Harry Potter Studio Tour London Review: What to Expect with Tips for Visiting
If there’s two things that every Harry Potter fan needs to see in their life, it’s the Wizarding World in Orlando and the Warner Brothers Studio Tour outside of London.
Unlike the counterpart location in Hollywood, California, the London Warner Bros Studio focuses solely on Harry Potter. This is because all of the Harry Potter films were actually filmed here in these studios in the UK!
Now, you can visit the Harry Potter studio tour to get a behind the scenes look at EVERYTHING. I’m talking props, costumes, sets, hair and makeup, technology, innovation, interactive photo ops, and so much more! In this Harry Potter studio tour London review, I’ll share everything you can experience as well as tips for visiting and making the most of your time there.
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🛏️ Where to stay: Hunton Park Hotel ($80+ per night) — cozy spot and a Harry Potter filming location!
🚌 Top tour from London with transit
🏃♀️➡️ Tour if you’re short on time: Warner Bros Studio Tour and Oxford day trip combo
⚡ Tour if you’re long on time: Fully Harry Potter themed tour of England
💃 Best package: Studio tour ticket + 4⭐ hotel stay
Where is the Harry Potter Studio Tour?
Spoiler, it’s not actually in London. It’s in Leavesden/Watford in the UK, about an hour north of central London.
How to get to Warner Brothers Studio Tour
Car
Driving is the easiest way, but certainly not the only way. There is free parking at the studio, but you need to already have a ticket for the studio tour to gain access.
Public Transit
Alternatively, you can take the train from London Euston station to Watford Junction station via West Midlands Railway. This train takes about 20 minutes. From Watford Junction, you can catch the Studio Tour’s free shuttle bus that runs every 30 minutes starting at 8:15 am for 9 am tour times.
The shuttle bus from Watford Junction is included in your tour admission, but the train is not. The train costs £12.80 each way.
Private Transportation
The final option is to take a guided tour from London that includes transportation. This can be a great option if you don’t want to think about the details and want a more private experience. However, your timing may be restricted based on the guided tour options.
Overwhelmed? Consider joining my wizard-themed group trip to England in May 2027! We have private transport and a full day to spend at the Studio Tour.
Review of the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour
Layout of the Studio Tour
The tour is split into three main sections although it all flows together seamlessly. First is the section on sets, props, and costumes. Second is the outdoor section with a small food hall and walkthrough sets like 4 Privet Drive, the bridge to Hogwarts, and the Greenhouse. The last section is on art design including the design of creatures, sets, and locations!
Here’s the flow: The Great Hall to Interior Sets like the Potions Classroom, followed by the Green Screen Experience, Dark Arts, Forbidden Forest, Platform 9 ¾, another Green Screen Experience, the Backlot Cafe and Backlot (outdoor walkthrough sets), Creature Effects, Gringotts and the Vaults, Diagon Alley, the Art Department, Hogwarts Model Room, and the shop!
Themed Overlays
One thing to note about the Harry Potter Studio Tour is that they always have a themed overlay that rotates a few times per year. For example, when I visited it was a Prisoner of Azkaban overlay to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film!
They often do a Dark Arts related theme in the fall and a holiday overlay in the winter. I’ve also seen joke-related overlays around April to celebrate the Weasley twins for April Fools.
The overlay usually only takes up the first two sections of the tour, though as the last section is more permanent.
My Experience
I’ll walk you through room by room sharing my experience, any relevant tips or things to know, and the must sees.
The Great Hall
To start the studio tour, you’ll begin by entering an introduction room as a group with other visitors. The queue for this introductory room is already full of props, behind-the-scenes insight, and posters to get you excited for what’s to come.
And I’ll tell you, I was already so impressed with all the shiny things!
Inside the intro room, you’ll hear fans and members of the films’ cast and crew share what Harry Potter means to them. It’s incredibly moving and I’m sure you’ve felt some of those same things. I know I have and still do. I dare you not to cry.
They do some magic so you’re in front of the Great Hall doors. If it’s your birthday, they’ll let you open the doors!
Then you’re in the Great Hall where they share some information on this room and the tour. Then they give you 5 minutes (ish) to look at everything here and continue your self-guided tour.
This room already is incredible. I was blown away at the size of it and even though it’s smaller than you think it will be, it’s still beautiful. There are costumes, fireplaces, tables, and lanterns to admire.
Don’t miss a photo opp with the Great Hall doors once the people start clearing out!
One comment here on my experience in the Great Hall. I totally understand that this introductory room and the Great Hall acts as a way to control the flow of people on the studio tour. This way they can let in a group of people at a time.
However, I hated feeling rushed. As soon as they clear out the Great Hall, they can let in the next group, so you’re really only allowed to be in there until it’s time to let them in.
I could have spent at least another 15 minutes in there reading about the costumes and admiring all the details in the set!
Interior Sets and Dark Arts
From here, you begin the first main section of the studio tour focused on the sets, costumes, and props.
It’s a bit challenging to share what you’ll experience because when the overlay changes, the experience changes.
For example, since I was visiting during the Prisoner of Azkaban overlay, they had set up the Gryffindor Common Room set (yes, the actual set!) to show the scene when the boys take the Elephant on a Bicycle sweet that transforms their voices into animal sounds!
Because of the overlay, we also saw sets here for the Leaky Cauldron with the fun Harry vs. Monster Book of Monsters scene, a forced perspective hallway in the Leaky Cauldron, costumes for Sirius Black’s Azkaban clothes, and the giant clocktower pendulum seen in the film. They also had a recreated Divination Classroom and two behind the scenes looks at how they used practical effects to make the Knight Bus and Boggart cabinet move.
No matter what your overlay is though, you will get to read SO MUCH behind-the-scenes from designers and filmmakers. You’ll see sets that were used through the whole film like the Burrow’s dining room, the Potions classroom, and Hagrid’s Hut.
Plus, hair and makeup samples like Lucius Malfoy’s wig, magical technology like the Gringotts unlocking doors and carts, and costumes and props like those from the Yule Ball including Hermione’s film-accurate purple dress, and the (definitely not real) ice sculpture.
This is only the first main room!
There’s a little section before you proceed that’s all about the Dark Arts, which includes the related sets, props, and costumes. For example, they have a full scale wall of the Ministry of Magic, the GIANT sculpture that “puts muggles in their rightful place” according to Hermione, and Delores Umbridge’s awful pink outfits.
I liked this section a lot, but am super curious how the studio tour changes in the fall embracing the Dark Arts for the whole tour overlay.
Forbidden Forest
From here, you enter the Forbidden Forest. It’s appropriately spooky and interesting. The most fascinating bit of behind-the-scenes to me here was just how they made all of the trees because it took layers of layers of materials to get them to look authentic. You’ll also spot Buckbeak and Aragog here!
Ask a team member for assistance navigating around this area if you have arachnophobia.
Platform 9 ¾
Next up is Platform 9 ¾, which is a full scale set of the platform including the train itself. Unlike the Platform 9 ¾ photo opp at King’s Cross Station in London, there are multiple photo opps to make it look like you’re running through the wall to the platform.
What’s even better is that you can board the train to see an incredibly well done display of the train compartments year by year. They’re in chronological order so you start by seeing the compartment as it was for Sorcerer’s Stone, then Chamber of Secrets, and so on. It’s amazing to see them all side by side.
There’s also a small shop here and green screen experience, which allows you to change the background of a photo for a more immersive look.
That completes section one of the tour!
Backlot Cafe and the Backlot
While I didn’t fully eat at the Backlot Cafe, I did grab butterbeer ice cream. It’s a favorite snack at Universal Orlando, so any opportunity to have more is always welcome. And yes, it was just as delicious!
In the Backlot, I loved the model Burrow and the 4 Privet Drive set that you could walk through. They had Aunt Marge blown up and floating away from the table, which was so cool to see IRL. I also enjoyed the Greenhouse to see the mandrakes and costumes from Chamber of Secrets.
Plus, the Hogwarts bridge was the perfect place for a photo opp!
Out here, you’ll also see the Knight Bus, Mr. Weasley’s Ford Anglia, which you can sit in, and the Hogwarts courtyard fountain. Given that I was there for Prisoner of Azkaban, the fountain may have been unique to my experience with this overlay.
This is the only outdoor section, so if the weather is bad, you can avoid it for the most part, even here by entering the walk-in sets.
This also marks the halfway point of the tour, so if you’re hungry or need a break, this is the best spot with ample seating, restrooms, and space to spread out a bit.
Creature Effects
Okay, I loved this section so much! It’s the start of the third and final portion of the tour and it focuses on creature effects aka all the nitty gritty of design, technology, and vision behind the creatures.
There are wonderful video explanations with behind-the-scenes led by Warwick Davis, who played multiple characters throughout the films!
You’ll see models for alternative designs for Voldemort, Fenrir Greyback, and the Black Lake’s mermaids. I loved seeing the fake Hagrid head that moved and spoke, which actors would wear on top of themselves to appear more giant-like. It was also fun to see models of dragons, Bathlida Bagshot’s creepy self, all the goblins, the Basilisk, and more!
Gringotts and The Vaults
If you’ve never been to the Wizarding World in Orlando, this next part will likely blow your mind. They have a full scale set of Gringotts with all the goblin bank teller podiums, tile floors, and chandeliers. It’s so beautiful and the magnitude will make your jaw drop!
I will say if you’ve been on the Gringotts ride at Universal, this section is not as mind blowing, only because you’ve seen an exact replica before. Not to say I felt underwhelmed, just that it wasn’t new for me. I breezed through this room a bit.
Luckily, the Gringotts room leads to The Vaults, which features a behind-the-scenes look at one of my favorite moments in the movies – when the trio steal Helga Hufflepuff’s cup from Bellatrix’s vault and the treasure inside multiplies. You’ll learn exactly how they pulled this off with both practical and special effects by looking at the set and listening to video interviews.
You can even pause for a photo opp with the sword of Gryffindor here!
It’s impossible to ignore the next section because there’s a super fun (and loud) display of the dragon breaking out of Gringotts, which you can hear from the Vaults room. You’ll step into a completely broken and smashed Gringotts and a dragon will appear.
Diagon Alley
You’ll exit (safe and sound) and pop out in Diagon Alley! Again, if you’ve been to the one in Orlando, I dare say that that one is better. Not only can you walk in the shops in Orlando, but it’s even taller and all encompassing. However, that’s not to disregard the Studio Tour Diagon Alley. It’s absolutely beautiful and I’ll never tire of seeing Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes even from the outside!
I’ve heard that in the Dark Arts overlay, Death Eaters will roam Diagon Alley much like Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando!
Art Department and Model Room
The final rooms are the Art Department and the Hogwarts Model Room. The art department has small scale replicas of the buildings and locations in the films.
The big kahuna is the Hogwarts Model Room, though. This thing is absolutely insane!
It’s an intricate model of the school with courtyards, towers, turrets, bridges, and so much more. Not only that, but the interior has fiber optic lights that simulate students passing through and a nighttime glow. The exterior has real gravel, rocks, and plants to complete the landscape.
My favorite part of this room were the interactive screens. You could select a portion of the castle and it would show you how the film used the model version in that specific scene. For example, the owlry in the Goblet of Fire when Harry attempts to ask Cho to the Yule Ball.
It’s hard to understand the scale of it in writing, but I promise this is the big finish you’d expect and you’ll love from this experience.
Overall, the Warner Brothers Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter was an absolute dream. As far as what to expect, it’s more informative than strictly entertaining. Yes, there are photo ops and interactive parts, but it’s meant to provide an inside look at how these films were brought to life, not be an immersive world that you can interact with. That’s left for the theme parks! With this tour, you’ll learn a lot, you’ll be blown away, and you’ll be left with a newfound wonder at the magic behind these movies.
More FAQs
When to book tickets
Short answer, you should book as soon as you know the date you’re visiting!
The long answer is that these tickets sell out months in advance. To give you an idea, I bought our tickets in November for our visit in June.
While you certainly can find last minute tickets, especially on a guided tour from London, the best times of day sell out fast.
For now, all months for 2025 are open.
What time to visit
There are two ideal times to visit – the first time slot of the day or the last.
The first slot is at 9 am most days and the last is at 6:30 pm.
This is because the crowd levels get pretty high, especially in the middle of the day. If you think that you’re going to take longer than the average 3.5 hours, I’d opt for the morning so you have all day to enjoy the tour.
What are the hours of the WB Studio Tour in Leavesden?
The first tour is at 9 am, however the studio tour opens at 8:30 am, so you can grab breakfast from the lobby. It closes at 10 pm, so even if you have the 6:30 pm tour, you’ll have 3.5 hours to explore everything.
If you are taking the bus to and from the Studio Tour, note that the first bus is typically at 8:15 am and the last is at 10 pm. So, even though the tour closes at 10 pm, if you need to catch the bus, you’ll want to give yourself a little extra wiggle room to make it outside to the bus stop.
Note that they do have closures on occasion to switch overlays and for holidays.
Ticket Types and Things to Know Before Booking
Before you book, here are a couple things to know.
First, there are a couple ticket types and you can’t exchange ticket types so be sure with your choice.
The general admission ticket is £56.
A deluxe tour ticket is £250 and includes a 2.5 hour guided tour, priority parking, green screen photos and videos, butterbeer, and a souvenir guidebook. If you’re a HUGE fan and want some bells and whistles, this is a great splurge! This option also sells out fastest.
They also offer packages that include transportation to and from Central London and packages with hotel and breakfast included. While these can be helpful to reduce your planning, it’s likely cheaper to DIY these packages yourself.
When you purchase tickets, it’s important to note that some add-ons are ONLY available when you initially book. Meaning you cannot add them on to your ticket later.
The biggest one is the afternoon tea experience. There’s a minimum of 2 visitors and it’s a 90-minute timeslot in the main food hall. They have vegan, champagne, gluten free variations as well where tea costs £39.95 per booking or £54.95 for champagne.
Other add-on’s include a Happee Birthdae Harry cake for £39.95, photo and video package for £20, digital guides for £5.25, and paper souvenir guides for £9.95.
Tickets are non-refundable, but you can change the date of your ticket for a £10 admin fee and you’ll need to contact them.
Food at the Harry Potter Studio Tour
There are two main areas for food at the studio tour.
In the lobby you’ll find the Hub Cafe, which serves bakery items like muffins and Starbucks drinks. We got breakfast here before our tour and it did the job. Nothing incredible, but it was as expected and didn’t take up too much time!
Also in the lobby is the Chocolate Frog Cafe and the Food Hall. The former is mainly sweets including ice cream, hot chocolate, cakes, and specialty baked goods. The latter is a full restaurant with a full breakfast and lunch menu including themed dishes like the Dementor burger, Leaky Cauldron pea soup, and Aunt Petunia’s Rack of Lamb. These rotate based on the theme overlay.
The food hall is also where you can have afternoon tea as a ticket add-on.
Finally, within the tour is The Backlot Cafe where you can get specialties like a butterbeer flight and full lunch options including hot dogs, burgers, baps (sandwiches), and salads.
Is the studio tour guided or on your own?
If you have a general admission ticket, the experience is fully on your own. There’s the introductory room and a bit of commentary by a team member in the Great Hall, but after that it’s 100% on your own.
If you booked a deluxe tour, there is a 2.5 hour guided portion.
No matter which you book, the team members are incredibly knowledgeable and can likely answer your questions as they come up!
The signage is extremely thorough, so you won’t miss anything on your own.
How long does it take
They recommend 3.5 hours and that’s exactly how long we took. I’ve heard of plenty of people who stay all day for 7 hours and others who breeze through.
It really depends on what level of information you’re after, your stamina, and if you have kiddos!
Where to stay
I recommend staying in Leavesden, not London just for the night, so you can take your time on the studio tour instead of feeling rushed to drive or take public transit back.
I stayed at the Hunton Park Hotel, which was a filming location for the films briefly. The fountain was used as the background for the moving photo of Lily and James Potter dancing.
It’s a 5 minute drive from the Studio Tour and was a serene stay outside of London.
Still, visiting the Warner Brothers Studio Tour works great as a day trip from London, so you may not need anywhere to stay!
Spending more time in the UK? Read these:
- Ultimate Harry Potter UK itinerary
- Harry Potter sites in London
- Self guided Harry Potter tour of Oxford
- What to do in Oxford for a day
- Tips for visiting London for the first time
- Caledonian Sleeper Train review (to get between England and Scotland)
- Day trip to the Cotswolds itinerary
- How to Spend 1 Day in Edinburgh
- How to spend 1 day in London
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