26th Tick - Visit Harry Potter at Warner Brothers

It's hard to believe the 1st Harry Potter book came out 29 years ago! The 1st movie then came out in November 2001 - so coming up to 25 years. WTF, where has time gone? I wonder if all involved knew just how big it would be? All that movie magic had to happen somewhere. A world that made Harry, Hermione and Ron the  conquering of evil wizards they are today - not too mention a lot of money for all. 

So off to Hogwarts we went (Warner Bros Studios London) to see where the magic was made. Unfortunately, the Hogwarts Express was not running that day, so we caught the magical Harry Potter bus, but were slightly disappointed to find that it did not become skinny to weave through traffic, nor did it have a mad conductor or beds. 

We stepped into the lobby and were immediately greeted by a giant dragon hanging from the ceiling. It looked like it wanted to eat me, or at least charge us £12.99 for a photo. Children ran around screaming with joy, adults looked at the huge gift shop with financial panic in their eyes. At least we didn't have kids.

The current theme was "1st year at Hogwarts" so after an introduction, off to school we went. The Great Hall. It's stunning. Magical. Iconic. Lots of fake food and floating candles, wait was one of them following me? The Sorting hat was there doing it's thing. 

And so it goes as you wander around the various sets. Harry's old room beneath the stairs at the Dursley's house, the bedrooms and common rooms at Hogwarts, the magical staircase, the portraits of former teachers looking down at you, their eyes following your every move. Dumbledore's office, Fawkes sitting in the corner. It's all there.

Time for some audience participation. So we had photos taken. Firstly as criminal witches and then enjoying riding a broom like the bad-ass witches we are and playing Quidditch. Not cheap. Nothing is, but it's fun. 

So much to see. Oh look there is the Hogwarts Express! Parents are trying to get kids to recreate the Platform  9¾ photo, scarves wrapped around their necks, wands clutched in hands. Meanwhile, said child is refusing to run at the wall and just wants to go back to the gift shop. Chaos. 

Snape's potions classroom is there. The cauldrons bubble ominously. Pots stir themselves, wands flapping around. Double, double toil and trouble: fire burn and cauldron bubble - oops wrong movie, that's the witches chant from Macbeth. 

The creatures workshop is interesting. Very clever artists out there and every details is perfectly created. We enter the forbidden forest and meet Buckbeak, who bows politely. We also met Aragog and his friends who did NOT bow politely and just scuttled around scaring kids. The baby Mandrakes are cute, I wanted to take one home. Oh and look, there is Dobby looking wise and all knowing. I'm tempted to remove a sock and give it to him to set him free. The security guard looks at me with a warning shake of the head. he's seen it all before. 

Voldemort is there (now I've done it, I've mentioned his name), looking his creepy, Dark Lord faceless self. Death eaters, baddies, monsters. But of course all the heroes are there too - fighting evil and saving the day. 

We arrive at Gringotts and each goblin sits behind a desk that is exactly one inch too high, forcing you to look up at them like a confused toddler asking for pocket money. One goblin asked, “State your business.” I panicked and said, “I’m here to check my balance.” He replied, “Emotionally or financially?” I still don’t know the correct answer. There is an excellent creation of a dragon that comes crashing through. To be honest, I can't remember the scene, but it's impressive all the same.