Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — Attraction in Three Rivers

Amazing experience for fans. The 'tour' begins in a vast central area under a full-size dragon. A short wait to join roughly 50 people with a cinematic introduction to how the studio began. Everything beyond that can be backtracked if you wish to explore till your heart's content!

Beginning in the Great Hall (minus Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables) there's a brief presentation culminating in and sparks and light simulation of Fred and George's epic mischief on leaving Hogwarts.

Leaving the hall into a display of costumes, Dumbledor's podium, a staircase, the Nightbus, Hagrid's hut, recreations of Gryfindor and Slytherin common rooms, Harry's dorm, his room at the Leaky Cauldron, Potions classroom, Burrow Kitchen, Goblet of Fire, Divination Classroom, Loveheart's Classroom, Black family tapestry, Tom Riddle's grave etc.

There's at least an attempt at making some of these interactive with the odd button to press, but mostly, it's all viewed from behind a barrier. There were at least a couple of themed demonstrations repeating every 10 minutes or so to show how some effects were created. Staff members were only to happy to give insight into the details and the overall impression was of the incredible level of detail used to create a level of realism and believability. 200+ teacups sourced for 60 seconds of screentime, being one example that sticks!

Moving on in your own time to the Forbidden Forest with its creepy mist, simulated wind and sounds, at least 6 giant spiders decend from the ceiling.

Just beside the Forest are the first toilets since the start of the tour and its likely to take 90 minutes to this point so worth going before you join the queue to enter, although there's nothing stopping you racing ahead and doubling back.

Beyond the Forest is a cafè marking the official halfway point in the tour. I'd read that prices were steep but they weren't much above London prices. £13 for burger and chips. Several vegan options but otherwise not much choice. I think butterbeers were £6 (including a plastic tankard to keep). Worth bringing your own food.

An outdoor courtyard with a smaller model of the Burrow, 3 rooms of Privet Drive (including flying letters and inflated Aunt Marge). Queues for this were long by midday, so it's worth coming early to avoid crowds.

Greenhouse complete with mandrakes (shame we weren't given ear muffs) was good. You could pull a mandrake.

Photo opps with Hagrid's motorbike and sidecar and the Wesley's flying car and Hogwarts bridge in the outside area. Disappointingly, you could only step onto the very back of the Nightbus (full size double-decker).

The next section contains hundreds of models, some animatronic) of creatures and props used in the film with brief video commentary from Warrick Davis. Very detailed models of most of the goblins seen on screen.

The remainder of the tour was of spectacular sets: Hogwarts Express, Diagon Alley, Gringotts hallway, photos and video options, then a spectacular scene of the destroyed bank with fire-breathing dragon!

The tour ends with an amazing 1/24 sized model of Hogwarts to be viewed from all sides. It's illuminated every few minutes with a nightime fireworks show. As you leave this section you emerge into the giftshop at which point you probably wouldn't be able to backtrack.

The giftshop is as vast as any I've encountered yet somewhat disappointingly both the range and extortionate pricing leave a sour taste. Why on earth not sell trinkets to fans at 1/3 of the prices that would allow fans to leave with whole sets of merchanise rather than select only 1 grossly overpriced item (£85 Gryfindor jumper for example)? Even the paper bags come at a cost with only themed tissue paper complimentary.

£56 per adult is fairly pricey for 3-5 hours of entertainment but for fans its a must-see. I'm surprised that many return for multiple visits with the ever-changing themes - ours was Mischief & Mayhem but I suspect other ones will be better themes. On our budget this will be a one-time experience, but for fans like us, a truly...

Worst Service Studio

I had an extremely frustrating and disappointing experience at the Harry Potter Studio Tour, and I believe this issue should never happen to anyone else in the future.

A friend purchased my ticket on my behalf because my phone, as well as my other friends' phones, kept encountering errors when trying to book. However, my British friend's computer processed the payment without any issues. The confirmation email was sent under my British friend's name, and they printed the ticket for me.

The day before my visit, I traveled three hours by bus to London and then took a train early in the morning to reach the studio by 10 AM. After all that effort, I was denied entry at the gate. My printed ticket clearly displayed my name, reservation date, time, and booking number, but I was told it was invalid because it did not contain a barcode. I asked if they could reprint the ticket with a barcode, but they refused and insisted that I retrieve the confirmation email from my friend.

Unfortunately, my friend was unreachable as they had left their phone at the office and did not work on Sundays. I was unaware of this and kept trying to call, growing increasingly anxious. I even missed meeting my friends who were already inside the studio.

I then asked if I could purchase a new ticket on-site, as I could see availability on the website. However, I was told that walk-in purchases were not allowed, and I had to book through my phone. I showed them that I was experiencing the same error that had occurred before, but they offered no solution. I had even emailed customer service about this issue days prior.

After two exhausting hours of frustration, I finally asked another British friend for help. I handed them my phone, and they spoke with the staff on my behalf. Within minutes, a male staff member at the ticket booth and a female manager (her name started with “Sa” and had four syllables, possibly "Sain" or something similar) resolved the issue, and I was given a valid ticket with a barcode.

This is where my anger reaches its peak. If my booking information could be retrieved and reissued in just a few minutes, why was I forced to wait outside for two hours? Was it because I was speaking English as a non-native speaker? Why did they insist on an email confirmation when my reservation details were clearly in their system? Most importantly, why was this issue only resolved when a British person intervened?

By the time I entered, I had only two hours left before my return train. My experience was completely ruined—I couldn’t enjoy the studio properly, and I couldn’t even meet my friend inside.

I still cannot understand what happened, and I am deeply upset. I want my review to remain public, and I expect a formal apology from the staff involved, along with a commitment to ensuring such incidents never...

(Update) This was the best ever place I have been to. Unfortunately, due to JK Rowling's hatred toward Trans people, I have moved this to 1 star. It pains me as I, like so many others and also grew up with the magic in their hearts. Since everything that has happened, the magic has gone.

I will leave the original review below because it's not the members of staff's fault that the creator is rancid and pure evil.

We were both at the time considering coming back, but that thought has gone. All memories have been tarnished.

Absolutely incredible!!

I took my wife here for her 40th Birthday. We started with the champagne lunch for breakfast because why not.

(I bought dare I say in advance for the day. A selfie stick. Honestly, get a telescopic one. Gives you the advantage of not shooting at the back of someone's head throughout your trip). Anyway after that we went shopping. (We did a quiz a couple of days before, and I was told that my house was Ravenclaw). So I was politely forced by the wife to wear a house tie. The wife got a talking sorting hat to wear and Luna Lovegood glasses. Also, 2 wands, the tour magazine full of spoilers (don't look before), chocolate frog, and a host of other things I can not remember. The battery-operated sorting hat is well hidden. However, if you want one, we asked the wizard in the wand section of the shop, who pointed us towards the keyrings stand, they are on a shelf against the wall, probably about 6ft up.

Top tip: Before entering the tour, look around the large space. Hopefully, you'll find a passport. They're free and on a rack against the wall. This will make sense when you walk through the tour. (We didn't know this till about halfway when we finally found one). As I didn't want to disappoint the wife on a milestone day. I decided that we would walk against the crowd all the way back to the beginning stamp press and stamped each page thereafter.

Take your time as there is no rush. Enjoy and have fun with it. There's so much to see. You wouldn't want to miss anything.

I have added a few of the 500+ photos and videos I took throughout the day, and if you're feeling extra magical for family or someone special. Download a photo editor app and make the magic come to life.

I almost forgot to mention. If it's yours or someone's birthday, you or they get to open the big doors to the great hall. Don't miss this opportunity.

I advise booking an early time and spending the entire day there. We arrived at 10am and left around...