We’re a bunch of Harry Potter fans, and when I was planning our trip to London, I knew we had to not only binge all eight movies right before our trip, but we also had to go on the Harry Potter Studio Tour, more formally called the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, The Making of Harry Potter. The first thing that you need to know about the HP Studios is that they are not actually in London proper. There are some tours offered that will show you some filming sites around London, but if you want to go to the actual studio where the films were made, you will have to go outside of London to the suburb of Leavesden. You absolutely need to purchase your tickets in advance, and the website offers a slew of options including the base entrance ticket only(starting at 53 pounds), as well as additional add ons including afternoon tea, transportation, and even a hotel and breakfast package.

I knew we were going to need transportation, so I booked a tour along with private transportation (executive vehicle option) with a pick up right outside our hotel. We were doing so much public transportation in the time we were in London, I figured a private pick up would be a nice break. It was pricey, though, and the whole thing for four of us including the tickets and private transportation cost 582 pounds. Honestly, it might’ve been cheaper to rent a car! This was easily one of the most expensive days of our trip, even more so than taking a train all the way up to Liverpool for our Beatles tour! That said, I thought it was worth it to not have to stress about transportation for one day of our trip, and getting dropped off and picked up right in front of the studio was a bonus. Our chauffeur was a bit grumpy, though, in spite of our excitement for the tour, and drove a much smaller than expected Mercedes (it was an E-Class), and the four of us were a bit cramped.

Note that it takes about an hour to get to the studio, as we left during rush hour to get there early. You will get dropped off right at the studio, and the driver will have your ticket vouchers, which you need to exchange at the window at the entrance. Then, you can go in at your scheduled time.

The second thing you need to know about your visit, is that going through the entire studio takes about four hours. We took up the whole four hours, which also included a relatively quick lunch stop and souvie shopping. We are actually pretty fast, so I think you could spend even more time here, but four hours is just about right if you’re planning your day.

The next thing you need to know about HP Studios is that it is friggin’ amazing! This place is absolutely chock full of stuff from the films including sets, costumes, and props. Some of the sets are truly wondrous, and you actually get to start in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, which is really cool, especially when you see how they did some of the magical effects in there. It was quite a bit smaller than expected though – talk about movie magic!

Throughout the space, there are stops where you can try your own hand at magic! Movie magic, that is! You can get your photo and video taken while riding a broom, and get all sorts of photos with real props and sets that were used in the films including the purple night bus, inside the Hogwart’s Express, and even in Bellatrix LeStrange’s Vault at Gringotts!

One of the other important things to know about the HP Studio is about the food there – if you’re going to be spending over six hours away from your home base you will need some sustenance to get you through the day. We opted to eat in the cafeteria that is located about midway through the tour. Here, you will find typical, very basic, theme park type food including burgers, wings and fries. They have all sorts of butterbeer purchasing options here, including regular butterbeer and other concoctions. I opted for a butterbeer latte which was super sweet but delicious! It was an easy and quick way to grab lunch in the middle of the tour and it was perfectly timed, as we made it there just before noon. (Our entry time for our ticket was 10am) If your tour time doesn’t coincide with a meal time at the midway cafeteria, there are also food options once you leave the actual tour portion of the studio. You can sit for high tea, and there are more cafeteria-type options out in the lobby. There’s also a sweets shop which looks pretty cool.

The second half of the tour, apart from a really epic “show” at Gringotts Bank, mostly focused on the technical aspects of making the movie, like the making of all of the different magical creatures and other effects including the giant (but yet, small) model of Hogwart’s Castle that they used while filming the first few movies. This is the last thing from the movies on the tour, and was a favorite amongst the family.

Finally, of course, you must exit through the gift shop. This is seriously the biggest attraction gift shop I may have ever been in and it takes probably about 30 minutes to snake your way through the different themed rooms. You can find just about anything HP you are looking for – everything from wands, to wizard’s chess boards. You can find apparel and sweets, as well as books and school supplies. It’s very well stocked and there’s really something for everyone here. I picked up a few books and a mug. It’s really hard to not buy something here.

At the end of our visit, we had to wait a few moments for our driver to pick us up, but we were whisked home without issue. We all absolutely loved this studio tour, especially after just re-watching all the movies. The price is completely worth it if you are even remotely interested in the movies, and I would highly recommend a day trip to the studios.