Harry Potter Studios (London) - by Allie Yusim, 13 years, Young Blogger Contest September 2014

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The magical world of Harry Potter is filled with wizards, witches, giant spiders, dragons, and so many other fascinating creatures.  But how were all of these things created?  How was Harry really able to fly on a broomstick, and how did the portraits really move?  During my visit to the Harry Potter studios in London, I learned all of these things and more!

When we arrived to the studios, I rushed into the building.  I had read the books in third grade (and loved them) and have  enjoyed seeing all the movies!  So, you can probably imagine how much I was looking forward to my visit.

We bought the muti-media tour narrated by Tom Felton,the actor who played Draco Malfoy in the movies.  This included interesting behind the scenes videos about different things such as costume design, special effects, and other topics.

The first thing you see once you enter the studio is the Great Hall of Hogwarts.  This, along with many other sets on display, is the actual set that was used in the movies!  After you exit the Hall, you see a huge variety of actual costumes, sets, and props also used while filming!  I was amazed with the details of the Weasly’s living room—including the self-washing dishes and self-knitting scarf actually working—and stared in awe as I stood in Dumbledore’s office.

After walking through the dozens of displays, we moved on too the outside displays.  There you had the chance to drink “butterbeer,” a delicacy in the wizarding world, and then on to the “design shop.”  There I learned all about how some of the fascinating creatures in the movie were made.  And not all of then were made on computers!

There was one more set to walk through, and it was by far my favorite one.  As I walked, the walls transformed into buildings and the floor turned to cobblestone streets.  I had stepped into the enormous set of Diagon Alley, where wizards go to buy all of the things they could ever need for their new school year at Hogwarts.  There were many different shops on both sides of the streets selling a variety of different things—wands, broomsticks, textbooks, owls.  Even Fred and George Weasly’s joke shop was included!

The final stop is where all the concept sketches and models were on display.  Who knew how many artists were needed to make all of these movies possible?

The display at the very end of the tour was the definitely the best part.  I don’t want to give it away, and I don’t think you’ll ever guess what the surprise is.  When I saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes!

There was so much more in the tour that taught everyone about special effects, green screens, practical effects, and so much more about movie making, but my blog is already so long…  I guess you’ll just have to visit to find out more.

I spent a good five and a half hours at the Harry Potter studios, looking at sets, props, costumes, and learning about movie making, and I loved every single second of it.