england & france vacation, part two

The third day was pretty much a Harry Potter day. We had tickets for the Warner Brothers Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter, which was so magical. If you ever get the chance to go to London, you have to go on the Harry Potter tour. It’s about an hour train ride outside the city, then a 10 minute bus ride, but it is very worth it.

The sets, props, everything there were actually used in the film by the actors, and many of the scenes were filmed there as well.

When you watch the movies, you don’t think about how much actually goes into making all the props, but almost everything was originally made (including Hogwarts and the Great Hall). There is so much to see, too – we pretty much spent the entire day there.

My favorite was seeing all the paper goods, including the ticket to Hogwarts, the Marauder’s Map, the Quibbler, and Harry’s letters from Hogwarts.

I’ve been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (yes, major Harry Potter nerd right here), and so most of the things in the gift shop I had already seen or purchased, but I knew that I wanted to get Luna’s wand. I already have Hermione’s, but Luna is a fellow Ravenclaw, so it only seemed right.

After that we went to King’s Cross, and Platform 9 ¾. Matt said the first time he came to London, they just had a sign hidden in the train station for fans to photograph, but they’ve really amped it up since then.

They still have the Platform 9 ¾ sign, but now they have a trolley, complete with trunks and an owl in a cage, halfway through the wall, to make it seem like you are about to go onto the platform. They also have attendants who oversee the line and take your photo. They ask you what House you would like to be in, give you a scarf with the corresponding colors, and then one person flings the scarf in the air while the other takes a picture of you in midair.

I think I really nailed it.

Needless to say, this was one of my favorite days.

Look for part three next week! And in case you missed it, here’s part one.