Day Trip | Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour Watford

I want to share our day and experience at the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour with you so you can re-live it for yourself, see what it's like if you are unable to go or see what to expect if you're planning a visit.

Excitement is actually buzzing through me whilst I write!

Where do I start?! Well, I can tell you... it is MAGICAL!
You feel like you're in the films/books and it's all just breathtaking.

In my opinion, it is the best attraction you will ever go to - especially in the UK.
Even if you don't particularly like Harry Potter (I meeeean....who doesn't, I know!), I'm confident you will have the best day.

If you'd prefer a visual update in video form, check out the video I uploaded to YouTube at the bottom of this post. It is quite slow in places but I wanted to leave it without music over the top and without chopping it up too much as I think it would dilute the vibe.

I had previously been to the studio tour 3 or 4 times, closer to the opening day years ago and I have always been desperate to go again! I just love Harry Potter SO much and since I last went, they had added sections and upgraded the tour.

If you want to go on a weekend or start the tour around 10am, you might want to book now for 2020! It's very difficult to get tickets at 'short' notice. This is the reason I never booked to go back. Booking things in advance is not my forte!

Me & Andy had a week off in September and on the off chance I wondered if the studio tour would have spaces but really didn't think it would. Then I realised it was a week day, we had a whole week to be flexible & there was no harm in checking. To my amazement, they had a tour slot available on the Thursday at 10am! I booked it straight away and COULD NOT WAIT!

Andy isn't the greatest fan of Harry Potter and had never been to the tour even though he had wanted to go. I couldn't wait for him to see everything and get sucked into another world! There is no way you couldn't enjoy it. He loved it too and we just had the best, most exciting yet relaxing day.

Since my first visits, they had changed the layout, added the Hogwarts Express, Forbidden Forest, The Vault and Gringotts Bank.

What to expect throughout the tour

I can't tell you how the tour starts as it will spoil it, but it's blooming amazing and so special.
The Tour works where you have an allocated time slot so you enter at a certain time. After the Great Hall section of the tour, you are free to walk around at your own pace.

There are costumes, sets, props, information and videos from the films dotted around everywhere to view at your own pace. There are sections that explain how the costumes were made, how it was filmed and even a section on how they train the animal actors!
The detail in the tour is incredible.
You really feel like you're took on a journey into 'the making of Harry Potter'.

There are optional interactive sections throughout the tour such as multiple photo opportunities, being able to sit on a broom with a green screen behind so the team make it look like you're flying & waving your hands over a plaque that magically moves the objects in the Weasleys kitchen!

I really enjoyed walking through the Forbidden Forest section. The floor is made up of textured spongey material that makes you feel like you are actually walking in a real forest. The forest then ends in a shop 1/2 way through which is always a winner for me!

The shops

There are 3 shops in total - the main shop is accessible from the main entrance at the beginning or the end of the tour; the forbidden forest shop 1/2 way through and the railway shop just after the forest shop.
Tip: Each shop sell slightly different items, so if you see something you like, don't wait until the end to buy it as you may regret it if it isn't available in others shops.

The railway shop was so amazing, I really enjoyed it. I do love steam trains and the theming was brill <3

My fave part of the tour

That leads me on nicely to what I'd say was my favourite part - Platform 9 3/4 where you can board the Hogwarts Express, browse the railway shop and have your picture taken so it looks like you're on the train. Our pic of this is below.

It also takes a little video that you can actually buy, but we were a little disappointed the staff member didn't tell us this so we didn't play along when the voice over was telling us to act. If we'd have known, we would have done it.

The cafe

The next part of the tour is the Backlot Cafe which is so good!
There are plenty of tables, it's in the perfect location throughout the tour and the food is actually delicious!!
It wasn't stupidly over priced in our opinion and it was more than worth the money because the food was so tasty. I had a beef burger and Andy had a chicken burger. The options are a little limited but they have to be so they can keep everyone moving and serve quickly. It definitely has great choice for a smaller selection.

Also - you're going to want to make sure you bag one of the brownies!!

After lunch

Nearing to the end of the tour, your arrive at Gringotts bank which actually took our breath away!
I don't have the words to describe how walking around the corner and entering this section makes you feel. Even Andy couldn't believe it. You 100% feel like you're in the film for this bit. The detail is just super impressive and unbelievable.

The final section I will talk about is the Vault. There is a room where a screen is used to make it look like a dragon is coming towards you, breathing fire and it feels so realistic. It's so cleverly done, with the room in front of the screen built up with real objects that emit smoke etc.

There are a lot of sections I am not speaking about as this post is already very long and I do want there to be a few surprises left. I wanted to cover what I personally believed to be the best bits.

What did I buy from the shop?

Of course I couldn't help but buy something from the shop! I was tempted to buy everything but the prices were steep! Jumpers were £50-£70 roughly and a notebook was even £20! Although I do wish I bought Crookshanks as it was only £20 I think which I don't think is bad compared to Disney soft plushes.

The few things I bought were:

💟A 'Hogwarts in the snow' steam train mug
💟A steam train tea towel
💟A white chocolate wand which was delish!
💟Some white chocolate truffles with pineapple and orange flavouring and popping candy. You are also going to want to take a few boxes of these home as they were the best chocolates I've ever had!
💟& last but definitely not least, we bought a little Hogwarts Express train Christmas tree decoration which I think is the best things ever <3 I bought this from the railway shop and couldn't see it in either of the other 2 shops.

I had always wanted a Harry Potter esk jumper with my initial on (just like Harrys 😏) and to my surprise, they were selling these in the shop! I desperately wanted it but then saw the price was £70 so I took a picture in it instead (lol). It wasn't the most comfortable to be honest so I don't feel as sad about it now. I did love the Gryffindor jumpers but they didn't have my size and they were £50. They were much softer material though, I really would have liked one of those.

So - In summary - if you read all of that, thank you! & you can see that I think it's the greatest place ever and if you're undecided about going, please don't even think on it any longer, you HAVE to go!

I will leave you with lots of our pictures! Hope you enjoy them and if you have any questions or want to add anything, leave me a comment! 💖