Harry Potter Studio Tour in London

Introduction

Calling all witches and wizards! While it isn’t quite the same as Hogwarts, there is another magical place calling you home: Warner Brothers Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter. The WB Studio Tour London has 2 soundstages and a backlot filled with the actual sets, props, costumes, creatures, and more from all 8 Harry Potter films. This is an absolute must do for any Harry Potter fans!

I grew up on Harry Potter and fondly remember the days of waiting in line at Barnes and Noble at midnight for the next book to release. I loved going to the midnight premiere at the movie theaters with my mom and brother. My idea of a perfect weekend afternoon is watching Harry Potter on the couch with a blanket and my dog. Harry Potter movie marathons on ABC Family, anyone? And why did they ALWAYS leave out Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? I digress… Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I learned about the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in London.

Logistics & Booking Options for the Harry Potter Studio Tour

The Harry Potter studio tour is located about 45 minutes – 1 hour from London. If you find yourself staying in London, you will need to find transport to Waterford Junction. For more information on the logistics of getting to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour London, check out this resource which includes traveling by bus, train, or car.

My husband and I are huge Harry Potter fans, and this experience was at the top of our must-do in London list. We have been twice to the studio tour, and we’ve learned something new every time! Both times we’ve visited The Making of Harry Potter, we’ve booked with Viator.

Booking Options with Viator

Studio Tour with Transport from London

The first time we visited the studio, we booked the studio tour with transport from London through Viator. We took an Uber from our hotel to Victoria Coach Station. We then rode a bus to the studio location in Waterford. This took about 45 minutes. A ticket to the studio tour is included with this experience. To return, you take the same bus back to Victoria Coach Station, and the bus driver will tell you what time to return to the bus. Personally, we don’t enjoy waiting for other people or being the hold up for other people. We like to be able to come and go as we please!

Fully Guided Studio Tour with Train Transport from London

The most recent time we visited the studio, we booked the fully guided tour of Warner Bros. Studio through Viator. For this experience, we took an Uber to the meeting point at Euston War Memorial. From here, we found a representative who presented us with train tickets. The guide took the train with us to make sure we found our way to Waterford.

After taking the train, we arrived at Waterford Station. From here, we took a purple bus operated by Warner Brothers to the studio. The representative took us to the check-in and introduced us to the Warner Brothers Studio staff. From there, our larger group was divided into 2 smaller tour groups and presented with a guide associated with WB Studio.

What we liked the most about this experience was the small group (about 8-10 people) and the tour guide. Our tour guide was incredible and helped to make the experience what it was. If you’ve never been before, I would absolutely recommend booking the fully guided tour with Viator. The tour guide knows behind the scene secrets and can help you move along at an appropriate pace. There is so much to see and do while visiting that the tour guide can really assist with making sure you see it all in a timely manner. They are also very friendly and willing to answer any questions!

Booking Options through Warner Brothers Studio Tour London

There are also options to book through the Warner Brothers Studio Tour London website. These options include adding on an afternoon tea experience and a Deluxe Tour. It is cheaper to purchase the fully guided tour through Viator versus the Deluxe Tour through the website. Both options include a guided tour. The Deluxe Tour includes a souvenir and green screen photographs. As of now, the green screen photos do not interest us, so the Viator option is our preferred way to book!

Highlights of the Harry Potter Studio Tour

There is SO much to see, experience, read, and do at the studio tour that I simply cannot write about it all! I hope this guide inspires you to the visit and experience it for yourself, so I don’t want to spoil all the magic you’ll find inside. However, I will share a few of our favorite exhibits and experiences!

The Great Hall

The Great Hall is the very first set you will see. It is absolutely stunning and emotional for many. Take your time here! There will be a lot of people in the beginning, but once they open the doors to the rest of the tour, you will have plenty of time to look around. During one of our visits, there was a special Dark Arts experience running, so the Great Hall featured pumpkins and a Halloween spread on the table.

Here, you will also see costumes worn by Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Hagrid, and more!

Slytherin & Gryffindor Common Rooms

After leaving the Great Hall, you will enter into a large room that starts off with information about the movies and their respective directors. There is also a lot of information about makeup, hair, and costumes before making your way to the common rooms.

The Slytherin Common Room features robes worn by Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

The Gryffindor Common Room features the sitting area, beds, trunks, and more. Take your time to notice all of the small details. This part of the tour is extremely crowded, so bring your patience with you!

The Burrow

Before entering the Burrow, you will be able to read about the animal actors in the films and quidditch. You can even check out Hagrid’s hut or find yourself flying on a broomstick with the help of a green screen.

The Burrow is really neat and even has a knife cutting a carrot, an iron ironing clothes, a needle knitting. Check it out below!

Forbidden Forest & Platform 9 3/4

After leaving the Burrow, there is an exhibit for Nagini, the Ministry of Magic, and an area dedicated to Dolores Umbridge. She’s not my favorite, so we skipped over that one pretty quick! As you would expect, this area is very dark and eerie.

The next exhibit is the Forbidden Forest before making your way to Platform 9 3/4. The Forbidden Forest is also very dark and features a lot of special effects that are hard to capture on camera.

Once you’ve got that down, make your way onto the train and check out the Honeydukes Trolley and more costumes from the final film. This train is stationery and unfortunately, won’t be taking you to Hogwarts anytime soon.

At this point in your tour, it’s time for a quick break at the Backlot Cafe. Find out more about that in the Food & Dining section below.

The Weasley’s House & Privet Drive

The replica of the Weasley’s House and Privet Drive are located outside on the backlot. There’s also a Knight Bus and the Greenhouse where you can practice pulling up a mandrake.

After experiencing everything the Backlot has to offer, there is another building that starts with special effects including information about Hagrid, werewolves, Dobby, goblins, and Buckbeak.

Gringotts Bank

Gringotts Bank might be my absolute favorite exhibit at Warner Brothers Studio Tour London. It looks JUST like it does in the movie. It’s absolutely stunning and the attention to detail is exquisite. Here you can see the goblins at work and the costumes worn when Ron, Harry, and Hermione sneak into the bank during the last film.

There is a separate space where you can check out the dragon breathing fire and destroying the lobby of Gringotts Bank.

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley runs a close second to Gringotts Bank. It features shops on both sides including the famous Ollivander’s and Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.

Hogwarts Castle

The grand finale of this incredible tour is the model of Hogwarts Castle. It’s huge, beautiful, and hard to capture in a photo!

Special Exhibits at the Harry Potter Studio Tour

Both times we’ve visited we’ve experienced special exhibits. The first time we visited in 2022, there was a Mandrakes and Magical Creatures experience. My favorite part was experiencing the Frog Choir scene in the Great Hall.

The second time we visited in the fall of 2023, we experienced Discover the Dark Arts. This was awesome. Periodically, Death Eaters would enter the tour space and perform a short scene before leaving again. Our tour guide told us that one of the Death Eaters working at the studio tour was a Death Eater in the films too!

Food & Dining

There are quite a few options for food and drinks. When you first enter the main building, there is The Hub Cafe that serves Starbucks coffees and bakery items. On our first visit in 2022, we had a rainbow cake there that I have yet to see anywhere else. It was delicious, and we still talk about it!

Additionally, there is The Food Hall and The Chocolate Frog Cafe which are both located in the main entrance of the tour. We have not eaten at either of these.

The Backlot Cafe is conveniently located about halfway through the tour. This is a quick service restaurant with plenty of food options and seating. This is where you can purchase a Butterbeer or Butterbeer ice cream. We’ve eaten at the Backlot Cafe both times and enjoyed it.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter worth it?
  • Absolutely! If you are planning a trip to London, you need to save a day for this experience. I cannot recommend it enough!
• How long should I plan to stay at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour London?
  • I would plan an entire day and wouldn’t book any other tours or experiences the day you plan to visit the studio. This deserves it’s own special day without having to rush. You need to budget two-three hours of travel time to get to the studio tour from London and back. I would expect to stay at the studio tour for at least three hours though you could easily stay for four or more.
• Do I need to book tickets ahead of time?
  • Yes! This experience fills up fast. The first time we visited we tried to go through the Warner Brothers website, but it was too late. This was how we ended up trying Viator for this first time. As soon as you have the dates for your trip, book this experience.
• Can I bring my child(ren)?
  • Yes! We did not bring our son on this experience. We were traveling with grandparents the second time we did this experience, so we did leave him behind so that we could be a bit more present as we were also doing the tour with 2 other adults. However, children under 4 are free as far as tickets are concerned. The building and tour are very stroller friendly and there were plenty of children both times we visited.
• Are there places to purchase souvenirs?
  • Of course there are! There is The Railway Shop during the tour after you’ve experienced Platform 9 3/4. The Studio Shop is also available and located at the end of the tour. This shop has everything from wands to candy to shirts to coffee mugs. The only thing we ended up purchasing was a onesie for our baby.
  • This part of the tour is also very busy and crowded. It’s fun to look, but you can also purchase items online.
• Are there any rides?
  • No, this is not an amusement park, but there is an opportunity to ride a broomstick using a green screen!

Please let us know if you book and experience the Harry Potter studio tour in London! For more destination guides, visit the Destinations section.