Needing to buy a football related Christmas gift for my dad in the Piccadilly Circus area of London, Janine and I went into the heart of London in the evening.
For dinner, we indulged in something a bit more American, and went to the newly established Shake Shack in Covent Garden. Surprisingly enough, this was the first Shake Shack experience for both of us and it was FANTASTIC. Thankfully, I know that one has just opened up near my own home sweet home.) In any event, we turned in early, knowing that we would have an exciting day ahead at the Harry Potter Studio Tour!
The next day, we made our way to Watford Junction station, where we were picked up by the magical bus that took us to Leavesden Studios, the filming location for the Harry Potter series, which is now open to the public. I had taken the tour the previous year with Alex, but I knew that Hogwarts would be decorated for the holidays, so I was looking forward to a return visit and a completely different experience.
Having been there before didn’t lessen any of the magic and I was just as giddy when the doors to the Great Hall were opened, and I was immersed in my favorite fictional universe of all times.
I couldn’t believe all of the Christmas decorations and costumes that were hung and housed in the Great Hall. The attention to detail of the set was incredible, and the animated snow falling outside the window behind the Hogwarts faculty table made it seem all the more real. After our time in the Great Hall, we began the self-guided section of the tour, where countless props, sets and creatures could be seen. If anything had ever been decorated for Christmas in the movies, it was now decorated on the tour, including the Gryffindor Common Room and the Weasley’s kitchen.
Janine and I had a great time reliving our favorite moments from the films and taking our pictures with some of the incredible set items, like the Knight Bus and the front porch of Number 4 Privet Drive. We took a break halfway through the tour for some Butterbeer before entering the second sound studio which houses the set of Diagon Alley!
We peeked in all the shop windows and imagined that we were buying our Hogwarts school supplies before we were led into the room with the large scale model of Hogwarts. It was covered with snow for the holiday season, and the ever-changing light colors gave the room an even more magical atmosphere. It was the perfect way to end the tour, although Janine and I still spent our fair share of time in the studio shop!
Eventually, it was time to leave the studio behind (until next time) and heading back to Janine’s for dinner. After a trip to Wagamama and a night of movies and packing, I turned in to have my last night of sleep in London. It was finally time to head home!
