LUMOS
If you are not getting a cup of tea, getting comfy and feeling very excited to read this post just from its title then well. You are living life wrong.
For the purposes of this one, very special post, I'm giving up on using anonymous names for some people because I know that they will not mind me saying their, um, names.
So, as you can tell by my title I HAVE BEEN TO THE HARRY POTTER STUDIOS. Oh my god I will not lie to you it was WONDERFUL I can't, I just, everyone must go. It's epic.
But, all good stories must start at the beginning and ours starts at 6:00am in Bridgend Train station.. (classy, I know)
So, we have just gotten on our train and Jenny, Lucy and I were all pretty much awake. Jen had even bought herself a hot chocolate she felt that awake. We pulled away from the station feeling joyous for the day ahead (I had already made up a song) and BOOM. Jen spills the hot chocolate.
Can you believe it.
But obviously instead of us picking up the cup as quickly as possible, Jen quickly stands up and Lucy and I die laughing. Jen quickly exits the carriage and goes on the hunt for a loo and let me tell you there was hot chocolate EVERYWHERE. it was on the floor, the seats, the plugs, up the windows. That girl does not do things by half. So, after a good half an hour of mopping up, we settled down properly for the rest of our journey.
About 15 minutes later Lucy brought out the Kettle crisps.
About this time a little old lady started playing Icona Pop's 'I Love It' and dancing to it which was highly amuisng however the song was then stuck in our heads ALL DAY.
We arrived at London Paddington at 9:02. By this point I had shouty whispered 'Les Go' about 50 million times and getting off the train I promptly ran down the platform shouting 'WE'RE GOING TO HARRY POTTER STUDIOOOOOOS!!!' And flapped my arms a bit. I shouted at a conductor in a train and his face was expressionless I mean, c'mon. Misery guts. Clearly not getting any.
So, we got the tube, we got the Watford Junction. They have a sign that says 'Alight here for Harry Potter Studios' and MATE for the next 5 minutes I was like IT SAYS ALIGHT IT'S MAGICAL OMG THIS IS SO EXCITING. The bus pulled up. It was decked out with Diagon Alley pictures. It was very, very cool.
We arrived at the studios
...4 hours early.
To be fair, we knew we were very early and we meant to wander around Watford for a while but um..the magicalness took over?
So we went in the shop and OH MY GOOD LORD ALBUS IN HEAVEN. It was beautiful, BEAUTIFUL I TELL YOU.
We spent a good 45 minutes in there looking at books and notebooks and sweets and time turners and robes and sorting hats and house scarfs and beanies and anything we could lay hands on. We looked at every single wand. It was amazing.
However we didn't buy anything (just yet) as we didn't want to carry it around the tour with us.
We then went outside to get our tickets. It's quite simple you just scan the barcode of your confirmation e-mail below the screen and it gives you your tickets.
Hahahahahaha no. The machines are bastards.
17 and we could not scan a barcode.
It would not accept us. Luce and Jen (I was completely in the dark, I just stood there and agreed with anything they said) ended up having to type in numbers.
To be fair, I felt sorrier for the poor man next to us wo was attempting to scan the paper onto the computer screen and not the bar code scanner.. After a couple of minutes of comedy we helped him out.
We then went to the cafe whose food was divine. I had shredded pork and barbeque sauce hot sandwich with this little cupcake with strawberry icing and a flake and aw, it was so delicate (and highly calorific I was informed by Lucy.) Buying this food was hilarious though. There were two blokes behind the counter and I ordered my food and then they gave me this plastic thing and said "when it vibrates and flashes come and get your food" and I was like "..u wot. When what flashes?" And they replied with "You. We've put a spell on you to make you vibrate and flash!"
Okay I was sleep deprived and hungry by this point so I was like "Hahahaha omg I would love that! But really. Give me my food." They then explained that the plastic thing vibrated and flashed (it was terrifying)and I was very happy and wandered off with my plastic thing..as they called after me telling me that I was supposed to pay now..
It's hard being me. Keeping ontop of being a fool is very hard work.
I think I then went for a little nap and we had lots of chats and pictures.
AND THEN
At about quarter to 2 (we'd chilled in the cafe for about 2 and a half hours) we went to line up to enter the tour.
The queue actually only took us ten minutes but all around the foyer was massive canvas' of the actors and then as you queue you see the cupboard under the stairs (tiny.)
We then went into the cinema room and you have an introduction from Harry, Ron and Hermione (those are their real names.)
Then they walk into the Great Hall and then the cinema screen rolled up and BAM there was the door to the Great Hall! And our tour guide said "I'll tell you the first words that Harry heard when he came here..Welcome to Hogwarts."
I could've died right there and then and been happy.
We then casually wandered into the Great Hall (lol jk, I was pushing all the little shits out of my way.)
And we got the see the fireplace and Harry's first robes and the eagle lectern! They also had charcters in their robes/costumes standing at the front so it felt like the real deal.
The tour then became self guided and I won't go through everything individually but I will tell you what I saw in the two rooms J and K (can't remember which is which specifically becuase they was SO MUCH to see)
-The burrow, which was originally built 44 foot high and has no right angles in
-The boys dormitory, which only has 4 beds in and I was completely under the impression there should be 5
-The Gryffidor common room, which seems smaller than in the films
-Aragog, whose legs are 15 foot long
-Buckbeak, whose head actually moved and looked exactly like he does in the pumpkin patch!
-The basilisk's and the Hungarian Horntail's head.
-The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, this was my second favourite part. I adore the Chamber of secrets and the entrance was MASSIVE.
-The door to a vault at Gringotts.
-Harry's first golden snitch, the time turner and the remembrall
-The triwizard cup
-The Goblet of Fire, which is 5 foot tall and was carved out of an English Elm
-So, so many costumes you would not believe.
-Diagon Alley!!! Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was insane. Exactly like the films. Also Ollivanders and Gringotts which was incredible.
-The howler, the letters that Harry recieved and the letter from Lily Potter to Sirius Black. I loved reading this letter, it really choked me up and I suddenly felt so grateful for being at the studios.
-An immense amount of the drawings that were made before anything was created. That really showed you just how much effort went into every little piece of the films.
-A cardboard display of Howarts, the womping willow, the Beauxbatons carriage.
OUTSIDE
-The bridge that Neville runs across in the last film
-The ford anglia
-The motorbike that Hagrid brings Harry on when he's a baby (sob sob)
-Number 3 and 4 Privet Drive!! Rupert Grint actually stole the original number 4 sign so that had to replace it..
And then not 4 steps away..
-The house at Godric's Hollow
So we'd gone through the majority of the tour and honestly? I thought we were about to come out at the shop when we stepped inot a room that was filled with a replica of Hogwarts. It is huge. And it took my breath away. It was so spectacular and the art design team had even placed little lights in there so it seemed as if students were walking the corridors. I turned to the girls and said 'Thank you so much for bringing me here' and had a little tear. But Jen told me to keep it together so I did.
You then end in a room full of wand boxes with every single person who helped in the making of Harry Potter's name on. In the middle is a screen with a perfect quote from JK Rowling ending with 'Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.'
And like that, the tour was over and we were back in the shop. We bought some souveniors. We got back to Paddington, we went to a lovely little restaurant, grabbed some goodies and got on the train home.
And we just could not stay sane.
In that train journey I don't think I have ever laughed so much. I don't even know what we were laughing at! At one point Jen told Lucy that if she didn't shut up she would "throw her to the wolves" and the woman opposite gave us a REALLY dirty look so the rest of the train journey was just spent saying that..
However at Reading the carrage did completely empty..but that was obviously nothing to do with us..
It was the most perfect day. Thank you to Jenny, Lucy and Tian for paying for my ticket and thank you for Jenny and Lucy for coming with me and sharing the magical, exceptional experience.
Nox.
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