In Leavesden, England
Kidding...he has many fortes...Anyhow, these are the chess pieces seen in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, when the famed trio is trying to penetrate the depths of the castle.
Leavesden
For those who know me, the next statement should not elicit any shock. My day spent exploring the Harry Potter Studios in Leavesden, England was by far one of the best days of my life trip. I would be lying if I could tell you I've read the books and seen the movies "x" number of times, because at this point, the numbers are so high that I've lost count. To say in the least, I am an avid fan of Harry Potter.
Word to the wise: If you consider yourself an unabashed HP geek and are unable to discern each treasure below, a Harry Potter marathon might be called for.
Looking onto one of the first scenes of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Harry's former home, the cupboard under the stairs
As I was waiting in line, I was surrounded by film memorabilia.
These soldiers come alive in the second Deathly Hallows movie, while protecting their school. "Piertotum Locomotor! Do your duty to the school!" ~ Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
During filming, they would have to fit about 200 people in the Great Hall.
TRAVEL TIPS: LEAVESDEN
Alas, the day will come when I have scoured the whole planet to find anything undiscovered related to the Harry Potter universe and come up short. I would give anything to unread the books and unwatch the movies to experience the emotional roller coaster and fall in love with the most unexpected characters again. Sadly, I am without a handy memory charm to do the trick.
Though as Pottermore delineates the "crushing emptiness" of life after Harry Potter, the words of Albus Dumbledore echo in my thoughts, forever keeping the story alive in my heart.
‘Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real.’
– Albus Dumbledore
Don't worry guys, I know it's not real...
After picking up my ticket for admission, I entered the grand entrance of the Warner Brother's Studio. While in line they had a couple pieces on display such as the cupboard under the stairs and the Ford Anglia perched above, in flight for its next destination. Each ticket had an allotted admission time so I only had a couple minutes to kill before jumping in line.
The extravagnet spread laid out for the students at the TriWizard Ball. Seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville's room.
By filming this in the right angle, they are able to make this ceiling look much bigger than it actually is. The real magic of our world....cinematography.
See your inner most desires...Seen in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. All I see is me taking a selfie in the bottom right corner.
Many mischievous plans devised here.
You can see on the description that this was used in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone. But the work to create this piece was so meticulous, that they decided to use it in the second Dealthy Hallows movie as well.
Seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Dumbledore welcoming the students among his peers: Mad-Eye Moody, Professor Trelawny, Severus Snape, & Hagrid,
We can all agree that Dumbledore was the wisest wizard there ever was. It is here that he uttered my favorite quote. "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."~ Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Upon departing from the Great Hall, the rest of the studio was loosely structured and contained a labyrinth of set pieces. I was under the impression that our group would be wandering the studio together, but it was a go-at-your-own-pace sort of deal. This I quickly learned, was not only convenient, but required. At every single turn there was something new to marvel at. It took me hours to get through the whole studio. I didn't want to leave even one stone unturned in this place!
"Lemon Drop!" Open up, damnit!
Where the most brilliant work, first Dumbledore then Snape.
All the work and design that goes into creating the Gringott's cart seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.
Design that went into creating the clock.
*Slowly sheds tear. RIP Dobby
Here is where they filmed all the outdoor shots of Hogwarts Castle. The model was pretty big as it took up the space of a large room. But it amazed me how they were able to produce incredible outdoor shots of Hogwarts only using this.
Up ahead is Weasleys' Joke Shop.
This was a place of comfort to Ron, Hermione and Harry. This hut was seen in almost all movies.
The Weasley household, filled with warmth and love. The knife was magically chopping the carrots, obviously bewitched by Molly Weasley.
Seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1.
I tried to get in, but only crashed my cart.
Inside the cabins of the Hogwarts Express.
Seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Seen in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Sometimes used in stunt shots, this was the mechanical head they'd set on top of a person's body.
After about 15 minutes of spiraling within a weaving line in the lobby, I was finally okay'ed to go on in. We were first shepherded into a dark room where they played a mashup of the Harry Potter movies, undoubtedly to showcase the upcoming attractions, but I could feel the excitement mounting in the room. Before sending people off, the guides asked where everyone was from. There were a ton of native English people there, but just as many were from distant corners of the world.
They let us go a couple minutes later and we entered through the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts. The stone knights stacked neatly from the floor to the ceiling looked down upon on the eager tourists. It was a befitting entrance of any Hogwarts student and was a perfect welcome to the studio! The next room housed the Great Hall. It wasn't as big as I imagined, but it was just as magical as I imagined. They said while filming it would become pretty snug, but they could fit the 4 long tables in and about 200 people.
The final room contained a large scale model of the Hogwarts castle, which I learned after watching the video below that it's how they filmed all the exterior scences in the movies. Watching them layer the effects on the model castle was almost like magic and it was one of my favorite parts of the tour.
DAY 1: HARRY POTTER TOUR
Fancy a visit down Diagon Alley?
