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| In front of the studio |
The Making of Harry Potter (30 July)
My Uncle Steve, Annie and I left to see the Making of Harry Potter early in the morning. Many people believe that this studio is in London, but is about an hour outside of the main city.
Our tickets included the audio tour that had Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) as the guide. I highly suggest getting this otherwise you can get a bit lost and don't get all the really awesome fun facts. Also buy an official program if you want to have better insight on what you are seeing and so that you can remember everything with the pictures you are taking.
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| Front Gates of Hogwarts |
We started the tour by entering the Great Hall and hearing a small introduction about the hall and the tour. Once you exit the hall you step into one of the lots that houses many of the different settings such as the Boys' Dorm, Hagrid's hut, the Potions Classroom, and Dumbledore's office. It as such a crazy feeling being on the same sets that the actors used and seeing all of their authentic costumes. They even had the glasses Harry wore in the first movie.
I really enjoyed learning about how they did the staging, costumes, and special effects. I will warn you that some of the magic goes away when you know how they did it, but it also gives you a whole new appreciation for all the work that was put into the films. Seeing all the paperwork that was done for the letters, newspapers, and paintings really gives you insight into how hard the crews and behind the scenes people work to make movies happen.
One of the most amazing sets was the Ministry of Magic. I can't imagine walking onto that set for multiple days to film. Even the actors have said that it was breathtaking. And I only got to see a little part of it! The paint and sculpting put into the setting was flawless. All the statues were handmade. Imagine having real artists do all this work! Too often I think we assume that everything is made through digital art, but so much of Harry Potter was hand done!!
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| Privet Drive |
We next moved into the outside lot where we saw many of the outdoor sets such as Privet Drive, the Night Bus, and Hogwart's bridge. They also had butter beer for sale in this outdoor area. It was so tasty! I wanted to buy more, but honestly it was too expensive to keep going back for more haha. My sister and I took pictures in Hagrid's motor cycle and the Weasley's car. I loved seeing the giant chess pieces! They were one of my favorites in the books and movies.
Next we saw how all the dummies, goblins, and other special creatures were made. We also got to walk down Diagon Alley. This is where it really hit me that I was walking exactly where all the actors walked and spent much of their time filming. What a surreal experience! We had a look at a lot of the initial art for the various characters and paper models of all the rooms seen in the film.
Finally we got to Hogwarts. The model was BRILLIANT! It took my breathe away. I couldn't stop staring at it. After listening to the guide and hearing how everyone cried on the last day and how they know these films have changed their lives it's hard not to get emotional with them. Hopefully soon I can go to Harry Potter World in Florida and enjoy my love for HP event more.
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| Hogwarts! |
Les Miserables (30 July)
After going on the Harry Potter tour we headed back to Sloane Square where Sean met up with us after his long bike ride in London and nap in Hide Park. I had a stroke of inspiration in the tube when I saw the posters for Les Miserables. We decided on a whim to purchase tickets and see the show. I hadn't seen the show since I was eight years old before my sister was born, so I was eager to see it again. On Broadway I recall it being very good, but I couldn't say if I can really compare that version to the cast on the West End. We made it to Queen's Theatre in 30 minutes moving at a brisk pace, which was quite nice seeing as I haven't been getting much exercise ha! As usual the musical was great, there were some actors that had stronger singing voices than others but overall I really enjoyed the experience. The stage they use never ceases to amaze me. HINT: They have £25 tickets for students under 25
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