A Muggle in a Wizarding World

Welp, it happened. This past weekend I made my way to to very wonderful world of Harry Potter. I knew that going to the mecca of the Wizarding world was going to be an experience, but I had no idea how completely immersive it was going to end up being.

Since I knew that this was going to be one of the things I just had to do while in England, I made sure to get it done before the craziness of student arrivals began. I went during the first weekend that I was in town and so glad that I did as the days and weekends have begun to pile up with events.

Getting to Harry Potter World was a bit of an adventure in itself. The actual studio is about an hour outside of London via train/bus. It was really easy to get to and you can't miss the bus, as it is decorated in Harry Potter designs.

As soon as you get to the studio, you are welcomed with all things Harry. Massive photos of the entire cast line the walls, Harry's cupboard under the stairs is one of the first things you see (along with the gift shop of course!).

I was given a timed entrance (so make sure to buy tickets online beforehand) and it all went so smoothly. The entire studio is self-guided, so you can spend as much, or as little time as you would like.

Right from the beginning, you start the entire experience in the Guest Hall. It is filled with so much memorabilia; costumes, table settings, etc. that you totally feel like you are in the movies. I loved it.

Each room was filled with actual items used in the movies.

They even showed you how the magic was made behind the scenes, how flying broomsticks worked and how they created all of those insane creatures throughout all of the movies. It was so neat! There were sections featuring Gringots, Diagon Alley, and of course the Hogwarts castle.

I was so impressed to see how all of these movies were made, for the most part, right there in that studio.

There are two separate areas of the studio, as well as outside sets, like the Potter home and Hogwarts bridge.

In between the two areas, there is a place that you can try some Butterbeer that is so highly written about in the books. It was actually pretty darn good---tasted like cream soda with a bit of butterscotch and a cream topping.

I have to say, the entire day was a bit expensive, but totally worth it. I loved seeing all of the masks, creatures and sets. I really did feel like I had spent the day in Hogwarts and the world of Wizards. Two very magical thumbs up.