TheRemembrall.org - Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter - THE Source for the Latest in the Harry Potter Fandom

A couple of weeks ago TheRemembrall.org was invited down to an exclusive press preview day of the brand new WB Studio Tour London. Set in over 150,000 square feet, based in 2 massive sound stages (coincidentally labelled J and K stage!) as well as an outdoor lot, it will become the UK’s newest attraction in 2012, which will contain some of the most iconic sets from the Harry Potter films.

Let’s get the big ones out the way first. On the tour, you will be able to tour the Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office, the Ministry of Magic, Harry Potter’s famous cupboard under the stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Gryffindor common room, the boys’ dormitory, the Potion’s classroom, Professor Umbridge’s office, the Weasley kitchen, the Hogwarts bridge and many others still to be announced.

As this attraction isn’t scheduled to open until spring 2012, what we saw was a lot of construction work, but we did get to visit the Great Hall, Dumbledore’s Office, and the Creature and Effect shop, and also were given a walkthrough of what a visitor’s time would be like. You can ensure that what you see is the really thing as they have got back the original crew that built these sets, including Production Designer Stuart Craig, Creature Effects Designer Nick Dudman and Costume Designer Jany Temime.

Starting at the beginning, naturally, you will be greeted by a big atrium, complete with props, costumes and imagery, where you can pick up your pre-ordered tickets. It is vitally important that you preorder your tickets, as they will not be selling tickets at the venue. In this area there will be a gift shop which will be the exclusive outlet for all the Harry Potter merchandise that you can buy at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios. This will be the only place in the world outside of Florida that you can buy all these amazing products so take your pocket money! On a down note though, we asked if Butterbeer was going to be for sale, and sadly it won’t be here for now.

Each ticket will be allotted an entry time. Don’t worry too much about this, as there is an allocated 3 hour dwell time in the exhibit. When you first go there is a sort of holding room which will contain, out of many things, the actual real cupboard under the stairs that young Dan Radcliffe was introduced to the world in!

From here the doors will open magically, and you will be shown a preview type film of the exhibit before you move on into the big cinema. New footage was shot just for the exhibit and contains interviews with cast and crew about what it was like working on these sets over the past decade. Now this is all I am going to say about this, as there is a surprise that WB want to keep special for all the visitors when they go, but all I can say is that it is going to be amazing.

The first set piece you will visit, and the only part that you will be guided through, is the Great Hall. You will start at the iconic doors, which are flanked by the statues seen in Deathly Hallows Part 2. Something I hadn’t noticed before is that one of the statues is a Quidditch Player! This is the kind of thing you will see as you walk around the exhibit, so much detail that hadn’t made it to the screen. As you enter, you will walk on the actual solid York stone floor laid over 11 years ago. You get to look close up look at the solid oak and pine house tables which were built for the films and then aged with axes and chains. Over the years, the Hogwarts pupils have taken upon themselves to carve in their own graffiti, which production designer Stuart Craig has encouraged, as this would happen in all schools! Towards the end, you can see the unique house points bead system which is said to have caused a national shortage of beads when it was first installed in the year 2000. An interesting fact to consider as you walk through this set is that it used to be in another sound stage! They took it apart section by section when filming had wrapped and moved it to the new J stage where it now resides!

After you have meandered your way up to the top table, you will exit through the side and down a corridor where, for the first time, you get to see the exterior of the set. This is one feature that I am so glad that they have left exposed. From the films these sets look like solid stone, when in reality, it’s made up of scaffolding and plaster! It really is worth taking a minute to take in the sheer craftsmanship involved with these films.

The next few set pieces weren’t in place yet when we were there, in fact they were just markings on the ground, but what you will see are the Hogwarts Gates (minus Flitwick!), the Gryffindor Common Room, and the Gryffindor Boys Dormitory. We got a chance to speak with Michael Finnic who is the project manager on this attraction, and he told us that the sets are being adapted so that you can actually walk quite far into them. When these were originally built, over a decade ago, they were built as film sets and thus aren’t designed for upwards of 5000 people a day walking through them, so some adjustments had to be made. I also asked about how limiting the Health and Safety laws were on this, as they always seem to ruin the fun. I was assured that the experience has not been affected due to any legal issues; it was more to ensure that sight lines are preserved, as these sets were built to look good at certain camera angles, so we need to ensure visitors see them that way.
Walking around listening to how they have put this together, they are not stopping at anything. These really are the original, unmodified sets and props that Dan, Rupert, Emma and all lived and worked on!

As you wander between sets, there will be plenty to see and do, with media and interactive stations to stop and take in. We got to visit the props and creature shop on our visit and got to see some of the props that have been taken out of storage for display, and they have plenty of choice. There are 180 full size shipping containers full of every single little prop that has ever been used in the films. Some of the things we saw being prepared were a few broomsticks, which you will actually be able to sit on, Mad-Eye’s chest from Goblet of Fire, multiple Ford Anglias, again with a photo opportunity, the Hogs Head sign which will talk to you, the Monster Books of Monsters, Dobby, Aragog (which was having its hair plucked back in by hand!), Dobby, Fawkes, Buckbeak (which was shockingly in pieces!), and many, many, more.

One of the more disturbing pieces was the full size Professor Babbage as seen in Deathly Hallows Part 1. We got to get up close and touch this. It was horrible. It looked and felt human, it even had human hair! It has motors in it, which makes it writhe and squirm. As it is going to be hung from the ceiling and I just know this is going to upset children.

Back to fascinating practical effects, we saw Lupin’s trunk which packs itself away in the end of Prisoner of Azkaban. This is no CGI wizardry; this is an actual working prop. One of the cool things they are going to do with these amazing devices is place a mirror so you can see behind them and take in how they actually work.

There is also the massive door to the Chamber of Secrets; this is another object that is a real working prop, complete with snake going around opening it. They said that a few times a day they will operate it just to show off the complexity in these objects. Everywhere I looked in this prop studio I saw things I recognised from the films, wands, pixies, lockets, Gringotts vault doors, the cart from their as well, pieces from the Weasley Kitchen, which will actually be controllable by you using ‘magic’ hand movements, Quaffles, scrolls, books, fairies, cauldrons.....just too much to take it!

So a selection of these props will be in the space between the common room and Dumbledore’s office which is another one of the sets I got to go in. From the start with the statue at the entrance, and when you go in and stand next to the pensive it is just unreal. Did you know that at the very top of the office there is a balcony? Just another of one of those things that never gets seen in the films!

Beyond the amazing office, you will get to discover the magic of green screen technology that has been used for the films including the many Quidditch matches. There will be items on display that you will be able to get in/on and look like you are in the film! On display will be Harry Potter’s Nimbus 2000, Draco Malfoy’s Nimbus 2001 and Harry’s special gift from godfather Sirius Black, the Firebolt, and one of the Ford Anglias. I am so glad they are including this, as Green Screen is one of those technologies that you never see, but is essential to film making these days, especially for something as sophisticated as the Harry Potter saga.

Some of the remaining set that weren’t in place yet was the Potions class room, Umbridge’s office, the Weasley kitchen and a section of the largest set in Europe, the Ministry of Magic complete with the 'Magic is Might' statue. We got to see the fireplaces just to put things into scale, it is huge!

Beyond this is an outdoor lot which hasn’t been completely finalised yet, but will contain Number 4 Privet Drive, part of the Hogwarts Bridge, the Percival Tomb, the chess pieces from Philosophers Stone and a continual rotation selection of smaller pieces.

So this signs the end of your visit, but remember your allocated 3 hours so there is no need to rush!

Any so called Harry Potter fan is going to absolutely love this and will want to keep going back. You get to see the rich detail that goes into the sets, and notice all the little things that you would never have seen on film.

I shall be returning to the set before it opens in the spring to hopefully see it more complete. In the meantime keen an eye out for some exciting news coming about the tour, also remember to pre-order your tickets now!

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter will open in Spring 2012 with timed tickets available from 13th October 2011. Tickets are priced at £28 for adults, £21 for children and £83 for a family of four. Tickets must be booked in advance via a dedicated website www.wbstudiotour.co.uk or through approved tour operators.

Alex Olivier
alex@TheRemembrall.org
TheRemembrall.org

Enter the World of Harry Potter – WB Studio Tour London