seekingmygreaterperhaps

On my last day in Europe, I chose the best possible option, and went to the Harry Potter Studios outside of London.

Yes, every nerd is celebrating right now- I saw all the original costumes, props, and sets of the Harry Potter movies. And let me just say- it was magical. Pun very much intended.

Since I do think pictures pretty much speak for themselves on this one, prepare yourselves for a mega picture upload.

The first stop was the Great Hall. The tables were even set for meals- how perfect.

Oh yes, did I rent the audio guide? Of course I did. Because this museum was actually worth the audio guide haha.

Umbridge’s office? Yes. Also, all the cat plates were made from pictures that were taken by the prop team. Meaning that they got to dress up kittens in adorable costumes, and then take pictures of them, to make plates. (Audio guides are neat.)

ALL ABOARD!!! The Hogwarts Express.

I even got to sit in front of a green screen- just like Harry, Ron, and Hermoine.

After all that hard work- I needed a refreshing Butterbeer to cool me down. This tasted like a beautiful blend of butterscotch, cream soda, and clouds.

Let’s take a ride on the Knight Bus.

The kooky Hogwarts Castle bridge. Of course, I crossed it, and almost tripped over a small child, but that’s relative.

The Potter House.

Thank goodness I accidentally followed around a group of students (like college students, not gradeschool kids- I’m not a creep) who offered to take my picture in front of… everything.

Hagrid’s bike.

Moody’s Eye. The more technical aspect of the studio was the creature’s lab. You got to see and learn about how all of the creatures in HP were made, and then see the animatronics behind them. Even Hagrid was partly machine. Robots will soon take over, I know it.

(kidding.)

DIAGON ALLEY. Everything is set up just like you are in the Wizarding World and it’s really quite awesome. All the storefronts have everything displayed like they do if they were open. (This is called peaking- when the line graph of your trip reaches the height.)

The grand finale was the Hogwarts Castle. Every single detail is perfect. This is what they used to film, and all the shots of the exterior of the castle are of this gigantic model. The soundtrack plays in this room and the lights change, it is truly sentimental and glorious.

Thus ended my fantastic journey into the making of Harry Potter, and the end of my fantastic Eurotrip.

I couldn’t have ended it any better than by reuniting with my dearest friend Evan from high school (who will eventually become a famous filmmaker and is studying in England- congrats on almost being graduated.) We ate Indian food and then took a nice little adventure in the woods to find my way back to my aunt’s house.

To all my followers- thank you for tuning in on this journey. Keep a look out for a stats post and a wrap-up. I am glad to be home. 🙂