MYSTERY SHOPPER WIZARDRY & WONDER The famous Hogwarts Express steam train has pulled into Platform 9¾ at
the popular Warner Bros Studio Tour near London. Does the new addition live up to the impressive standards the Studio Tour has already set?
T 80 Tom Anstey, journalist, Attractions Management
he Warner Bros Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter is a one-of-a-kind experience. Though the IP adorns other well-known attractions, with more on the way, the Studio Tour is the only place to house a vast collection of props, costumes, sets and
gadgets from the movie franchise, and all in the location the films were made. In essence, the Studio Tour is the
world’s only Harry Potter museum, and it has grown even bigger with the addition of the 20,000sq ft (1,858sqm) Platform 9¾. The crowning glory is the Hogwarts Express, which is stationed inside. It’s an authentic British steam train, no. 5972 and once named Olton Hall. Today, the 78-year-old engine is probably the most famous train on the planet.
The tour lets you explore behind the scenes of Harry Potter. Following an impressive reveal when the Great Hall is unveiled, guests enter the studios and browse an array of Harry Potter props, costumes and sceneries, including Dumbledore’s office, the Gryffindor
n LOCATION The Studio Tour is located in Leavesden, 20 miles north- west of London. Public transport links serve the attraction
n OPENING HOURS Opening times vary: check online. Guests must book slots in advance
n ADMISSION PRICES Tickets cost £33 ($49, €45); children aged five to 15 are £25 ($37, €34); a family package is £101 ($150, €137)
common room, the potions classroom and the new dark arts section. The entire tour is designed to demonstrate how much work and care went into producing the Harry Potter films. The new part of the attraction, Platform
9¾, creates another fantastic reveal as guests turn a corner to the sight of the Hogwarts Express billowing steam on ‘King’s Cross station’, recreated by three-time Oscar- winning production designer Stuart Craig.
The attraction is participative. Guests board the Hogwarts Express and walk the carriage. Each passenger compartment represents a different film in the franchise. A modified version of a compartment, designed to accommodate a film crew, shows how the train scenes were shot. Visitors can also experience one of the interactive carriages, equipped with false windows that demonstrate the process used to create scenery and action outside the train, such as movie scenes with the flying Ford Anglia or the dementor attack. There’s a new photo opportunity, similar to the one at (the real) King’s Cross, in which visitors “push” a luggage trolley through the wall of Platform 9¾, as happens in the films. Guests can use their own cameras rather than having to have a professional paid-for photo, though that option is also available. The Warner Bros Studio Tour takes
between 90 minutes and three hours. With added attractions such as Butterbeer sampling and green-screen broom riding – expertly supplied by Picsolve – the experience can be lengthy, and potentially more costly if you do buy the extras.
Details from the new attraction and Warwick Davis, who plays Filius Flitwick, demonstrating a popular photo opportunity at Platform 9¾
attractionsmanagement.com AM 2 2015 ©CYBERTREK 2015
Photos: TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.Harry Potter Publishing Rights ©JKR. Harry Potter characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Ent Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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