The Yak Shack Forum

I was lucky enough to go on the making of Harry Potter studio tour on Saturday and what can I say but WOW. It was one of the best 3 and a half hours of my life. To get up close to some of the sets, see all the props & costumes and see how everything was done was fantastic. Everything was better then I could have hoped it would be.

The staff there were really friendly and helpful, a lot of them were fans themselves so were happy to talk about all things Harry. You could take as many photos as you wanted of whatever you wanted. It really felt you were being welcomed into the Harry Potter family. The first half hour was the tour element and then you could wonder wherever you wanted and take as much time as you wanted with the rest. Without giving too much away the highlights for me were the Great Hall, Diagon Alley and castle model. I went with my 20 year old niece and we kept going back to the model as it was breathtaking.

I took a liking to the butterbeer they had on sale although it was a bit sweet. The tour is over 2 sound studios (by coincidence they are studios J and K) and the outdoor back lot which housed larger things like the Knight Bus, Chess pieces and number 4 Privet Drive – another wow moment.

I learnt so much about the films I will never look at them in the same light again. I am in awe of the work, love and craftsmanship that was poured into them. For example all of the paintings were hand painted by portrait artists and each wand box in Ollivanders had a hand written label, even if it was not seen.

If anyone was thinking of going I would urge them to do so and if you do go remember to keep looking up so you don’t miss a thing.

I'm going on Thursday with Sharon  ;D  Were there any card related products in the gift shop?

Boggy, can you get some close up photos of the deatheater masks?  PLEASE???  :o=  I envy all of you people who get to see this stuff!!  Photos, Angels!  Photos!

The gift shop is mainly clothing, T sh*ts, scarves, hats etc. Some nice things but quite expensive. The only card item is a chocolate frog box with a 5 sided card. I think there are 4 to collect and they show the 4 founding house heads. Have a fantastic time on Thursday.

Well, a brilliant time was had by me and Sharon once we got over the hurdle of the District Line. The journey took 2 hours longer than it should  >:(  From the moment we got on the studio bus to the time we left, it was...Magic  ;D I would recommend it to those with just a passing interest right up to those with pilot husbands  :rofl:
We took a few pictures between us (700+) and whittled it down to a preliminary 383  ;D ;D . They will be on Facebook, but if there is any subject you would like to see here, I think we got it covered  ::)

(http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p253/BOGLEG/Harry%20Potter%20London%20Tour/DSC_0477.jpg)

I'm so envious!! Is this going to be a permanent exhibit, or is it for a limited time? I really want to get over there so I can see this!!

I've heard rumours that at some point, it will be dismantled to make way for a James Bond exhibition. I thought that visiting on a Thursday, it would be quite empty. HA! No sign of Potter interest waining yet. Bookings for Friday and the weekend are well into next year. If there's any more news, I'll post here.

Here's the link to the first lot of photos.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3716228258783.155403.1068024328&type=3&l=0867b05ee3

Ooh really? Mr & Mrs Mak The Yak better get their visit booked in then! Though looking through your detailed pictures Graham it feels like I've already been ;)

And here's the link to the last two sets of pics.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3716663349660.155411.1068024328&type=3&l=3edb587ff7

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3717562412136.155431.1068024328&type=3&l=99e9a19e3e

These pictures don't give half of the scale of what's there. Well worth it. Take food and drink - it's expensive, as is the gift shop, although saying that, there are nic-naks within the price of half a kidney  :rofl:

What an outstanding value this is, compared to World of Harry Potter in Orlando ...

Great pics, Graham!  Who's the cute little girl in your profile photo?

Glad you liked the photos. The great thing about digital is that you're not forever looking at the counter worrying about the film running out. No developing costs either  ;D

The young lady with me is my friend's daughter, Leia. This was a year ago. She's coming up to 7 and still thinks I'm lovely. Nothing better than a childs love.