Harry Potter Studios: The Dark Arts Tour

Hey All

Last weekend L and I headed to catch up with uni friends for a Harry Potter themed weekend! Our friend is so crafty and had totally decked her house out and made an amazing Harry Potter Monopoly. As it was Dark Arts special we decided to head to the studios for another tour!

We'd all been before but there are so many things to notice I think every time you go you notice more things. We knew there would be extra things to see as on facebook there were some sneak peaks! We've been lucky enough to get special badges every time L and I have been!

The great hall is amazing and being able to walk through the same doors as all the cast have is amazing! It holds a crazy amount of double decker buses (I want to say 20+ I've forgotten the exact number!)

The hall was laid for the Halloween feast! Originally in the films real food was used but as the days went on resin food was used instead! It all looked so realistic!

There were death eaters around to have photos with! Of course we couldn't miss that opportunity!

The Horcruxes was one of the new exhibits! They were amazing to see. We all wanted the Ravenclaw Diadem!! It was so pretty!

The vanishing cabinet was amazing! The detail in all the set work really is unbelievable.

Imagine having had a part in making all of these, the books, the skulls, the random objects that probably came from an image in someone's head.

Borgin and Burke's was one of my favourite new additions for the Dark Arts exhibition, seeing all of the bits and bobs on display was so interesting

The Dementors were also hung up from the ceiling which was amazing to have them hanging around just like the real thing, very creepy.

Malfoy Manor was also there and was really good to see, the fire flickered in the background and all of the casts wigs and outfits were present on dummies which made the scene come to life.
The muggle teacher Charity Burbage was also hanging from the sky just like the scene at the manor with Voldemort and Nagini, who was also present on the table.

Another amazing thing was the case full of death eater masks, they were so detailed and unique to each person who had had their faces cast.

The death eater masks were beautiful! The detail to the was amazing! Everyone was different and cast from the actors face.

It was like an emotional rollercoaster looking at the new scenes. They even had real snakes for us to touch; the real snake they used for Nagini couldn't be shown as she was shedding her skin but they had some of the smaller ones for us instead which as just as good. The man was really informative and it was very interesting to hear about lots of the other animals he has for films.

Dolores Umbridge is arguably one of the most hated characters of the entire series; but obviously one of the most brilliant too. Her sugary pink sweetness goes way overboard into leaving you with a nasty after taste and her wardrobe and office match this overload!

I've seen pictures of Mary Berry sat here drinking tea from the celebrity opening of the exhibition; she suits it perfectly but in the complete opposite way.

One of my scariest but favourite moments was wandering through Diagon Alley which was totally different to normal. It was eerily quiet and the lights were dimmed; not to mention the terrifying Death Eaters who were wandering around too, look how scary they were!

Last time we went we didn't take photos outside, this time we had a little pose! It's great to have the cars and Privet Drive to have photos in! The night bus is also there which is amazing!

One thing we all loved is the books. Everything was thought about. All the currency was properly minted and you can buy the coins but after they started to disappear on set in later years plastic coins were used! In the books used on set one was written in Runes. Some made sense some didn't and it also had English in so Hermoine could read it. The staff are so knowledgeable and are on hand to give information!

This time we decided to treat ourselves to the butterbeer mugs!! We are both fans but it does get sickly, imagine caramel cream soda and it's similar to that!



We both went to the shop with huge lists but tried to be sensible. We both left with chocolate frogs and Hermione wand pens. L also snapped up a Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain t-shirt too which has barely left her back since, perfect Sunday wear!


Have you been to the Harry Potter Studios? Will you be going to see the Dark Arts exhibition?
We are already planning our next trip to see it, we cannot get enough!

L xxx