A Complete Harry Potter Studio Tour London Review (+8 Top Tips)
When you have a Harry Potter fan in your family, one of the best experiences you can give them is a Harry Potter Studio Tour.
Before booking our Harry Potter Studio Tour, we had so many questions.
We thought it would be helpful to write a Harry Potter Studio Tour review to help other families get the most out of their visit.
As well as giving all our top tips for a successful visit to the Harry Potter Studios, we’ve answered a few FAQs at the end.
If you want to know what to expect, when to go and how to get tickets if WB Studios have sold out on the date you want… read on…
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These are our top tips for making the most of your Warner Bros Studio Tour.
1. Do some research on the WB Studio Tour
This may sound like a strange tip. If you like Harry Potter, you’ll love the Warner Bros Studio Tour right?
Probably, yes. But maybe not.
It is a good idea to find out a little about the tour before you go. Thinking of the Harry Potter Studios as a museum is a good start.
Once you are in that mindset, your tour of the Harry Potter Studios will make more sense.
It is somewhere you can go to explore the magic of the Harry Potter films. You get to see real costumes, sets and props used in the movies and as the tour progresses, you get to see how the films were made.
The ‘tour’ is mostly self-guided, except for a little intro at the start.
We didn’t really have any idea what to expect. Our youngest (8) was expecting a theme park!
We obviously didn’t manage his expectations very well because he wasn’t really all that enthusiastic about it. But then, he wasn’t really a Harry Potter fan either.
Once you have decided that it is most definitely for you, snap up your tickets!
2. Buy your Harry Potter Studio Tour tickets in advance
If there’s only one thing we can tell you to make your trip to the WB Studios successful, it is to buy your tickets in advance.
The WB Studios Tour is hugely popular. People come from all over the world to visit and it is busy all year round.
It is absolutely essential that you buy your Harry Potter Studio Tour London tickets well in advance.
We booked our tickets 3 months in advance. It was a Monday during school term time in November and even then, there were barely any tickets left for the day we wanted.
Tickets are around £51 per person. You can buy them on the WB Studio website here. Children Under 4 are FREE and this is very telling. It is not really suitable for children under 4.
Top Tip: If you find that tickets are sold out on the day that you want, you can check a tour company as they should have more availability.
They are more expensive but may be your only option if you can’t be flexible on dates. GetYourGuide is a good place to look.
See here to book the best rated WB Studio tour (including transportation from London).
See here to book Harry Potter Studio Tour and a private transfer
See here for a family package tour from London (2 Adults & 2 Kids).
3. Do all the free things on the Harry Potter tour
You’ve spent a lot of money on your tickets so be sure to make the most of any freebies along the tour!
- Grab a free Activity Passport which includes a fun Golden Snitch hunt, puzzles and Harry Potter trivia. The passport also includes space for souvenir stamps that can be collected at key points throughout the tour such as Platform 9 ¾ and Gringotts Bank. You can collect the Passports from a staff member at any point during the Studio Tour.
- You don’t need to pay for an audio guide when you have staff members on hand to dish all the fascinating facts. They are hugely knowledgeable and love to talk about everything Harry Potter!
- The kids will be sure to love the free wand-duelling class next to the Forbidden Forest.
- Do the extra things like attempting to pick up the broomstick while muttering ‘Wingardium Leviosa’.
4. Grab your Harry Potter merchandise before your tour
If you want to keep the costs down during your visit to the Harry Potter Studios, you should consider buying any Harry Potter merch beforehand.
Items in the store at the studios are more expensive and if you’re visiting with kids, sometimes it can be hard to say no. Buying in advance gets around this issue.
Another thing to consider if you are going to by a gift is that buying it beforehand will mean that you will have it in your photos. You obviously can’t have your wand in your photos if you wait until the end of the tour to visit the store.
There is plenty of official merchandise on Amazon which you can browse here.
If you want other gift ideas for Harry Potter fans, take a look at this post on Harry Potter themed gifts for kids.
Having just said all this….just bear in mind that some of stuff in the shop is exclusive to the Harry Potter tour and you won’t be able to get it once you leave.
A final note on this, you can also visit the Harry Potter store at Platform 9 3/4 at London’s Kings Cross Station if you are staying in London. There you will find the trolley that passes through the wall and you can have your photo taken.
It is one of the best free things to do in London with kids (who are Harry Potter fans).
5. Buying professional photos at Harry Potter Studios
If you do want to buy the professional photos, wait until the end of the tour to do so.
You can collect the tickets as you go and then buy all together once you have seen them all. This will also save you time.
Just a word of warning here. The professional photos are very expensive (£14 for a photo).
You can sometimes take your own pictures but in some places (the train ride next to the Hogwarts Express) – it seemed to be strictly monitored.
In fact, I got told off for taking a photo before the experience had even started.
6. Take your time
You have to book a timeslot when you buy your Harry Potter tickets, but once you are in, you can take as long as you like.
Actually, once you are past The Great Hall, you can take as long as you like. Up until this point, you are on a guided tour and you need to stick with your group.
After this point, you are free to wander as you please.
Spend some time chatting to the staff. This guy in the photo below was great. He pretended to be a Goblin in Gringotts Bank and fooled a few people who were rushing by. They are so knowledgeable and interesting.
People tend to rush through to try to get ahead of the pack but if you hang back, you can often get better photos without loads of people in them.
Consider buying tickets towards the end of the day so that you are one of the last to leave.
You can, of course, be the first ones in but then there will be a steady stream of visitors all day. To be in with a chance of having the place almost to yourself, it is best to go later.
Last admission is 6.30pm and by about 8pm it starts to get quieter. The Studios close at 10pm.
7. The best bits of the tour at WB Studios
People ask what the best bits about the Harry Potter Studio tour were.
This is quite subjective because everyone’s opinions will differ. These are just our favourite bits of the Harry Potter Studios Tour:
- The dragon encounter in the vault under Gringotts Bank was pretty spectacular. We won’t spoil it but it is a little scary, especially for little ones.
- Pulling a potted Mandrake in Professor Sprout’s Greenhouse (in the outside area just after the Backlot Café).
- Wandering through the Forbidden Forest – watch out for those pesky spiders!
- Making Dobby dance.
- Taking a ride on the Hogwarts Express.
Tip for Diagon Alley at Harry Potter Studio Tour London
People come in waves so if this is your favourite part, hang around and see if you can get a photo without people in it.
This was the view just a few minutes later.
8. Consider taking food with you to save time
We would recommend taking your own food. Not only does it help keep costs down but it will also save time if you are in a rush. The queues can be quite long in the cafés and you won’t want to spend a long time waiting for food.
If you prefer to buy food at the Studios, here is some information on the restaurants at Harry Potter Studios.
There are a few places to eat at the Harry Potter Studios and they are reasonably priced. You can read more about the eateries here.
- Chocolate Frog Café – in the main lobby serves a selection of hot and cold drinks and sweet treats.
- The Food Hall – in the main lobby serves a fairly comprehensive breakfast and lunch menu.
- The Backlot Café – at the half way point of the tour serves breakfast and lunch and, of course, Butterbeer.
- The Hub Café – in the main lobby serves hot and cold drinks and baked goods.
If you are having lunch there, the kids will love the Harry Potter bus shaped sandwich boxes.
If you want to try the Butterbeer, you probably only want to get one per family. You can ONLY buy the Butterbeer at the Backlot Café which is around the half way point (after seeing the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 3/4).
Note – Butterbeer does not taste good! Children will probably prefer the Butterbeer Ice Cream.
Here are some FAQs about visiting the Harry Potter Studio Tour London
We are often asked about our Harry Potter Studio Tour.
Understandably, when you’re spending a lot of money on something, you want to make sure it is worth it. And once you’ve made the decision to go, you want to make sure you get the most out of your visit.
Here are some of the questions we get asked about the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
Where are the Warner Bros Studios?
We thought we would start with this for anyone unaware that the Warner Bros Studios are actually NOT IN LONDON.
It is easy to get to the Harry Potter studios from London though.
Note that the Warner Bros Studio Tour is right next door to the Warner Bros Studios.
The address for WB Studios is:
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
Studio Tour Drive
Leavesden
WD25 7LR.
The easiest way to reach the WB Studios from London is by train.
The closest train station to Harry Potter Studios is Watford Junction. Trains depart from London Euston and take around 20 minutes.
You can get a WB Studios shuttle bus from Watford Junction. The journey is included in your ticket price.
You can also arrange guided tours from London if you don’t want to take the train. We recommend this one.
We live very close to the studios so we drove. There is an enormous car park and parking is free.
There are also hotels nearby if you prefer to stay in the area. Here is a list of hotels near the Warner Bros Studios for families.
See here for our recommendations for hotels in London for families.
If you are staying in London with kids, there are loads of fun Harry Potter experiences in London. We also have a whole section on the blog for visiting London with kids.
Do you need to be a Harry Potter fan to enjoy the Harry Potter studio tour?
One of the most frequently asked questions about the Harry Potter Studio tour is whether or not you need to like Harry Potter.
Based on our experience with one child who loves Harry Potter and the other who doesn’t, I would say it really does help to be a Harry Potter fan.
I love the Harry Potter films. Admittedly, I haven’t read the books and am told by my son that the books are better.
Either way, I would class myself as a Harry Potter fan (although not fanatical) and I enjoyed the tour.
It is an interesting experience and unless you actually dislike Harry Potter, I can’t think that you wouldn’t enjoy the tour.
How long does the Harry Potter tour take?
The Harry Potter tour lasts as long as you want it to really. You could be the first one in and the last one out.
There are parts that you cannot go back to and do again though (like the Hogwarts Dining Hall) so make sure you have completed each area fully before you move on.
Ideally you should allow at least 3 – 4 hours to do the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
Is Harry Potter Studio Tour all inside?
We thought that the tour was all inside but actually, around 10% of the WB Studio tour is outside.
This is something you need to consider if you are visiting in the winter or when it is raining.
When you arrive, you have the option of storing your coats in the cloakroom but you might not want to store your coats if you think you will get cold easily.
Having said that, you will only spend around 10-15 minutes outside so weigh up the need to carry your coat around the rest of the tour.
We kept our coats but they were just lightweight puffer jackets by Mountain Warehouse. They were easy to fold down into our Osprey day bag.
What age is best for the Harry Potter Studio tour?
There is no age restriction at the Harry Potter Studio tour.
We mentioned briefly above, however, that children under 4 are free because the tour isn’t really suited to young children.
Firstly, it is best if they have a slight concept at least of Harry Potter. Secondly, there is a lot of walking involved.
If you are thinking about taking kids on the WB Studio tour, we would recommend waiting until they have seen the films or read the books before taking them.
Having said that, children aged 6+ will get something out of the visit. But then you need to think whether it is worth paying that money for them to potentially not enjoy it.
When is the best time to visit Harry Potter World London?
If at all possible, go on a weekday during term time. Easier said than done when you have school aged kids. If you have an inset day, maybe consider using it to visit the Studios.
We visited on a Monday and booked one of the last tickets of the day.
Last admission is 6.30pm and by about 8pm it starts to get quieter. The Studios close at 10pm.
Don’t be fooled when you arrive and there is no queue for the ‘Tour Entrance’.
From here, you pass through into a holding area and it will fill up. We got so excited when we saw there was no queue (photo below).
We also visited during Hogwarts in the Snow. It is one of the things we recommend for kids to do at Christmas in London. It was so pretty seeing the sets covered in snow. You even get to see how they make the snow at the end of the tour.
If you can, time your visit to coincide with one of the special events. The best are the Dark Arts which is a great Halloween event for kids. See other places to visit at Halloween in London with kids. Hogwarts in the Snow (around Christmas) is also great.
And finally – is the Harry Potter Studio Tour London worth it?
We thought we would leave this to the end so that you have enough information to make up your own mind.
For so many, the London Harry Potter Studio Tour is one of the best Harry Potter experiences in the UK.
Personally, we have mixed opinions.
For Harry Potter fans, yes it is worth it. For younger children, no it probably isn’t.
It is a lot of money but you can spend an entire day there if you want which makes it seem more reasonable.
We hope you found our review of the Harry Potter Studio Tour helpful. If you have any questions that we haven’t covered, please drop us a line and we’d be happy to help.
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