harry potter studio tour: part one

I'm finally blogging about my wonderful day birthday treat at the Harry Potter studio tour, Watford. It's taken so long to sort out over 500 photos! I will be blogging about the whole day with LOTS of photos from now till Saturday, so keep coming back everyday if you're keen to see more and more! - But I won't be sharing 500 photos, don't worry! :]

001: Arrival

Our slot was booked in for 12:30 and it took just over an hour to get there. We drove which was a good thing in the end, as we was all so tired and thought of getting trains back home was horrible! We set off 11-ish; me, my sister and boyfriend super squished in the back of the car, but never mind!

Upon arrival, we had to collect our pre-booked tickets at the ticket machine. This was super easy and hassle free!

We then had to queue up and had to get our tickets checked. There was also little things we could photograph; including the cupboard under the stairs! This was also the point we saw a "no food inside" sign, so my mum had to dash back to the car to put our lunch somewhere. However, our bags weren't checked so really, we could have taken food inside.

The first part of the tour consisted of about fifty of us in a room where we watched a two minute clip about what we would be expecting. We were then told to follow the tour into the 'cinema'. Well, for someone who works in a cinema, I have never seen such a plush looking cinema auditorium before. The seats were.. oh my, SO comfy! After being greeted by a lady, we watched a ten minute clip about the Harry Potter films when all of a sudden the screen went up (I had a feeling that would happen) and we were standing in front of the Great Hall itself.

002: The Great Hall

We had a ten minute guided tour telling us secrets about the great hall and a few facts about the filming. The tables were laid out with the festive decorations and food to match the December-January festivities.

Seeing the costume that the beautiful Robert Pattinson wore for his character Cedric Diggory was one of the highlights of the whole day! (I am madly in love with R-Pattz).

Harry Potter's first year robes! I can't believe the first film was in cinemas in 2001... I was just 8 years old!

[[ me & my Sister // me & Andrew ]]

003: The Yule Ball

After the guided tour, the rest of the day was free reign which I was happy about! The tour from this point onwards is pretty much manic and there's no order of what to see. There's loads of sets and things to see all in one big studio, so you just end up walking around in a big circle. Hopefully that makes sense!

004: Wigs + Make-up

This was one of the most exciting things to see. The wigs that each character wore and the huge range of makeup, brushes, lotions and potions that the make-up artists used. Everything was behind a metal bar so I couldn't get any closer, but I would have loved to have a nosy at all the make-up in more detail!

Seeing Helena Bonham Carter's wig (Character: Bellatrix Lestrange) right infront of me was a complete surreal moment. Helena is one of my all time favourite actresses!

005: Gryffindor Boys Dormitory

006: Wands + Mirror of Erised

They had many things on display, either behind plastic screens or in glass cabinets. One screen had every main character's wand on display!

Unfortunately, due to the lens I used for the day (f/1.4 50mm fixed), I was unable to get the whole mirror into shot, and I was afraid I would smash my camera and lenses if I tried swapping the lens to the standard lens. However, the Mirror of Erised is HUGE. I couldn't resist a quick snap!

007: Gryffindor Common Room

Gryffindor's Common Room made me feel exactly how I expected to feel; cosy and warm. I was amazed to learn that thousands of tapestries were especially created for the film sets which is beyond amazing! It was also lovely to see the jumpers that Mrs Weasley knitted Harry and Ron for Christmas :-)

008: Invisibility Cloak

I was thinking of asking for one of these for Christmas this year? - Oh we can dream fellow Potterheads!

Part 2 coming tomorrow!

I hope you're enjoying reading about my day so far. I wish I could cram everything into one big post but that's just not possible! 

Have you been to the HP studio tour yet? Would you like to go? 

XO love, Ashleigh x

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