’. Now that I’ve read up on it a little bit, I feel like that may have been an inadequate explanation. According to the website it contains “fascinating facts about the sets, props and costumes showcased at the Studio Tour as well as exclusive interviews with filmmakers and behind-the-scenes footage” We will probably pay the extra US$7 to get them next time.
Photo Ops: There are so many photo opportunities throughout the studio, don’t do like Sandra and I did and go different directions…. keep a buddy nearby so you can get all the photos!
How cool is the ‘Making of Harry Potter’ studio tour?
Well, I just gave it away on that last line, didn’t I? We will go back and do the tour again. There is so much to take in that I just don’t think it’s possible to appreciate it all in one visit. Sandra and I went different directions shortly after leaving the great hall and when we were talking about the experience later, we found we had each seen some things the other hadn’t. I was inside for just over 3 hours and she for just under four hours.
Insider Tip – How to make the getting there even more affordable
We found buying a railcard to be beneficial as we have been taking trains all over the country. Savings add up quickly even on short journeys. £9.90 each became £13 for both of us. £13.30 each became £18 for both. Saving $5 or $7 a half dozen times as well as the savings on longer journeys was a nice bonus for us. The cost of the card was under $38 so if you plan to do a couple of longer journeys or more that 5 or 6 short journeys, it will pencil out. We have the ‘Two Together’ card which requires we travel together, no big deal, and does have some restrictions on travel times that will be discounted. We almost never travel at ‘peak’ time so every journey but one has been reduced by at least a little bit. The round-trip train tickets from Euston (Station) out Watford Junction (‘Return’ is how they’re referred to in England) were just over US$43 for the two of us. Without the railcard it would be more like US$63
Options for booking Harry Potter Studio Tour London
- Directly on the Warner Brother’s site
- Third-Party (We’d recommend this if you want roundtrip transport from central London)
- Fully guided
Essential Information About Planning Your Visit
Opening hours: The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is open 7 days a week, with varying hours depending on the season. Check the official website for the most up-to-date information.
Accessibility: The tour is accessible for people with disabilities, with ramps and lifts available throughout.
How to avoid the crowds
We highly, HIGHLY recommend that you get to the Harry Potter Studio upon opening, or if you’re not a morning person, go late. We arrived a little after 3pm and when we left at about 7pm there was NO ONE waiting in line to get in even though the Studio is open for another 3 hours
Is the Harry Potter tour in London worth it?
Absolutely. I am so glad we made the time to do it. Sandra is an even more casual fan than I am, she said that she thought she had seen all the movies at least once but a couple of nights later we watched ‘Philosophers Stone’ and she said that most of that was new to her. She’d apparently seen one or two scenes in the past but it turned out to be very little. Enough so that she has suggested we need to watch all the movies in their proper order and then go do the tour again so she can really get the most out of it.
For serious fans, things like being able to walk on the wooden trestle bridge, pass through the carriages on the Hogwarts Express or sitting on Hagrid’s motorcycle to get your photo taken might be more impressive than they were to us as casual fans.
🚂 So, there you have it! Our honest and hopefully helpful take on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. We hope this information helps you decide if it’s the right activity for you and your travel plans. 🚂 May your Floo Network connections be clear!
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