harry potter studio tour bus stop

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Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter (with Return Transportation)

Activity schedule, key highlights.

• Inclusions & Exclusions

About 7.5 hours (incl.transportation time); Studio tour: 4.5 hours 

Multiple timeslots available (Choose while booking)

Victoria: Bus Stop 1, Bulleid Way, Victoria, London SW1W 9SH

Baker street: Baker Street  144 Marylebone Road  London  NW1 5PH

The tour ends at Victoria, London

• A wizarding experience for all Harry Potter fans
• Learn about the stunning special effects and animatronics
• Walk through the Great Hall decorated in Slytherin colours as part of a special feature
• Go behind scenes to view sets, props, and costumes from the record-breaking Harry Potter movies
• See the Great Hall, Dumbledore′s office, the Ministry of Magic and much more
• Fantastic photo opportunities at every turn
• Transportation in Warner Bros. Studio Tour London branded buses with free WiFi
• Both printed and smartphone vouchers available!

This bewitching tour is an essential experience for any Harry Potter fan! It’s a unique opportunity to see a spell-binding range of sets and objects associated with the record-breaking Harry Potter books and films. 

On this incredible day out, you’ll have the opportunity to go behind the scenes at the Warner Bros. Studios, where the Harry Potter films were made. Enjoy a unique walking tour (The Making of Harry Potter) that takes you behind-the-scenes to experience the magic that created the most successful film series of all time. You can see first-hand the sheer scale and detail of the actual sets, costumes, animatronics, special effects and props used in all eight of the films.

Here are just some of the things you can expect to see and do:

• Step inside and discover the actual Great Hall.
• Explore Dumbledore’s office and discover never-before-seen treasures.
• Step onto the famous cobbles of Diagon Alley, featuring the shop fronts of Ollivanders wand shop, Flourish and Blotts, the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Eeylops Owl Emporium.
• See iconic props from the films, including Harry’s Nimbus 2000 and Hagrid’s motorcycle.
• Learn how creatures were brought to life with green screen effects, animatronics and life-sized models.
• Rediscover other memorable sets from the film series, including the Gryffindor common room, the boys’ dormitory, Hagrid’s hut, Potions classroom and Professor Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic.
• Return transportation to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London on a double decker branded bus
• Entrance ticket to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
• Food and beverages
• Pickup service

Please note

Voucher information: You can show your voucher on your smartphone (But if you’d rather print a copy – that’s fine too!)

Group Size: Max. 8

Group size: The maximum group size we will be accepting is eight, this is per booking.

Customer Reviews

Luana zegarac, best tour very interesting and amazing but a but costs a lot.

I think the price is enough to cover the audio also....

David Holtsman

Fantastic experience.

fantastic experience for potter-heads. Well-organized, interesting, funny and more If you are not Harry Potter fan, you may find it expensive...

Lucy Threlfall

Brilliant tour.

Brilliant loved every minute of it...

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A Complete Guide to London’s Harry Potter Studio Tour

We wanted to know whether the Warner Bros. Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter was really worth the hype and the expensive ticket, so we sent Anneliese, a member of our content team, to find out for herself! Read her review before you visit to get all the insider tips.

Here’s a disclaimer: I first picked up a Harry Potter book when I was 8 years old and I’ve been a superfan of both the books and the films ever since – I even managed to see the play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, all the way back in 2016 when it was the hottest ticket in London’s West End. So when you read this review, remember that I LOVE all things Potter!

The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is probably the biggest pilgrimage site for Harry Potter fans in the UK. It opened to the public in 2012 and this April I was finally lucky enough to visit. Side-note: we’ve recently discovered that the attraction is one of the most expensive basic tickets in the world, so there were a few questions I wanted to answer on my trip:

• Is the exhibition really as awesome as the reviews make it sound?
• Is the trip good value for money?
• Are there any ways that a savvy traveler can make the most of their time at the site?

First of all, try not to judge a book by its cover. The Studio Tour is a tour of soundstages on the Warner Bros. lot in Leavesden. The building looks like a large anonymous box because that’s what it is – the magic happens on the inside. It’s also not a theme park, unlike the Wizarding World of Harry Potter World at Universal Orlando, so don’t expect rides or shows.

The first step for most visitors is taking the train from London to Watford Junction. For us, this took slightly longer than usual because engineering works disrupted the regular rail service (which is something that often happens in London, especially on public holidays – so watch out!). From Watford Junction it’s easy to find the shuttle bus to the Studio Tour site – they’re Harry Potter-branded and have their own bus stop and signage. The bus costs £2.50 per person , but the ticket is also valid for your return trip, so keep it safe during the day. The journey takes about 15 minutes, and you’ll get to watch a short introductory video while zipping through the suburbs. If you decide to book tickets that include a transfer from Central London then you won’t have to worry about the train or shuttle bus!

When you arrive at the Studios there’s a short bag search, and you’ll also be scanned with a metal detector. If you arrive more than 5 minutes before the time on your ticket, you’ll have some time to explore the main store, hang out underneath the huge model of a dragon, or get a cup of coffee at a cunningly disguised Starbucks. Then, when it’s time to go in, just follow the signs for the Studio Tour. Even the queue to the start of the tour is pretty interesting, taking you past Harry’s cupboard under the stairs and through a hall which discusses the changes in movie poster design over the years – it doesn’t feel like you’re waiting in line!

The queue to the start of the tour is pretty interesting, taking you past Harry’s cupboard under the stairs … it doesn’t feel like you’re waiting in line!

The tour gets going with a video intro, where you’ll be told all about what you’re going to see, plus any house rules you need to follow, and you’ll hear a special message from JK Rowling (author of the Harry Potter books). Next, you’ll move into a cinema area where you’ll watch some short clips that will get you in the mood for the exhibits ahead. The cinema screen zooms away to reveal the door to the Great Hall, and any birthday children will be given the chance to push them open. That’s when the experience really kicks off.

We found ourselves pretty much raced through the Great Hall, which is the first set you’ll visit. Because more tour groups are coming up behind you, you only get about 5 minutes to explore , and a guide will stay with you to make sure you don’t linger too long. I’d been warned about this before I arrived, so I was ready with my camera to snap pictures of all the incredible details – the house symbols on the fireplace, the original uniform worn by Daniel Radcliffe on the first day of filming, Hagrid’s bodysuit and costume, and the colorful hourglasses tracking house points on the wall by the high table.

Once you’re through the Great Hall, the pace slows down considerably and you’re left to your own devices. Other people we’d entered with had rented multimedia guides, and a few even had a personal tour guide, but we decided we knew enough about the books and the films to explore by ourselves. We didn’t regret that decision at any point – most of the things you’ll see are self-explanatory or have signage that explains what you’re looking at. Each set also has a display board which points out a couple of tiny details which you might not notice by yourself.

I’m not going to tell you about everything I saw, because it’s a lot more fun if you don’t know what’s coming , but my favorite moments were in the Forbidden Forest (which includes a spooky soundtrack, eerie mist, and plenty of spiders) and the newly opened Gringotts Banks. Gringotts is a truly special addition – you’ll get to see it looking its best (and you won’t believe it’s not made of real marble), plus you’ll see it destroyed by a dragon (a work of movie magic which proved to be a bit much for some of the younger visitors!).

We stopped for a bite to eat at the Backlot Café , which is slightly more than halfway through the tour, but other groups had brought snacks with them, so that’s always an option if you’re on a tight budget. Our meals were £9 for a burger with chips, so it’s not the cheapest lunch, but the quality was good enough that you didn’t mind the price. We also tried the Butterbeer, which was… unusual. If you’re desperate to taste it then I’d recommend splitting one cup between friends, as it’s not to everyone’s taste and it costs about £3.50 per cup.

Outside the Backlot Café is a small area with some larger props. There’s the Hogwarts bridge (a great photo opportunity), the Knight Bus, a walkthrough of 4 Privet Drive, and copies of Hagrid’s motorbike and the Weasleys’ blue Ford Anglia. You can sit on the bike and inside the Ford Anglia – two more great spots for photos!

The final area of the tour takes you through the animatronics lab, then into the magical Diagon Alley and around the huge model of Hogwarts, leading you out through the gift shop.

The good: There are so many tiny details which will thrill any fans of the films. From the hand-labeled vials of memories in Dumbledore’s office to the animatronic hippogriffs which bow to visitors, you’ll bounce from one delightful surprise to the next. You’ll also get to see videos of your favorite actors from the series discussing what it was like to grow up on set, in clips which will really take you behind the scenes. It does take at least 3 and a half hours to see everything on the tour, but it will feel like it was over in a flash.

The bad: The Backlot Café was very busy, with not-quite-enough seating and a poor queuing system. That might have been because the timing of our visit brought us to the café at lunchtime, so more people were stopping than during the rest of the day, it might have been less busy in the late afternoon.

There’s also something which everyone, but maybe especially parents visiting with younger children should be aware of – there are a handful of times where photo opportunities are going to cost you money if you want to take the pictures home with you. The green screen broomstick ride, the wanted poster (in robes), and the photos that are taken in a carriage of the Hogwarts Express all have a cost attached. After each encounter with a staff photographer, you’ll be given a ticket with a code on it, and my tip is to collect the tickets together and wait until the Hogwarts Express stop before going to the counter and looking through the images. If you decide to buy more than one picture then there’s a discount, and if you’re in a larger group then it might make sense to buy a USB with all your files. It’s easier to make that decision once you’ve done everything and can look through all the pictures at one time. For every hard copy of a picture you buy, you’ll be given a code to get a digital download, so it might make sense to split the cost of one photo between a group and then share the digital version later.

Overall I think the tour does a good job of not trying to sell you too many things – sure, there are two small gift shops which you’ll see as you go around (at the Forbidden Forest and the Hogwarts Express), but you’re not made to walk through them, and they’re designed to blend in with the sets. That being said, you can easily lose yourself in the gift shop at the end, and most things inside aren’t cheap.

So, back to the questions which I wanted to answer.

Is the tour as great as the reviews say, and does it provide good value for money?

For Harry Potter fans, it’s going to be an absolutely brilliant experience, and it also has a lot that will be of interest for fans of film-making more generally. I was blown away by the scale of the 10-year, 8-movie project that was the Harry Potter series, and by the skill and creativity of the people who designed the props, sets, costumes, and hair and make-up. It was informative without ever being dull, and knowing how the on-screen magic works has only given me a new appreciation for the movies. Having said that, now that I’ve been once I don’t feel like I need to go back any time soon. If the tour adds another couple of major sets then I might be tempted, but I’ve satisfied my curiosity for now and the ticket price is too high for me to make it a regular trip when I’m in London.

For people who aren’t Potterheads or particularly interested in movie-making, it might not be so fascinating to visit, and the ticket price and hassle of getting out of Central London might also be off-putting. In that case, I’d suggest skipping it or splitting your party up for half a day. Part of the fun of visiting was knowing that most people were as interested and excited as I was, and I don’t think that this attraction is ever going to be a must-see London attraction in the way that Tower Bridge or Big Ben are.

Now, for the money-saving tips

As I mentioned above, hang onto your professional photo tickets until you get to the Hogwarts Express tills, so that you can get all your shots included in a deal if you decide you want more than one picture. Book your trains to Watford Junction in advance if you can, and make sure to use your railcard if you’re a UK resident and aged 16-25 or over 60. Bring lunch with you to eat in the Backlot Café, and share a Butterbeer if you decide you want to try it. Do your best not to wander into the merchandise stores along the way, and save your shopping for the very end when you’ll know what’s available and how much money you have left!

Above all, go with the flow and remember how you felt the first time you encountered the magical world of Harry Potter – I’m sure you’ll have as great a time as I did!

If you’ve been inspired by our review, why not check out the available deals for Warner Bros. Studios – The Making of Harry Potter at TicketLens.com?

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Anneliese o'malley, ticketlens:, something fresh, the most expensive views in the world 2019, the most expensive attractions in the world, popular attractions.

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Golden Tours - Warner Bros. Studio - The Making of Harry Potter

How to find the golden tours office and how to board the harry potter studio bus.

What's it like going on a Golden Tours tour of the Harry Potter Studio?

Despite its name Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is not in London itself but located just outside London, in Watford, around an hour's journey each way.

At present, three tour companies offer a combination ticket with much sought after Warner Bros. Studio Tour London tickets with transfers from central London, (see menu, right) and in addition there is another tour: International Friends Warner Bros. Studio with Oxford.

The most popular tour is the Golden Tours tour; this page gives a summary of the experience with Golden Tours. We also have a separate page Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter - what to expect - which gives more detail on the Studio itself.

Book Harry Potter Studio tickets   Harry Potter shuttle tickets   Golden Tours Harry Potter tour details   Location Golden Tours office   Facilities at Golden Tours office   On board Golden Tours buses   Arrival at Studios   What will I see?   Return to Victoria or Kings Cross  

Is there any real difference between Harry Potter tour companies?

The Golden Tours Warner Bros. Studio Tour offer is very similar to that offered by Evan Evans and Premium Tours, except Golden Tours use a Harry Potter branded double decker bus (showing one of the Harry Potter movies) whilst the others use traditional touring coaches. It would be fair to say that the tours themselves are all the same once you arrive at Harry Potter, purely because that is the studio itself. Price and how you get there is the main difference along with departure locations and timings of available tours.

We partner with Travel Compendium to offer the best value tickets. These can be through Evans Evans and Golden Tours depending upon availability. If your heart is set on the Harry Potter themed coach to travel to the studio then you need to select the Golden Tours ticket, which are options 3 and 4 on their website and leave from Baker Street and Kings Cross. Evans Evans tours leave from Victoria and Russell Square.

Ticket guide prices with transport from London

• Adult tickets (16 years +) vary in price depending on season but are around £95pp on average.
• Child tickets (5 - 15 years old) are around £85pp on average.
• Children 3-4 years of age - entry to Harry Potter is free but there is an average of £40pp charge for the transport.
• Children 0-2 years of age - free entry and transport.

Tickets to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter

WARNER BROS. STUDIO TOUR LONDON - THE MAKING OF HARRY POTTER TOURS DEPART FROM CENTRAL LONDON

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter

Multiple choices of departure location including Victoria, Russell Square, Baker Street and Kings Cross.

Just select preferred option on booking page for full details.

Transport and Entrance Tickets:

Adult from £118, child 5-15 from £108

• Frequent bus departures daily • Entrance to the Warner Bros Studio Tour • Return luxury air-condioned bus with free Wi-Fi from Central London • Cheaper tickets available off-peak

Shuttle only tickets

If you have already purchased your Warner Bros. Studio Tour London tickets and are now just beginning to understand how far the Studios are from Central London you can purchase transport only tickets to the Warner Bros. Studio. Departure points are from Victoria and Baker Street in Central London.

SHUTTLE DEPARTING FROM VICTORIA & BAKER STREET - WARNER BROS. STUDIO TOUR LONDON - THE MAKING OF HARRY POTTER

Shuttle bus transfer to Harry Potter Studios from London Victoria, Baker Street

Adult from £79 £39

• Up to 10 shuttles per day • Pick up from Victoria or Baker Street. • Return luxury air-conditioned bus transportation from London with free Wi-Fi • Bus only - purchase Harry Potter Studio tickets separately

Golden Tours Harry Potter Tour - tour details

The tour runs every day that Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is open, which is daily year round .

There are many departures each day with pick ups in London between 7.30am and 4pm returning to London around 7 hours later.

There are two different tours running with Golden Tours - one that departs from Victoria and Baker Street, and another that leaves from Kings Cross.

Our banner above uses two coach companies, Evan Evans and Golden Tours. If you specifically want a Golden Tours tour then you can either use the link above to buy from Baker Street or King's Cross, or visit the Golden Tours website to buy a ticket from Victoria.

The buses drop off at the same three points. Journey time is around one hour, depending on traffic conditions.

Where is the Golden Tours office to board the Harry Potter bus in London?

The main departure bus terminus is at the  Golden Tours Office on Buckingham Palace Road,  in a building just down the road from Victoria Train Station. Victoria is a major hub in central London and easy to get to.

The address to pick up the coach from is: Bus Stop 1, Bulleid Way, Victoria, London, SW1W 9SH

The office is separate (across the road to) Victoria Coach Station.  The outside of the building has colonnades and is unmarked with no tour operator’s details on the outside . There will often be a Golden Tours bus parked outside which is helpful in finding it.

Baker Street

The second pick-up point is at Baker Street, again a strategic location with a major Underground station very close to Madame Tussauds. This is convenient if you are staying in a  hotel district close to Hyde Park, Marble Arch  or the  St Pancras ,  Bloomsbury area .

Kings Cross

Pancras Road, Bus Stop T, London NW1 2SD. The interactive map on Golden Tour's web page shows precisely where the bus stop is in relation to the station.

What facilities are there in and around the Golden Tours office in Victoria?

The reception area is quite large and well lit but there are no seats, except for those in the eateries surrounding the office.

Food, drink and gifts

You can use this time to grab something to eat – there are many places around to buy lunch or snacks and drinks - or maybe even purchase a gift from the London gift shop in the vicinity.

There are no public toilets in the immediate area; you can if you wish use the loos from one of the surrounding shops, but you need to make a purchase to do this.

There is no Wi-Fi in the waiting area at the office, but there is Wi-Fi on the Golden Tours Bus.

Check in closes fifteen minutes before advertised boarding time, but the bus does not actually depart for a further thirty minutes.

The order of queuing is the order of entry onto the bus, so if you are first in the queue you will get first choice of seat. Just before you go on the bus have your paper ticket(s) ready for checking.

You will be given an envelope with your Warner Bros. Studio Tour London tickets inside and also return tickets for your shuttle back to the bus station, and the time of meeting.

On board the Golden Tours bus to the Harry Potter studios in Watford, London

Harry potter movie aboard top deck.

The top deck is popular with everyone choosing to sit up here; from here you have a nice view of some of the sights of London and you can also see two screens, where they show one of the Harry Potter films. This is particularly useful if you have children! The film does not start playing until all passengers have been picked up from Baker Street.

Free Wi-Fi on board

There is free Wi-Fi on board the Golden Tour buses.

There are no toilets on board the bus so it is best to go before you leave.

Food and drink

Hot food and drink is not permitted on the coach, but you can eat simple cold snacks.

The bus is not a guided bus, therefore there is a driver only. Driving to the Studio Tour, the driver does not make a commentary, so any questions are best directed beforehand to the office assistant who can advise you in the queue.

There is no luggage storage on board the bus; at Victoria Railway Station and Coach Station there are left luggage facilities where you can pay a nominal fee and leave your cases all day until you return.

Alternatively you can leave small suitcases, coats and bags free of charge at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, in the Lobby cloakroom.

Arrival & admission to the Harry Potter studios

The bus takes you to just a hundred metres or so from the entrance, and then you are left to walk inside independently. Upon entry you will have your bag checked and then you are free to walk inside into the lobby.

Your arrival time will allow you about twenty minutes to queue, ready for your pre-booked entry time into the Studio Tour itself.

Please note, there is a bag check before you go inside. If you need somewhere to store any small suitcases (or coats and bags) you may have, you can do this free of charge in the lobby cloakroom.

Pushchairs are also encouraged to be left here if possible due to the restricted amount of space in the Studio Tour.

Opposite the cloakroom, also in the lobby, is a digital guide desk where you can hire digital guides for the duration of your tour.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - what will I see?

We have a dedicated page detailing what to expect once inside the studios.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - full detail

Return journey to Victoria or Baker Street or Kings Cross

After 4.5 hours, it is time to leave the Studio Tour, and make your way to your Golden Tours bus, which will be waiting just outside.

The driver will be standing outside the bus; you show your return tickets and hop on.

The entire tour takes around 7 hours including travelling time.

On your return journey you can sit back and watch the remainder of the Harry Potter movie you started on your way over, remembering where all the magic began.

Harry Potter themed tours & activities in and around London

Tours from london including warner bros. studio tour, harry potter london hotel & ticket packages, harry potter tours within london, harry potter locations within london & oxford including platform 9 3/4.

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Harry Potter Studio Tour & London Hop on Hop off Bus

Visit the Warner Bros. Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter and discover the making of Harry Potter. See the sets, costumes and props that were used to create the Harry Potter films. Your ticket also includes a 4-hour hop on hop off bus tour of London where you can take in London’s most impressive sights.

Warner Bros Studio TOur London

• We offer return transportation from Baker Street and London Victoria to the Studio Tour. Alternatively, you can select to make your own way to the Studio Tour on our booking form
• Enjoy a magical world of witches and wizards at the Studio Tour. Explore The Great Hall, Gringotts vaults, the Ministry of Magic, the Forbidden Forest and much more!
• Climb aboard the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾ and see the infamous ‘cupboard under the stairs’
• Take part in the green screen experience and ride a broomstick!

Hop on Hop off Bus – 4 hours

• Enjoy a 4 hour hop on hop off bus tour of London
• You can join the tour from any of the stops along the route
• Take in breathtaking sights of London’s most famous landmarks including the London Eye, Big Ben, Tower of London and more!

What’s Included?

• Tickets to Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter
• Return transportation from London (or collect your tickets at the Studio Tour)
• 4-hour London Hop on Hop off bus ticket

What’s Excluded?

• Food, drink, gratuities (optional)
• Branded buses are subject to availability. Alternative buses may be used during peak periods.
• You can cancel your booking and receive a full refund up to 72 hours before your time of travel
• You must bring the e-ticket provided to gain entry to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
• A fee is charged for infants aged 3 & 4 for transportation only as they require a seat on the bus. Infants 2 years and under require a ticket although they are free. Entry to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is free for children 4 years and under.
• Butterbeer™ may contain nuts and other ingredients that may cause allergies etc.
• Vehicles are modern, comfortable, and kept to the highest standards of cleanliness, including a deep clean every day

Tour Booking

Terms and conditions, you might also be interested.

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Harry Potter Studio Tour London

Everything you need to know about the Harry Potter Studio Tour­ in London . From how to book a tour, how to get there, what to expect, and what you’ll see at the Harry Potter Studio.

We’re just returning home from our first family trip to London, and I think my favorite part of the entire experience was the Harry Potter Studio Tour!

We’ve been reading the Illustrated Harry Potter books with our boys as nighttime family read-alouds this past year. I’ve always wanted that experience, and much to my delight, I think my boys (and husband!) have enjoyed the wizarding world even more than I have!

When my husband found cheap direct flights to London, we knew our boys (ages 8 and 5) would love to see all the Harry Potter nods in London. In fact, we revealed the trip with a Harry Potter scavenger hunt and let them know Harry would be a big part of this trip. The biggest part, of course, was the Harry Potter Studio Tour.

What is the Harry Potter Studio Tour?

The Harry Potter Studios Tour Lond is a tour of the Warner Brothers set that was used for 10 years to film the Harry Potter movies. It’s full of the sets, costumes, props, and magic of special effects. Essentially, it’s a walk through the footsteps of Harry Potter and a full guide into the making of Harry Potter films.

If you can imagine what it took to visually create the Magical world of the Harry Potter books, you’ll have a good idea of what you’ll see on the Harry Potter Studio Tour London! It’s incredible how many talented people came together to create the movie magic that is the eight Harry Potter movies. And this is the background look at so many of those elements.

How do I Get Harry Potter Studio Tour Tickets?

You’ll book your tickets online at the Warner Bros Studio official website . You do need to book these in advance , and the attraction usually does sell out weeks in advance. So the moment you know the date you’ll be available to see wonders of the wizarding world on the studio lot, I’d book those tickets immediately!

How Long is the Harry Potter Studio Tour?

We’d read you can get through it in three hours, but I’ll be honest, we could have spent all day. And for reference, we love Harry, but I wouldn’t call us complete Potterheads by any stretch of the imagination. However, we love the series, we’ve seen three of the movies as a family, and I felt a little rushed with 5.5 hours of time to tour the studio. We booked 2:30 in the afternoon, and I wish we’d arrived around noon. I think six or seven hours , including a 30 minute lunch, would be ideal.   Ideally, I’d book tickets at Harry Potter Studio opening times. If you are amongst the first visitors of the day, you’ll avoid a lot of the crowds and have the full day to enjoy the full-guided tour without any rush. But if you can book by noon, you should be in great shape.

How Do You Get to the Harry Potter Studios?

The studio tour is about 20 minutes by speed train outside of London. From Central London, you’ll book a departure time from London Euston station. HOWEVER, I’d start by heading to King’s Cross station and snapping a picture with a luggage trolley at Platform 9 3/4s. You could also hit up Kings Cross on your way back, but it’s a fun way to start your journey! Right next door is London Euston Station, where you’ll book your train.

The nearest train station is Watford Junction which has a direct train from London Euston station . It’s about a 20-minute ride, and there are several trains per hour. I’d plan to depart an hour before your tour.

From there, there is a shuttle bus run by Mullany’s Coaches, which goes from Watford Junction Station to the studios. Once you exit your metro stop, the Harry Potter shuttle bus is ready to take you to the lot. There are signs in the Watford Junction Station pointing you to the bus, and it’s right outside the station. They run throughout the day, with the last one leaving the studio at closing time. Their shuttle bus makes it incredibly easy to get to the from the Metro station. And they offer return transportation right back to the metro once your tour ends.

You can also arrive by car if you’d prefer to drive or book a car service. I’d plan 45 minutes-1 hour from Central London.

What to Expect on Your Tour

Harry Potter fans will be delighted to to walk through 10 years of artifacts from all eight Harry Potter films. You’ll see artifacts, costumes, props, iconic sets with scene shot secrets, and a few fun surprises. They have a fully-guided tour via handheld device that you can grab on your way in.

Personal Video Guide and Headphones

Don’t skip out on the guide, it is fantastic! It’s full of information, fun facts, movie clips, and narrations from the actors, director, producers, and J.K. Rowlings herself.

The guide is a mini tablet (phone sized) that does such a great job letting you interact with small video clips that explain each thing you’re going to see. You can choose to watch them all, or select those you’re most interested in. Let me tell you, I was happy to listen to them all! They are fascinating! And even our short attention span five-year-old enjoyed watching them and following along.

A Breakdown of the Studio Tour

You’ll enter the studios with a great photo op in front of the sign and a giant billboard for the first movie.

As soon as you enter, you’ll get a headset with a tour. From there, you’ll walk into the main atrium and be greeted by a giant dragon. It’s a busy gathering spot, but don’t forget to stop for a picture at this magical spot!

Tour Welcome

I loved that the tours start where the movies do: with a look at the room under the stairs at the Durselys’ home. You’ll walk past it to see several of the movie posters from different countries for all eight movies. It’s the first thing you see while you go through a queue toward a welcome movie. ­Don’t worry, they have comfortable seats and all guests are greeted warmly. The movie includes a welcome from everyone’s favorite characters, the three main stars. They begin with an explanation of how they basically lived at this studio and grew up here for ten years of their lives. They welcome you to explore the magic that happened as they grew up on set.

The Great Hall

The staff will usher you quickly into The Great Hall. This room is HUGE with so much attention to detail. Also, the setup just like you see in all the movies. I won’t spoil anything here for those who go, but the end of the walkthrough The Great Hall ends with a magical surprise. I mean cheering, clapping, sheer amazement kind of magic.

This is the one and only place they rushed us out of. They keep the entry queue moving and it’s the one experience they need to do in batches.

But you’ll exit seeing a few exam desks, and the transition to wardrobe begins with some of your favorite professors costumes on full display.

Right after The Great Hall, you’ll walk through a wardrobe section. There’s an entire wall with all the wigs, hair pieces, and so much of the specialty wardrobe created for the movies.

My favorite was Luna Lovegood’s wardrobe, which had a tour guide to pull out specific dresses and pieces for a closer look. I loved seeing all of Dumbledore’s robes! But I particularly loved Hermione’s Yule Ball dress. It’s stunning in the movies, and even more stunning in real life!

You can only imagine the great time, detail, and imagination each prop took to make! They had to get creative creating a wizarding world with unique props and the time and effort it took to create things that had never been made before. The hall with props talks about so many specific details, and how each was made.

Indoor Sets

There are a few rooms you’ll see over and over in Harry Potter films, and those rooms are in the middle of the studio with open walls for filming. The Gryffindor common room, Harry’s dormitory, the Slytherin common room are large and happened to be the favorite hangouts of actors in between scenes! But my jaw dropped at Professor Dumbledore’s office! It may be the most stunningly detailed room that you’ll see. And I couldn’t get over the details like the young Minerva McGonagall portrait in the Gryffindor room. Or the telescope and intricacies of it in Dumbledore’s office. Oh yes, and the Sword of Gryffindor hangs proudly to admire from a distance.

The guide also taught us that the stacks of books were hundreds of phonebooks decorated to look like ancient wizard books.

My personal favorite is the potions classroom. I could have spent hours staring at each of the potion jars. It was one person’s job to create each of the items in the jars, and they got creative picking up plastic animals and redecorating, visiting butchers, and inventing a large scale room with no detail spared! It was in fact such a popular space, they expanded it after the first film.

Truly, the details in each space are delightful, and we could have spent so much more time there staring at each!

Green Screen Experience

Let me warn you, if you go to this area, you will likely shell out money for the pictures and videos they’ll take! From the wanted wizard pictures to the green screen flying on a broom through famous scenes from the movie, they are so fun! We decided to tell them to take all our money here! I mean we know our boys will watch the movies of themselves and their parents flying on brooms for years to come!

Special Effects

The filmmakers had such a challenge to create so many magical scenes! The special effects area is where you learn all about their filmmaking trickery. You would think they would use mostly green screens in the movies, and there are plenty of those. However, I loved learning and seeing that they decided to mechanically build so many of the scenes that created special effects. They knew they could get real reactions from the actors with actual “magic” and if the budget warranted it, they always opted to build it.

We learned the cake over Aunt Petunia was lifted with tiny water streams- and got to see it happen live! They build machines to shoot letters everywhere. It was amazing to see so many mechanical items and real props designed to interact with greenscreens.

And honestly, the quidditch area blew my mind! I remember going to an opening night midnight showing of the first movie mostly hoping to see how they portrayed quidditch. It was fun to learn they made so many tech improvements quidditch looks almost completely different by the third movie. I was just geeking out over all the details and effects that made Quidditch happen on the screen!

The Dark Arts/Ministry of Magic

You round the corner to see THE TABLE full of the Death Eaters, or at least mannequins in their costumes set at the table. Right down to Professor Charity Burbage hanging from the ceiling reading to be consumed by a snake. It was a bit of a shock for our kids who haven’t seen that scene yet, but I guess now I won’t be too worried when we watch the movie since they saw the complete behind-the-scenes.

I watched the movie in the tour guide with a behind-the-scenes of the making of the scene blended with the real scene about three times. It is incredible to see how they planted actors, cameras, and CGI to make it happen.

Right around the corner is the Ministry of Magic with walls, offices, and even Dolores Umbridge’s table complete with cat plates and her pink costume.

And off to the side, you can take an interactive lesson from the choreographer who taught actions how to fight with wands. He is a martial arts expert who invented what fighting with a wand woud look like. Actors took three-hour classes to learn moves and physically practice with their wands. I loved watching my boys practice and perform some moves!

The Forbidden Forrest

There are enough magical scenes in the Forbidden Forest, they went right ahead and built it! This was another one they originally did for the actor’s reactions. Apparently, Rupert Grint (Ron) has true arachnophobia and knew what he was getting into with the second movie. They built Argon the spider to scale, with tons of other giant robotic spiders descending. And you can experience the whole scene yourself!

We saw Buckbeak the animatronic. And also Harry’s famous Patronus scene from The Prisoner of Azkaban. It’s a very surreal thing to walk through all these scenes!

Hogwarts Express

Warner Brothers bought an old train and had it transported to the studios. Which as you can imagine, was no small feat!

They transformed it to the Hogwarts Express, and I learned they had to give it a fresh coat of red paint before each movie.

Before you tour the train, there are a few fun things to do and great photo ops! Stop to take photos with a few luggage trolley options at Platform 9 ¾. Take a minute to make an origami howler and hear Mrs. Weasley send one to Ron. And pause for a photo with a letter inviting you to Hogwarts in front of the giant train.

You can tour the outside of the Hogwarts Express, and walk through a train car from each movie. I loved the frozen Dementor car from the third movie! But they were all fantastic!

At this point, you’re a little over halfway through the tour, and it’s a perfect time to stop for some food at…

Backlot Cafe

You’ll find mostly American fare here. There are mostly burgers, hot dogs, salads, and loaded French fries. We weren’t expecting much, but we all liked our food

Don’t skip out on the butterbeer sampler! You can try a butterbeer drink, butterbeer ice cream, and a butterbeer cupcake on a flight. We enjoyed them all! Our boys loved the butterbeer best, and Jacob and I both liked the ice cream best.

Outside Sets

The outside sets section is delightful- and where I started to wish we’d had more time! You’ll start with Privot Drive from the outside, and walk through the inside of the Dursley’s house. You can see the scene with Aunt Marge, including the inflated character props.

Next up is the perfect photo op stops with the famous vehicles from the movies. The Knight Bus is ready for pictures, as is Hagrid’s motorcycle and the Weasley’s card Ron and Harry drive to Hogwarts in book 2.

Creating Magical Creatures

We hurried through this part, and I’d go back just to have time to listen to all the commentary from the audio tour! We saw the masks and makeup that made up the goblins and trolls. There are giant snake heads, dragons, and all the fantastical creatures in one place!

Gringotts Bank

I was floored how giant Gringotts Bank is! I mean I know a lot was going on there with scenes of goblins working, but I never thought it was one continuous space!

You can look through vaults, see the famous desks, and then head to the next room for a literal bang. The Dragon escapes through Gringotts right before your eyes with all the Hollywood-style effects. It’s an incredible scene, and I can’t believe it’s all live with very minimal CGI!

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley is a very real and continuous street with each of the specialty shops in a row. If we’d had another hour I would have loved to have spent it looking at the details in the shops.

But the ones I spent time looking in had me tickled with the clever details and elements inside! And the Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes shop tugged right at my heartstrings. You can see the magical pranks and homage to the beloved family in all the spectacular detail. I love that it’s there!

Hogwarts Castle

Obviously, it wouldn’t be in a movie budget to build a full Hogwarts exterior, but they definitely built a model that’s still huge to film all the panning shots of the castle. And you can walk around the castle and see some of the effects they used like winter shows, fireworks, and day and night time lighting. It’s amazing! And I can only imagine the CGI artist’s creativity turning the model into something magical and perfect for the scene!

Ollivanders Wand Shop

Before you head to the location where you can buy your own wand, you’ll walk through THE room where Harry bought his wand. They have boxes and boxes with labels on them used in the movie.

The Studio Shop

I feel strange calling it a gift shop, because this gift shop is also an experience! We walked out with one lollypop and a chocolate frog, but there was about every Harry Potter merch item you could imagine! Okay minus a Ravenclaw scarf that my Ravenclaw child had their heart set on! But I assured him we could find one elsewhere.

We almost gave into a Hedgewig puppet that moved its head and flapped its wings. But they truly had every character, animal, and even Fantastic Beasts creatures in stuffed animal form. The shirts, costumes, robes, candy shop, bags, and magical pens all amazed us!

Even if you plan to buy exactly nothing, it’s a fun place to walk through and experience a little magic in merch form.

Leaving the Tour

We had one kid start to cry when we left stating “I don’t want to leave! This has been one of the most magical days of my life!” Which I actually think sums up how our entire family felt!

The five and a half hours went by so fast, and we all were delighted by the experience! It exceeded our expectations! And as a family who make experiencing fun part of our lives (and mom’s job), we all agreed this was one of the most amazing things we’ve ever experienced!

I think it’s worth the money, and worth the time of travel even during a quick trip to London. Don’t tell Disneyland Paris I said this, but the Harry Potter Studio tour was the most magical thing we experienced on this family trip to Europe!

Harry Potter Studios Frequently Asked Questions

If you listen to the entire tour guide, it will take about five hours to complete the tour . We felt rushed with 5.5 hours and could have easily spent 6-7 touring. However, their website claims the average is 3.5 hours. It just depends on how much of the tour resources you want to consume and if you want to walk through or stop to listen and learn about every detail.

As Harry Potter fans who wouldn’t quite classify themselves as Potterheads, we would say this is 100% worth your time and expense to see! The filmmaking included more creativity and design than almost any other film, and the artifacts and details are stunning. It’s a magical experience unlike anything else, and very worth it.

Buy your ticket in advance, and take the metro for arrival. You can save money packing your own food and avoiding souvenirs. If you are going as a family, look into the family ticket options for a cheaper price.

The sooner, the better! These tours fill up fast! It gets the busiest on the weekends during the summer holiday months. You may need to book your tickets 1-2 months in advance to get a time early enough to see the full tour! If you are going on a weekday or during the off-season, try to book at least a week in advance.

We hope this helps you plan and prepare for your own tour of The Making of Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour!

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out these fun places to visit too:

Neuschwanstein Castle: Tour Tips and Travel Guide

Fun Things to Do in Phoenix with Kids

Polar Express AZ

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Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter with Transportation

Warner bros. studio tour london provides an amazing new opportunity to explore the magic of the harry potter™ films – the most successful film series of all time. this unique walking tour takes you behind-the-scenes and showcases a huge array of beautiful sets, costumes and props..

It also reveals some closely guarded secrets , including facts about the special effects and animatronics that made these films so hugely popular all over the world.

Bookings for this tour are  non-refundable  and can  not  be cancelled or rescheduled.

• Harry Potter

Public tour , Public attraction

From € 140 per adult

• Pickup: London Victoria - Bus Stop 1, Bulleid Way
• Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
• Guaranteed entry to the often sold-out Making of Harry Potter
• Experience filmmaking magic at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter
• Step into the Great Hall, walk down Diagon Alley™ and visit Dumbledore’s office
• See actual costumes and props from all eight Harry Potter™ films.
• Return transport from central London departing at least every hour
• Travel on Warner Bros. Studio Tour London branded buses whilst watching a movie on your seat-back screen.

Tour details

Bookings for this tour are non-refundable and can not be cancelled or rescheduled.

A fee is charged for infants aged 3 & 4 for transportation only as they require a seat on the bus. Infants 2 years and under require a ticket although they are free. Entry to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is free for children 4 years and under.

Butterbeer™ may contain nuts and other ingredients that may cause allergies etc.

Branded buses are subject to availability. Alternative buses may be used during peak periods.

Our vehicles are modern, comfortable, and kept to the highest standards of cleanliness, including a deep clean every day.

Meeting point

Pickup (optional): London Victoria – Bus Stop 1 Bulleid Way , SW1W 9SH London. Tour entry: Warner Bros. Studios , Studio Tour Drive, WD25 7LR Leavesden. Check-in closes 15 minutes before pickup/entry!

Tour departs

Please click the “Book now” button to see the tour calendar.

Tour operator

Golden Tours

Cancellation policy

Accessibility.

All ages welcome Suitable for children Children must be accompanied by an adult

An extended 4.5 hours inside the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London Return transportation to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London on a double decker branded bus

Food & Drink Hotel pick-up Hotel drop-off Digital Guide (available to hire at the Studio Tour for £4.95)

Film series

Full description, platform 9¾ and hogwarts express.

Step onto Platform 9 ¾ and venture inside the original Hogwarts Express steam engine! This permanent exhibit gives visitors the chance to climb aboard the train’s carriage and pose with a luggage trolley as it disappears through the platform wall. Scenes featuring the working train were shot at the Studios, including the iconic last scene in which a grown up Harry, Ron and Hermione wave their own children off to Hogwarts as they leave for school.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank

Enter the all new Gringotts Wizarding Bank on Diagon Alley and discover the magical treasures within. Step into Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault to find the Sword of Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup, one of Voldemort’s many Horcruxes, before taking a unique photo surrounded by thousands of pieces of magical treasure…unless the goblins find you first!

Here are just some of the things you can expect to see and do:

• Enjoy watching the first Harry Potter movie on the journey to and from the studios.
• Step inside and discover the actual Great Hall.
• Explore Dumbledore’s office and discover never-before-seen treasures.
• Step onto the famous cobbles of Diagon Alley, featuring the shop fronts of Ollivanders wand shop, Flourish and Blotts, the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Eeylops Owl Emporium.
• See iconic props from the films, including Harry’s Nimbus 2000 and Hagrid’s motorcycle.
• Learn how creatures were brought to life with green screen effects, animatronics and life-sized models.
• Rediscover other memorable sets from the film series, including the Gryffindor common room, the boys’ dormitory, Hagrid’s hut, Potion’s classroom and Professor Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic.
• Delve into the Dark Arts: see the Malfoy Manor fireplace and table around which Bellatrix Lestrange, the Malfoy family, the Death Eaters and Voldemort sat plus a 20-foot model of Voldemort’s snake Nagini!

Locations (2)

1. pickup: london victoria - bus stop 1, bulleid way.

Bus stop 1, Bulleid Way, 123-151 Buckingham Palace Rd, Victoria, London SW1W 9SH

2. Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

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Related tours

Harry Potter Bus Tour of London

• Public tour

Harry Potter Walking Tour with Platform 9¾

Harry Potter Studios & Walking Tour of London Locations

• Coach , Walking

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