Monday, July 23, 2012

More Summer Trip Day 2 - Harry Potter WB Studio Tour (Part 1)


We had our breakfast in the hotel room. They provided free complementary drinks such as tea and coffee too. I ate the instant pasta which I bought last night. We woke up early since our train will depart 8.30 am.

The train left from Birmingham New Street and reached Watford Junction 2 hours later. I had pre-purchased the tickets online and chose the cheapest one which cost about £10 for a return journey. But of course I was the only one who got the cheapest price since I have a Railcard (entitled for 20% discount). Hihihi.. =D


As soon as we arrived, we headed outside looking for the bus stop which would shuttled us to the studio itself. Oh my my, there's a lot of people queuing already. The bus was very Potterish, it was double-decked with the exterior decoration of Harry Potter photos. Nice~ But we missed the first bus since it was overloaded but shorly after that, the next bus arrived. Alhamdulillah. The bus costs £2 for a return journey.


Fans queuing up for the shuttle bus.




After 15 minutes, we reached the huge studio, The Making of Harry Potter- Warner Bros Studio Tour. I went to the kiosk to collect our tickets. The ticket must be purchased online and it costs £28. However, if you are coming in a group of 10, you can get a reduced price. OMG, I was so excited! But our tour started at 11.30 am, so we lingered around the lobby taking some photos. The lobby was decorated with the portraits of the casts, a hanging Ford Anglia and an astronomy monument. 

Tadaaa! Here we are! :)


Lobby


Then, we queued up at the entrance while the staff scanned our tickets. The 'cupboard under the stairs' set was displayed here. It's a place where Harry had been living for 11 years with the Dursleys..

Cupboard under the stairs. Harry's first bedroom.




Waiting Room

We entered a waiting room while waiting for our turn to enter the cinema. Inside this dark room, there were several monitors which displayed Harry Potter film posters in different languages. This was to show that Harry Potter saga was well known and acceptable in a lot of countries.


Cinema

A short intro about Harry Potter movie scenes and Harry, Ron & Hermione made a brief introduction of the studio on the big wide screen. At the end of the clip, the white screen folded up revealing the entrance to the Great Hall behind it. This was awesome! We're getting so exciting while gathering in front of the door. The entrance was just like the movie, with the suits of armour standing on the walls.




The Great Hall

The most famous set in Harry Potter films. The hall itself is very big with long tables and benches for each of the Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Many costumes were displayed here such as school robes, Triwizard t-shirt, ghost dresses and teacher's costumes as well. At the teacher's table, the statues of the Hogwarts teachers were placed at the front. They includes Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Moody, Flitwick, Trelawney and Hagrid. There's a house point counter as well which resembles hourglasses. Hogwarts logos were carved on the stone walls.

The Great Hall door

Suits of armours

Hogwarts emblem

Long dining table

Point counter

The magnificent Great Hall

Costumes for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw

More costumes

Teachers and staffs




Interior Sets

Next to the Great Hall, lies a big hall occupying interior sets from Harry Potter series. This includes the famous Gryffindo Common Room, Dumbledore's office, Potion class, Umbridge's pink office, Hagrid's hut, Ministry of Magic, Horcruxes, Quidditch and many more awesome sets. It was very fascinating seeing these sets created with such details and accuracy.

Yule Ball dresses

Yule Ball table decoration

Ron's costume
Chocolates!


 
 
Gryffindor common room

Dumbledore's office with Pensieve

Wands
Four Potter fans
Horcruxes - Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, Tom Riddle's diary and Marvolo Gaunt's ring.

Potion class
Chamber of Secret's door

Hagrid's Hut


Marble stairs and Gringotts cart

Goblet of Fire, trophy, broomstick, Hagrid's bike and Moody's chest.

Quidditch

The Burrows

The evils

Ministry of Magic - statue

Voldemort, Gringotts' vault door, Vanishing cabinet and Death Eater masks.

 
 
The very pinkish Umbridge's office

Ministry of Magic

Props

Props

Sirius' family tapestry

We were so amazed by the creation of these interior sets. The props were made in so much details and some of them were hand-crafted. I wonder when Malaysian film makers will reach this level.. Hmmm...


That's all for Part 1.

I will continue writing Part 2 when I got time. Part 2 will cover the exterior sets, magical creatures, Diagon Alley and model room.


Happy Ramadhan peeps!

=)


4 comments:

tom hardy said...

mcm dlm movie, best2

Hazwan Samian said...

Heyy tom, thanks for visiting! Love ya! >.<

just.HY said...

best giler boleh amek gmbr kat dalam tu. aku g narnia exh kat aussie aritu langsung xleh amek gambar. cis!

Hazwan Samian said...

tu laaa.. xleh aku nk tgk gmbr narnia ko..

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