Sprung out of bed this morning with an excitement reminiscent of the first amusement park trip oh so many years ago. It is Harry Potter Studio day -- re-living childhood is so much fun! No breakfast, no work out, no need.
Camera charged -- check
Useless (in England) iPhone in hand -- check
Transportation card in hand -- check
Kids in tow -- check
The adventure begins as we hurriedly try to catch the 142 bus to Watford Junction from Edgware Station. A detour through Marks and Spencer filled the backpack with cold sandwiches -- egg and water crest, smoked ham mayo and mustard, salmon and soft cheese, and tuna with cucumbers -- very English. We almost wanted to picnic at the bus station! But then we may have had to share with the little old ladies that are always waiting for a bus and that ain't happenin'.
From Watford Junction we spent 15 minutes on a Warner Brothers double decker tour bus to the studio in Leavesden. We entered through the Great Hall and that was truly magical. We imagined we were Harry Potter walking into the Great Hall to be sorted that very first year at Hogwarts. The Great Hall was smaller then you see in the movies (as is everything) but complete. They fit 400 students in the hall for the wonderful food scenes. The floor is real stone because they anticipated wear and tear over the ten years of filming. Imagine that, the actors and actresses spent ten years of their lives at this studio - that included going to school here! We enjoy the awesome results on screen, but the hard work it took to make this all happen was evident everywhere.
Overall the whole studio experience was very neat. It was cool to imagine the movie scenes that we have seen over and over again as we viewed each set. They pretty much had everything available to the public -- lots of props, clothing, wigs, make up, wands, and brooms. You really appreciate the minute level of detail that went into each film There were four directors that brought the eight films and 1,000's of people that worked on all aspects. They even had kids make bulletin board posters and pin ups like you see at all schools for the Gryffindor common room. You never see the posters in any of the movies but they added them for realism. Here are a few pictures...
The girls in Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia!
We had lunch at Privet Drive -- literally.
The set below was perhaps the most impressive part of the tour. It is the full Hogwarts Castle where they shot the aerial castle scenes. It is amazing how cameras make things look so real. But every brick of this scale model was hand placed. You can compare the size of this set with the person in the very right side -- it took up a very large room The entire room had green screen walls so they can overlay the castle on English country side.
We all enjoyed this tour very much and it has a 4-0 vote over the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida. That was fun too but learning all about the making of the movies was much more thrilling. They have Butterbeer here too -- although we did not partake this time. If you are into the movies -- this is the place to visit.
One aside -- I believe the Gulf Stream not only warms the British isles but it keeps ice from forming in ice trays. I have been absolutely dying for an ice cold Diet Coke in a tall glass filled with ice cubes. Getting thirsty just writing this blog entry. But no joy. Every Diet Coke I have order is at best slightly chilled. They just don't like extremes it seems. On the other end of the spectrum, even the Starbucks Chai Latte Soy Extra Hot was warm to hot. They forgot the "extra". Oh well, at least the Guinness is best the way it is served here...very English....cheers...
Camera charged -- check
Useless (in England) iPhone in hand -- check
Transportation card in hand -- check
Kids in tow -- check
The adventure begins as we hurriedly try to catch the 142 bus to Watford Junction from Edgware Station. A detour through Marks and Spencer filled the backpack with cold sandwiches -- egg and water crest, smoked ham mayo and mustard, salmon and soft cheese, and tuna with cucumbers -- very English. We almost wanted to picnic at the bus station! But then we may have had to share with the little old ladies that are always waiting for a bus and that ain't happenin'.
From Watford Junction we spent 15 minutes on a Warner Brothers double decker tour bus to the studio in Leavesden. We entered through the Great Hall and that was truly magical. We imagined we were Harry Potter walking into the Great Hall to be sorted that very first year at Hogwarts. The Great Hall was smaller then you see in the movies (as is everything) but complete. They fit 400 students in the hall for the wonderful food scenes. The floor is real stone because they anticipated wear and tear over the ten years of filming. Imagine that, the actors and actresses spent ten years of their lives at this studio - that included going to school here! We enjoy the awesome results on screen, but the hard work it took to make this all happen was evident everywhere.
Overall the whole studio experience was very neat. It was cool to imagine the movie scenes that we have seen over and over again as we viewed each set. They pretty much had everything available to the public -- lots of props, clothing, wigs, make up, wands, and brooms. You really appreciate the minute level of detail that went into each film There were four directors that brought the eight films and 1,000's of people that worked on all aspects. They even had kids make bulletin board posters and pin ups like you see at all schools for the Gryffindor common room. You never see the posters in any of the movies but they added them for realism. Here are a few pictures...
The girls in Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia!
We had lunch at Privet Drive -- literally.
The set below was perhaps the most impressive part of the tour. It is the full Hogwarts Castle where they shot the aerial castle scenes. It is amazing how cameras make things look so real. But every brick of this scale model was hand placed. You can compare the size of this set with the person in the very right side -- it took up a very large room The entire room had green screen walls so they can overlay the castle on English country side.
We all enjoyed this tour very much and it has a 4-0 vote over the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida. That was fun too but learning all about the making of the movies was much more thrilling. They have Butterbeer here too -- although we did not partake this time. If you are into the movies -- this is the place to visit.
One aside -- I believe the Gulf Stream not only warms the British isles but it keeps ice from forming in ice trays. I have been absolutely dying for an ice cold Diet Coke in a tall glass filled with ice cubes. Getting thirsty just writing this blog entry. But no joy. Every Diet Coke I have order is at best slightly chilled. They just don't like extremes it seems. On the other end of the spectrum, even the Starbucks Chai Latte Soy Extra Hot was warm to hot. They forgot the "extra". Oh well, at least the Guinness is best the way it is served here...very English....cheers...
No comments:
Post a Comment