Is there a better way to finish a Harry Potter movie marathon than with a trip to the immersive Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Watford, London? Because I don’t think so.
You get to see all the real props and intricate costumes along with the incredible wizarding-world film sets that leave you spellbound. There’s even moments when you’ll feel like you’re actually walking around inside the films. At one point I was strolling through Gringotts Bank, surrounded by marble pillars and goblins with ginormous 16ft sparkling chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. It was insane!
I always expected the Warner Bros. Studio Tour to be impressive, but it blew my expectations out of the water. It was magical, moving and fun to boot.
Muggles and wizards will love getting lost inside the magical wizarding world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts. But to be honest, I think even if you didn’t like Harry Potter (sorry, is that like swearing?) you would still thoroughly enjoy your day out at the Warner Bros. studios.
Here’s what you can expect to see and do, along with some tips on visiting The Making of Harry Potter.
Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour at a Glance – Don’t Miss 👀
- Ordering a butterbeer ‘sharing flight’ at the Butterbeer Bar
- Feeling completely immersed inside Gringotts Bank
- Taking a ride on a broomstick for a fun souvenir
- Buying your very own wand in the gift shop
- Pulling out a mandrake plant inside Professor Sprouts greenhouse
In this article...
Book Your Harry Potter Tickets Way Ahead of Time!
Buying our tickets for the Harry Potter Studios was just as challenging as securing Glastonbury Festival tickets. Our fault entirely for trying to get last minute tickets! The occasional ticket would appear and then vanish within 30 seconds – that’s no exaggeration. They get snapped up quicker than you can safely dunk a rich-tea biscuit. We also needed 4 tickets to become available all at once, which added an extra challenge.
If you’re able, book your tickets with a good 6-8 weeks notice. Especially if you’re after a certain time slot, planning a weekend visit or coming during the school holidays like we did. Your future self will thank you for being organised.
For all the last minute ticket seekers like us, all you can do is keep your fingers crossed and continue to check the ticket page as often as possible. Cancellations do pop up throughout the day but it may not be a big enough party size for what you need, or the time slot might not be ideal – especially if you have to travel far, or if its your first time visiting and you want an earlier slot to make the most of your trip. We were checking sporadically throughout the day for a couple weeks, and eventually 4 tickets became available with a 3:30pm slot which I bought immediately and we went the next day! If you see them appear you need to act fast, get them straight in your basket and check out right away before you lose them. These last minute tickets are like gold dust.
Keep an eye on GetYourGuide too, as they have lots of different ticket options available, including regular tickets to tickets that include transport options. Take a look at these tickets with private central London transfers, or these tickets that included a branded bus ride!
Harry Potter Studio Ticket Prices
Visiting the Harry Potter studios certainly isn’t a cheap day out, especially if you’re bringing the family. When we visited in April 2025 our family tickets cost us £180 for a family of 4.
Check ticket prices and availability here.
Parking at The Warner Bros. Studios in London
If you’re travelling by car, you won’t struggle to find a parking space as there is a huge free carpark with loads of parking bays. Upon arrival, you’ll need to show your booking reference to the carpark attendant in order to gain entry to the carpark. To help keep the queue moving along smoothly, make sure to have your tickets (or e-tickets) at the ready.
For travel information, check their helpful link.
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Entry into The Harry Potter Studios
Its advised to arrive 30 minutes before your allocated ticket slot to allow plenty of time to get through security. They will scan your tickets and then you’ll have a bag search and need to walk through a body scanner just like you’d see at an airport. The queue moved swiftly during our visit, and it only took us around 15 minutes to get into the Harry Potter Studio Tour where you’ll be greeted with a huge flying dragon overhead.
How Long Do You Need to Explore The Making of Harry Potter?
Rather naively, we thought we’d be here around 2-3 hours, but at the 3 hour mark we had only just made it to the half way point! In the end we spent a whopping 6 hours here as there was endless things to see. I recommend allowing yourselves a good 6 hours (or more) if you plan to read everything and stop for something to eat.
Where Do You Get a Free Harry Potter Passport From?
The Warner Bros. Studios don’t seem to do much to advertise these fun Harry Potter stamp passports, so don’t miss out on grabbing one as they make a fun souvenir – and they’re FREE!
There’s different stamps to collect as you venture around the studios, and our kids really enjoyed finding them all to complete their passports. It’s similar to the stamps at The Eden Project where a picture gets embossed into the paper.
I asked a staff member where I could find the passports as I couldn’t see them obviously displayed anywhere, and nobody was handing them out. She pointed me over to a counter inside the main entrance where there was a small box of them left out on the counter top.
They are really good quality too, with a thick card cover that’s embossed to feel like textured leather. I believe the passports change throughout the year too, so if you ever revisit you will probably get a different coloured one.
Places to Eat and Drink at London’s Harry Potter Studios
The Harry Potter studios were so much bigger than I imagined, so you’ll most likely want to stop for a bite to eat or to grab a thirst-quencher or creamy Butterbeer during your studio tour. There are a few different cafe’s dotted at various places around the Warner Bros venue. Here’s a look at them, and where each one is located.
Hub Cafe
This is the first spot you’ll see just inside the entrance lobby, and a great place to grab a hot drink and a snack. The Hub cafe serves up Starbucks coffees and light snacks like sandwiches and cakes.
Location: Studio Tour Hub
Opening times: All day
Food options: Starbucks coffees, bakery Items & snacks
Frog Cafe
The second café you’ll find is the Frog Café which is in the Food Hall near the tour entrance of the Harry Potter Studios.
The Frog Cafe is a great one to go to if you’ve got a sweet-tooth as the menu here is full of sweet treats, from luxurious hot chocolates, impressive milkshakes and patisserie style cakes.
Location: Food Hall
Opening times: All day
Food options: Hot drinks, ice-cream, cakes, take away
The Hogwarts Table
If you want an incredibly magical Hogwarts dining experience, then be sure to prebook a table at this restaurant. Its inspired by the Great Hall, so you can sit at one of the long house tables and dine under floating candles and colourful house flags.
Day guests can enjoy a pretty Harry Potter themed afternoon tea, and they do a slightly different version for children. Whilst on selected evenings, guests can enjoy a fancy 3-course Harry Potter inspired menu.
The Hogwarts Table must be pre-booked in advance, so if it’s something you really want to do, make sure you’re organised and get this scheduled in.
Location: Studio Tour Hub
Opening times: Time slot is pre-booked
Food options: Harry Potter themed afternoon tea, and 3 course evening meal on selected dates.
The Food Hall
The food hall menu changes throughout the day, and offers cooked meals and snacks to suit all appitietes. They serve Butterbeer pancakes, jam crumpets and classic fry-ups at breakfast, to stretched pizzas, pies and wizarding world inspired delights from 11:30.
There’s no need to prebook, but The Food Hall isn’t open all day so you’ll need to plan it around your studio tour time.
Location: The Food Hall
Opening times: Closes at 8pm on weekends and school holidays and 5pm at all other times.
Food options: British classics and Wizarding-world inspired dishes
Backlot Cafe
Half way around you’ll find the Backlot Cafe, which is where we stopped to grab some dinner as we had been in here 3 hours by this point and bellies were starting to rumble. They did a kids meal deal which came in a fun purple Knight Bus box. Our boys opted for burger and chips and a hotdog and chips – according to them they were very tasty.
Myself and James both went for the sticky chicken wings with fries, which were delicious albeit messy to eat. They had healthier salad options in here too, but the majority of the menu was typical quick service fast food.
As for seating, this cafe is huge with loads of tables and chairs. We didn’t struggle to find an empty one, and the staff had kept on top of clearing tables so it felt nice and tidy in here. There was an entire area of empty tables and chairs and this was around 6pm which I would imagine is a popular time.
Location: Half Way point, just after Platform 9 3/4
Opening times: All day
Food options: Quick service
Butterbeer Bar
Right next door to the Backlot cafe you’ll find the fun Butterbeer Bar. This is the place to stop and visit if you would like to try a selection of butterbeer flavoured sweet treats. Not only can you get a tankard of traditional Butterbeer (I’m still on the fence whether I like it or not!) but they also sell Butterbeer stuffed donuts, cookies, cakes and ice-cream to name a few. The theming in here is really good too, with some pods resembling train booths.
It’s not everyday you get to try a Butterbeer, and If you’re looking to give a few things a try, then it might be a good idea to grab yourself a ‘sharing flight’ which includes a Butterbeer, ice cream and cupcake. Although they had sold out of cupcakes during our visit, so they let us pick a donut or cookie instead – we went for the latter.
The sharing flight was more than enough to sample and share between the four of us and it created a fun culinary experience. It’s worth knowing that you get to keep the plastic Butterbeer tankard and ice-cream dish as a souvenir too – which helps to justify the price.
If you want to keep the dish and tankard don’t wash it out in the toilet basins. Just outside of the Butterbeer Bar you’ll see a washing station where you can rinse everything off and pop them into your handbag.
Location: Half way point
Opening times: All day
Food options: Butterbeer & sweet treats
Start of The Warner Bros Tour and Exploring The Harry Potter Sets
The tour begins with a hologram projection on the walls, before heading into a cinema room with your group. You’ll then watch a short film with the cast who tell you all about making the Harry Potter films, and what it was like for them to grow up during that time. Then, when the film ends, a fantastic surprise will be revealed to you.
There’s too many sets to mention them all, but here’s some of my favourites!
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The Great Hall
The first proper set you’ll visit is the Great Hall at Hogwarts (if it’s your birthday get ready for an extra perk!) You’ll get to step through the large wooden double doors and wander your way up through the long hall. Theres some pyro effects which were fun, and you’ll find your first golden snitch in here if you’re doing the passport activity!
The tables were set out ready for a feast, and if you visit during the festive period this room gets decked out in Christmas trimmings from Christams trees to misletoe.
This is the only set where you’re with your group, and the only one where you have a time limit inside it. Once you’re out of the Great Hall everyone can disperse and go where they want.
Gryffindor boys dormitory
The detail in this set was crazy and it shows a scene from one of the films where they eat magical sweets from Honeydukes. Keep an eye on Harry’s ears!
Professor Snapes potion dungeon
This room felt so magical with hundreds of dusty glass bottles spanning the shelves, and the bubbling cauldrons with magical moving spoons. You could really picture wizards creating potions inside this classroom.
Dumbledores Study
There was so much detail within this room with cabinets full of magical trinkets and Fawkes (Dumbledores Phoenix) sat on his golden perch You could even take a look inside the Pensieve.
Privet Drive
Iconic! We loved how you could walk right through the hallway into the kitchen of no4 Privet Drive. Pop your head into the living room to see hundreds of flying letters and Aunt Marge inflating.
The Forbidden Forest
This dark mystical forest has two routes you can take – one of which avoids Aragog. If you’re not a fan of monster sized spiders, you might want to take that route and steer clear of the 8-legged creatures.
As we strolled through the dark and creepy Forbidden Forest we passed by Buckbeak, and then had many larger than life spiders dangling above our heads, before finding Aragog hiding in a cave. He doesn’t always stay still though…
Triple decker Knight Bus
Although you can’t walk around inside the towering triple decker bus, you can jump in the back of the Knight Bus to grab a fun photo!
Hagrids Hut
After recently staying at a Hagrids Hut themed stay, we loved all the details within this display. The softly lit hut had giant sized furniture and baskets dangling from the ceiling.
Professor Sprouts Greenhouse
This room is so immersive, with venomous Tentacula smashing its way through the glass panels of the Greenhouse, and you’ll hear the shrieks of the Mandrake plants as you get closer. Once inside you’ll be able to grab one by its foliage and pull it out from the soil – get ready to make the mandrake cry like a newborn baby!
The effect is super effective, the way the dirt rolls off as you pull the mandrake from the soil.
Gringotts Bank
I think this was my favourite set. Its so impressive with heaps of detail that makes it feel like you’re walking around inside the film. There’s the huge marble pillars, glistening 16ft chanderliers and all the high counters with realistic looking goblins. It’s absoultely brillant. But it doesnt stop there, the next room is a smashed up version of Gringotts Bank with a fire-breathing dragon and smoke! 10/10 fabulous.
Hogwarts Express – Platform 9 3/4
You can walk through the actual Hogwarts Express train carriage that was used in the movies, and see each cabin set up to represent scenes from some of the films. You can’t sit inside each carriage pod, but you can walk down the corridor of the trains carriage.
If only trains still had these lovely individual rooms – they looks so much nicer than modern trains.
Diagon Alley
What a magical place Diagon Alley is, it’s colourful, quirky and full of historic themed archtiecture. Everyone says that JK Rowling based Diagon Alley on The Shambles in York, and Victoria Street in Edinburgh – and I have to say it does feel a real blend of both. The old style shops of York, with the colourful buildings of Victoria Street.
You can’t go inside any of the shops, but it really does feel like you’re walking along a very old cobbled street. You’ll pass by Ollivanders wand shop, and you can take a peak inside Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes too.
Hogwarts castle
I don’t know why, but this part actually made me feel so emotional. Maybe it was the lighting, the magical Harry Potter music, or just the fact it was the end of a wonderful family day trip.
They displayed a projection of fireworks onto the Hogwarts castle an it looked so special I believe at Christmas time, they decorate the castle with snow which must look so pretty.
Its hard to appreciate the scale of the Hogwarts Castle in a photo, but theres a a ramp lets you walk all the way around it for a 360 view of every intricate detail. It’s a huge model and so beautiful.
Free and Paid Photo Opportunities
Obviously theres photo ops absolutely everywhere throughout the Warner Bros. Studios, but they also have a couple designated props for fun Harry Potter photo opportunities.
Deathly Hallows
This is a fun one for the kids to get involved with as they pretend they are clambering over thousands of pieces of treasure. It took them months to paint all the plastic items gold for that scene in Deathly Hallows.
Hagrids motorbike and side cart
We all manged to get on here and capture a fun family photo together.
Platform 9 3/4
Can you make it to Platform 9 3/4? Grab hold of the trolley handles and give it a go!
Broomstick ride
You don’t have to pay to do the experience, so it’s worth giving it a go – even if you don’t plan on purchasing the photos or video afterwards.
There’s a few broomstick greenscreen pods, so you’ll just need to join the queue and enjoy watching everyone else make their videos whilst you wait. When a broomstick pod becomes available there will be a staff member there to show you which moves to do to match the greenscreen visual. You’ll be flying down a busy Highstreet, soaring high above Hogwarts and zooming low over a lake where you can dip your fingers into the water. If you have long hair they will blow air in your face which helps to make the video a smidge more realistic.
Jude gave it a go and he really enjoyed the experience, and although the video came out great we didn’t buy it purely because of the price.
Harry Potter Gift Shop
The main Harry Potter gift shop is HUGE! It just kept going on, and on, and on. We loved the theming in each section, and all the merchandise actually felt brilliant quality. The boys both wanted to buy a wand with their Easter money, so we spent some time looking through all the different designs. There’s so many wands from character wands, to house wands and special edition wand, that the walls are covered in boxes from head to toe.
All the wands were around the £30 mark, which is a lot – but they are great quality and make a fun souviner to display on their bedroom walls.
It’s not just wands for sale though, theres various gifts in all the different Hogwarts house themes from mugs, to notebooks, to teddies, clothes, homeware and keyrings. The boys got a pin each for their pin collections, and myself and James grabbed a keyring to convert into a Christmas tree decoration.
There’s also a sweet shop where you can get yourself something tasty including an iconic chocolate frog.
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The Railway Gift Shop
This is a far smaller gift shop which you’ll find on Platform 9 3/4. It does have some exclusive items that you wont find again at the main gift shop at the end, so if you see it marked as ‘exclusive collection’ and you want it – then get it now!
Toilets
If you’re visiting with young children, you might want to take note of where the toilets are because there aren’t toilets all over the place. You’ll find some toilets inside the main entrance foyer area and then once you begin the tour there aren’t anymore until you’re in the ‘Dark Arts’ section, and then at the half way point near the Backlot cafe.
Wand Walkway & Wizards Chess Pieces
As you walk from the carpark over to the entrance of Harry Potter studios you’ll notice the walkway is through an archway of larger-than-life wands. It looked really impressive, and at night time all the tips of the wands light up with a soft glow.
Theres also some wizards chess peices which are a fun addition to the outside area of Warner Bros Harry Potter Studios.
Other Tips For Visiting Warner Bros. Studio
- Audio tours available. This is chargeable and you can collect the headsets from the entrance foyer.
- Allow for spending all day here, or at least a minimum of 5-6 hours.
- There’s different seasonal activities throughout the year.
- The studios get decorated all festive for Christmas period (November-January)
- It can get busy during peak days. Be prepared to queue at some points for certain attractions.
- To try and have slightly less crowds, opt for an early morning ticket.
- Its a lot of walking, younger children could struggle to walk for 6 hours.
- Bring a packed lunch if you want to save some money on food costs.
Final Thoughts
I 100% recommend a trip to the Warner Bros Harry Potter studios. It’s absolutley brilliant, and if you’re a Harry Potter fan then these will blow your mind and have you feeling like you’re closer to the wizarding world. Yes- It’s an expensive day out, but the fact it goes on for so many hours makes it feel like its worth the expensive price tag.
Remember to be organised and book early, and if you want to enjoy a special meal at the Great Hall inspired restaurant, then you need to prebook.
Before you go …
The blog is where the full story lives, but if you want to come along for the ride in real time for behind the scenes moments, and everything as it happens. Come follow me on Instagram: @roostandroam.co.uk
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