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4 Privet Drive Launch Event at Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studios Tour London

amomentwithfranca · 2 June 2016 · 66 Comments

I’m incredibly excited to tell you about the great opportunity that Nick and I received to be invited to the Warner Bros Studio Tour in London near Watford. In celebration of the upcoming 15th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour has now opened the set of number four, Privet Drive for a brief period, from May 27 to June 6.

Privet Drive collage 2

Nick and I were excited to go to this event because we have talked about visiting the studios for a long time, so it was a dream to be able to attend. The doors to the Dursley’s home (Where Harry Potter first lives with his Uncle and Aunt), at the Warner Bros Studio Tour London, were opened for the first time in May and it will officially be open to the public for this week only. How exciting is that? We were able to see the house where all this amazing adventure started.

We made a sneak peak video showing highlights if our visit which you can see below:

  1. Arrival at the Lobby

Privet Drive collage 1

When we arrived we were greeted by the organisers and given some drinks. I was so excited to go around and browse everything. They had a display near the entrance of the Cupboard Under the Stairs in the Dursley’s home where Harry Potter used to sleep. It was very cool!

2. The Great Hall

Privet Drive collage 3

We were all asked to gather in a cinema room to watch a short movie which gave us an introduction and welcome to the tour. After the movie finished we were immediately transported to the doors of the Great Hall, where so many famous scenes were shot. It was magical to see the Hall as the doors opened! It is massive and we were able to see the dinner tables all set up. There were also mannequins displaying the uniforms of various characters. I loved this Hall!

3. The Big Room

Privet Drive collage 4

Privet Drive collage 5

We then moved next door where all the props where on display. This room was huge with lots of little areas showing parts of the various movies, such as the The Yule Ball, The Chocolate Feast, Ron Weasley’s house, The Burrow, the treasures stored in Dumbledore’s office, the Dormitory, the living room, The Science Room, magic props, Hair and Make Up,  Hogwart’s Castle Clock Tower, etc.

We also saw for the first time in the Studio Tour the Dursleys’ costumes which proved to be a rich source of inspiration for Costume Designer Judianna Makovsky. She remembers them being the most fun to dress, creating clothes that appeared out of date and pretentious for Mr and Mrs Dursley, as well as hideous jumpers for young Dudley.

They were also showcasing the equipment that was used to shoot Harry’s Hogwarts letters through the letterbox of number four, Privet Drive. The machine, which was specially created for the film by academy aware winning Special Effects Supervisor John Richardson. You can see this part in my video.

We went to the green screen room where you can have a video taken on a broomstick ride. This was really fun. We had to wear a Gryffindor robes and then fly all the way through London. You can see my video of this below:

3. Platform 9 3/4

Privet Drive collage 6

We then went on to Platform 9¾ to see the Hogwarts Express. It is possible to walk through the train and see all the carriages that were set up like they were shown in the movies. They also had the famous trolley with Harry’s luggage and of course I had to have  my picture taken!

4. Dursley’s Home: 4 Privet Drive

Privet Drive collage 7

We then walked through to a large cafe area which I think is their main cafe but they had it all set up for the event as it is fronted onto the backlot (where the 4 Privet Drive house is located). There were delicious canapes and drinks for us to enjoy. They were also offering Butterbeer and also Butterbeer Ice cream. I was not a fan of the butterbeer (its a non-alcoholic soft drink with cream that is very sweet) but I loved the Butterbeer Ice Cream. It was delicious! We were able to see the huge knight bus, The Dursley’s family home and the Hogwarts Bridge through the glass windows. We were very excited to be able to see it all in person. 

We were then introduced to Fiona Shaw, who played Aunt Petunia in the film franchise, who returned to the set and welcomed all of us to her house. It was a magical moment!

Privet Drive collage 8

Harry Potter fans will remember number 4, Privet Drive as the Muggle home where Harry spent most of his childhood with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley. During production, set decorators were tasked with filling the house with quirky pieces of furniture and had lots of fun sourcing the ugliest sofas, worst tiles and most unattractive curtains possible which is on display in the dressed set.

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We had the opportunity to walk through the front door and look into the Dursleys’ front room where hundreds of Harry’s Hogwarts letters (created by MinaLima, the graphic designers for all eight Harry Potter film) were suspended in the air as though they’d just flown through the fireplace as they did in the iconic scene from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

The letter that started Harry’s adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and featured so prominently in the film that an astonishing 10,000 of these envelopes were created for the first Harry Potter film and were even printed on extra lightweight paper so the owls could carry them. This was just AMAZING!

5. Special Effects Room and Diagon Alley

Privet Drive collage 9

After moving on from the magical backlot area we went to the special effects room. This room is fantastic. You really can see how they did all these effects. You don’t realise how much is put into filming a movie like this until you see the work that goes on behind the cameras. There was also some very scary things. We saw a huge spider (Aragog from the Chamber of Secrets) and of course I had a picture with it!

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We then went to Diagon Alley. This place was amazing. It looks so real. There were lots of shops but they were closed although the windows looked fantastic!

6. Art Department & Model Room

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This was the last part of the tour. The model was massive and really impressive. It was just amazing to be able to see it in front of you.

We were so lucky to be invited to this preview event. It was one of the highlights of my blogging year for sure. We were so excited to be one of the first people to get a look inside Number 4 Privet Drive before it opened to the public.

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We loved the studios. It is a must for all Harry Potter fans, but even if you are not a fan (who wouldn’t be really? …not many people lol) it is still an amazing experience for everybody.

To purchase tickets please visit the Studio Tour website. The ticket prices are adults £35, children £27 and Family (2+2) £107. Tickets for a specific date and time slot must be pre-booked by calling the Studio Tour’s Visitor Services Team on 0345 084 0900. Please note that you can’t buy them on the door.

Nick and I would like to say a massive thank you to the Warner Bros. Studios for this amazing experience. We will certainly remember it for a long time. Now Nick and I would love to go back with our girls and show them everything! That would be a lovely experience! 🙂

Have you been to the Warner Bros Studio Tour before? Do you plan to go? What do you think of the Dursley’s Home and the Hogwarts acceptance letters? Please leave me a comment as I would love to know what you think. 

*Disclaimer: we were invited to this event but all the opinions are my own.

Thanks for stopping by,

Love you all ❤️

Franca  💋

Linking up with:

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Filed Under: Events, London, Nick, Travel Tagged With: Fiona Shaw, Four, Harry Potter, Petunia Dursley, Privet Drive, The Dursley's Home, Warner Bros. Studions

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tammymum says

    7 June 2016 at

    Oh I am so jealous I would love to go to privet drive! Glad you both had a good time lovey xx #KCACOLS xx

    Reply
  2. Becca says

    7 June 2016 at

    My husband would absolutely love this! To be honest I think I would too, but he loves HP! It is his thirtieth next year and I think we will go then 🙂 #KCACOLS

    Reply
  3. mainy - myrealfairy says

    8 June 2016 at

    Oh I really want to go there. I’m going to have another look at the site as I’m visiting the kids peruvian cousins in london this weekend! Quite expensive for a family ticket but sometimes you just have to grin and hand over the cash to get to see some of these events. Thanks for such an indepth post on it and thanks as usual for hosting your linky.

    mainy x

    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  4. Someone's Mum says

    8 June 2016 at

    I LOVE HArry Potter and this look absolutely amazing. I am so sad that it is so far from me and so getting there is just a little too much at the moment. Looking at your pics and videos, I can’t wait ! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  5. Jaylan - Diapers at Dawn says

    9 June 2016 at

    Looks like a fab day! It always amazes me the amount of effort and work that goes in to creating things that you may only see for a second on screen, looks like so much fun and love the pics x #KCACOLS

    Reply
  6. tracey bowden says

    9 June 2016 at

    Not a huge Harry Potter fan watched the films but not read the books but I am so jealous you got to see this it looks amazing especially the letters wow! x

    Reply
  7. Bridie By The Sea says

    9 June 2016 at

    This is amazing, I’m so very jealous!! Especially of the broom ride 🙂 My parents don’t live too far from here but saving our trip for when my little girl is a bit older… Thank you for hosting #KCACOLS xxx

    Reply
  8. Pen says

    9 June 2016 at

    I absolutely love the broom ride. that’s awesome. I think Cygnet is probably too young to go to a Harry Potter event so I might just have to go on my own. Pen x

    Reply
  9. Bread says

    10 June 2016 at

    I do think this was an incredibly well designed set of films if nothing else. Looks like you had a blast. #kcacols

    Reply
  10. Silly Mummy says

    10 June 2016 at

    I’m so jealous! It looks amazing! I really want to go (I especially want to do the Hogwarts at winter they do around Christmas), but think it makes more sense to wait until the kids are old enough to appreciate it. I also really want butterbeer – creamy & sweet is exactly my thing! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  11. Maria says

    10 June 2016 at

    It’s an amazing place isn’t it? I can’t wait to go back again

    Reply
  12. New Mummy blog says

    11 June 2016 at

    It looks and sounds like a great trip and so exciting. We’ve been in the WB tour in LA and saw some bits and pieces from Harry Potter in their exhibit there. There was an incredibly realistic Hermiony. Thanks for hosting, I did read last week but didn’t get to comment so popping back #kcacols x

    Reply
  13. Petite Pudding says

    11 June 2016 at

    AHHHH I am so jealous – we have been to the studio tour but I was two weeks post C-section with Pie and to be honest it was all a bit stressful! You are so lucky to go to such and event, and the pictures are fab. Looks like you had an amazing day. I think I will have to book to go again and take Pie now as he is such a big fan. Thanks for hosting #kcacols

    Reply
  14. Nicola says

    15 August 2016 at

    Even though I’m not a Harry Potter fan this looks awesome! such a good day out glad you had fun! #kcacols

    Reply
  15. naomi says

    26 January 2017 at

    oh gosh this looks so fun! i’m not even a huge fan of harry potter but i love it, it’s like a theme park! 🙂 how much is it? #KCACOLS

    Reply
  16. Consolata says

    10 March 2021 at

    Harry Potter s Warner Bros Studio Tour launches BIGGEST expansion ever with Gringotts Wizarding Bank

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Franca, a lawyer mum of 2 gorgeous girls married to my best friend, living in London. Award nominated parenting & lifestyle blogger. Read More…

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