Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Warner Bros. Studio Tour LondonThe Making of Harry Potter |
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| Attraction type | Walkthrough exhibition and studio tour | ||||||||||
| Designer | Thinkwell Group | ||||||||||
| Model | Film studio soundstage | ||||||||||
| Theme | Harry Potter films | ||||||||||
| Music | Compositions for the Harry Potter films | ||||||||||
| Site area | 14,000 m2 (150,000 sq ft) | ||||||||||
| Duration | ~3 hours and 30 minutes (self-guided) | ||||||||||
| Operator | Warner Bros. Studio Tours | ||||||||||
| Owner | Warner Bros. | ||||||||||
 Wheelchair accessible |
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 Assistive listening available |
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 Closed captioning available |
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The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is a special place in Leavesden, England. It is owned by Warner Bros. and run by their Studio Tours team. This tour is inside Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, close to Watford.
It's a permanent exhibition where you can see real costumes, props, and sets. These were all used to make the Harry Potter films. You can also learn about how special effects were created. The tour is in two big buildings, Soundstage J and K. These were built just for the tour. They are separate from where new movies are filmed.
This studio tour is one of the biggest permanent filmmaking exhibits in the world. It first opened in 2012. Up to 6,000 people visit it every day during busy times. TripAdvisor has said it's been the highest-rated attraction worldwide since it opened.
Contents
History of the Studio Tour
From Airfield to Film Studio
The area where the studio is now was once an airfield called Leavesden Aerodrome. It was built in 1940 by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. This airfield was very important for making aircraft during World War II. By the end of the war, it was the largest factory in the world by size.
After the war, de Havilland bought the airfield. Over the years, it changed owners and was eventually owned by Rolls-Royce. But by the early 1990s, manufacturing in Britain was slowing down. Rolls-Royce sold their part of the site. The Leavesden Aerodrome was left empty and unused.
The James Bond and Harry Potter Era
In 1994, the team making the James Bond film GoldenEye found the empty Leavesden site. The large aircraft hangars were perfect for turning into film stages. The filmmakers rented the site. They changed the factories into stages, workshops, and offices. This became a working film studio.
The site was renamed Leavesden Studios. It quickly became popular after GoldenEye was finished. Many big movies were made there. These included The Phantom Menace and Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow.
In 2000, Heyday Films rented the site for the Harry Potter films. All of the Harry Potter movies were made there over the next ten years. Some other Warner Bros. films were also made there. The Harry Potter series became the most successful film series ever.
Warner Bros. Buys the Studio
As the last Harry Potter film was almost done in 2010, Warner Bros. announced something big. They wanted to buy the studio to make it their permanent base in Europe.
By November 2010, Warner Bros. had bought Leavesden Studios. They said they would spend over £100 million on the site. They renamed it Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden.
As part of this big project, Warner Bros. built two new soundstages, J and K. These were made to hold the permanent public exhibition. This exhibition is called Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. It also created 300 new jobs in the area. Today, the entire tour is about the making of Harry Potter. It shows many of the famous sets, props, and costumes from the films. The tour opened to the public in early 2012.
Creating the Harry Potter Tour
After the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was a big success in 2001, Warner Bros. started planning a Harry Potter attraction. They began saving items from the films once they were no longer needed. In 2010, as the last film was finishing, Warner Bros. bought Leavesden Studios. Work on the tour then began.
The tour's design was created by Thinkwell Group from Burbank, California. They worked closely with Warner Bros. and the actual filmmakers. These filmmakers included Production Designer Stuart Craig, Set Dresser Stephenie McMillan, Creature Designer Nick Dudman, and Special Effects Supervisor John Richardson.
The tour only shows sets, props, and costumes that were really made for or used in the Harry Potter films. Some of the famous sets you can see include:
- The Great Hall
- Dumbledore's Office
- Diagon Alley
- The Ministry of Magic
- Gryffindor Common Room and Boys' Dormitory
- Hagrid's Hut
- A huge 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts Castle (used for outside shots in the films).
Grand Opening of the Tour
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter opened to the public on March 31, 2012. Many actors and crew members from the Harry Potter films came to the opening. These included Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood). Producers David Heyman and David Barron were also there.
Since 2020, fans can buy bottled 'Butterbeer' only at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London.
Royal Visit and Official Opening
More than a year after the tour opened, the site was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. This happened on April 26, 2013. They were joined by the Duke's brother Prince Harry. The author of Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, also attended. She could not come to the grand opening the year before.
Hundreds of people from charities supported by the royals were invited to the tour that day. The royal visitors saw the tour and met many people. They also visited the studios. There, they saw props and costumes from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight movies. After this, they officially opened the Leavesden site.
Experiencing the Tour
A typical tour lasts about three hours and 30 minutes. The tour can welcome up to 6,000 visitors each day. Even though Warner Bros. made Harry Potter, the tour is not a theme park. This is because Warner Bros. sold the right to make theme parks to Universal Studios. Instead, visitors get to see how much detail and effort goes into making a big movie series like Harry Potter.
The standard tour is self-guided. This means visitors can explore at their own speed. You can also pay extra for guided tours. Visitors with some disabilities might get free guided tours if they contact the tour in advance.
You can even explore Diagon Alley virtually on Google Maps Street View.
Tour Expansions and New Features
Warner Bros. often adds special features for school holidays. These include events like "Dark Arts" and "Animal Actors." These are included in the regular ticket price. Some popular additions, like the Wand Choreography Interactive and the inside of the No. 4 Privet Drive Exterior set, have stayed permanently.
Platform 9¾ and the Hogwarts Express
In January 2015, the tour announced its first big expansion. This was a brand new Platform 9¾ section. Here, visitors can step onto the original train carriages. These are pulled by the Hogwarts Express steam engine used in the films.
The set was built by the same crew members who worked on the movies. Stuart Craig himself designed this new set just for the tour. The scenes in the films were actually shot at Kings Cross. The setup includes the real steam locomotive used in the films, named Olton Hall. It wears Hogwarts Castle nameplates. There are also British Rail Mark 1 carriages from the movies. John Richardson's special effects team brings them to life. A new green screen experience shows what it's like to be an actor in the films. This new section opened in late March 2015.
Awards and Recognition
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter has won many awards since it opened. Some of these include:
- 2013 Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement
- 2013 UKinbound Award for Individual Attraction of the Year
- 2012 UK Customer Experience Award for Best Leisure & Retail Experience
- 2012 Group Leisure Award for Best UK Attraction
The Studio Tour has also won awards for its lighting design. This includes the 2013 Lighting Design Award for Lighting for Leisure.
It was also named one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Entertainment Design Projects of 2012 by EntertainmentDesigner.com.
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See also
In Spanish: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter para niños
