Harry Potter7 Jun 2012
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| We had breakfast in the room, the fire alarm went off at midnight last night and everybody came out of their rooms, but it was a false alarm. Paul said they were all most apologetic about it. I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards for ages. We got the tube to Kings Cross Station as we wanted to find Platform nine and three quarters. We found it easily - there was a line of people taking photos there. Reuben posed with the trolley hanging out of the wall and we took some too. We walked over the street to have a look at St Pancras station. They have huge Olympic rings in the ceiling and we saw the Eurostar. There are also some huge statues in this station. We walked down Euston Road and got to Euston station. We bought some drinks in the M&S there and then got the London Overground to Watford Junction. The train took ages - about 50 minutes but we could use our Oyster cards on it. A lady with 2 little boys got on half way and Reuben chatted to all of them. At the station, we asked where to catch the bus and they told us Bay 1 at the bus stop outside. There were lots of people waiting. A double decker with Harry Potter painted all over it came and the bus was full. We paid £2 return and got to sit on the top deck at the front. It took about 20 minutes to get to the studios. Paul got our tickets - we had an entry slot between 1 and 1.30, so we had time to get a snack from the cafe. It was very nice, very busy but the food was good - we had sandwiches. At 1pm we joined the queue to get in. We had to stand in line for about half an hour, but we saw the cupboard under the stairs where Harry lived while we were queuing and they show you video clips too. We went into another holding area where they show you more video clips all about how the making of the movies happened and how they discovered the book. Then we went into a big cinema and there was an introduction to the studios by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grimes. The screen lifted up and there was the door to Hogwarts - this was really well done. We went inside the doors and found ourselves in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, set out for a feast. It was wonderful. You could wander and have a look at everything, but they did rush you through. After that though, it was self guided and you could look at things at your leisure. The first studio area was huge and had lots of things to look at - the Gryffndor common room, the boy's dormitory, Hagrid's hut, Dumbledore's office, the potion room and so much more. We looked at everything - the detail is amazing, and there were video clips everywhere to look at. In the Quidditch area they had a green screen experience. We had to stand in line for an hour - if I had known what you got, I wouldn't have bothered. They had a video clip where you sat on green blocks, using the green screen it looked like you were flying in the car. Reuben drove. You see it on the screen while you are on it - they give you a ticket, but it is for a photo and not the video. They do the same thing with you sitting on a broomstick. I thought they should have let you buy the video. The photos were OK - we bought 2 - 1 was £12 and 2 were £15 but they were not even that good. They had an outdoor area, where you could get on the triple decker bus, sit in the car and have a look at the houses used in the film. It was pouring with rain, so we didn't stay outside too long. The next area was all about the creatures they made for the films - Reuben liked that. Then they had Diagon Alley - this was fabulous and the things in the shop windows were amazing. The only problem was you couldn't get a good photo as there were always so many people. Next they had the huge scale model of Hogwarts they used in the film. It was spectacular. We came out in Olivander's wand shop - in this area, they had a wand with the name of everyone who had ever worked on the Harry Potter films and a man who knew where every wand was - superb. After this you came out in the gift shop. It was packed - they had lots of interesting stuff, most of which was expensive but all quite good quality. Reuben bought a magic wand in a box - Harry Potter's wand, he wanted an evil one at first, but changed his mind. We had a coffee, then caught the bus back to the station. We had spent 5 hours there. We got the train back to Piccadilly Circus, got out and went to Planet Hollywood for dinner. It was a bit disappointing. I remembered it as being a great place, it was just like a burger restaurant now with one or two things from film, and none of them very interesting. We did have a nice meal though - I had chicken and salad, then we headed back to the hotel. We watched a bit of telly before bed. |
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