This May, animal actors from the Harry Potter film series will make a special appearance at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – which highlights the talented training teams that helped create the performances of the 250+ live animals that appeared across all eight films. From Saturday 25th May to Sunday 2nd June 2013, a selection of animals, trained by Head Animal Trainer Julie Tottman, will revisit the incredible sets they frequented when working on the films.
Visitors will be able to pose for a picture with one of the snowy owls who played Harry Potter’s letter-delivering owl Hedwig as she sits outside 4 Privet Drive or watch as she flies across the Studio Tour’s backlot. A selection of owls, including the one that portrayed Ron Weasley’s pet Pigwidgeon, will be showcased in the backlot throughout the week and will also feature outside the shop front set of Eeylops Owl Emporium in Diagon Alley.
One of the cats that played stealthy Mrs Norris and one of the ginger cats that played Hermione Granger’s bandy-legged feline Crookshanks will prowl the Gryffindor common room. Visitors will also be able to learn how rats and toads were trained behind-the-scenes as the animal actors, who played Neville Longbottom’s toad Trevor and Ron Weasley’s rat Scabbers, were.
During filming, 40 kittens were brought to the studio to be filmed in front of a blue screen for Dolores Umbridge’s porcelain kitten plates which can be found at the Studio Tour in Umbridge’s Ministry of Magic office. The kittens were adopted after the shoot and their current owners have no idea that their pets once starred in one of the Harry Potter films. Visitors will discover firsthand how these scenes were filmed as the Studio Tour recreates a blue screen set complete with kittens.
A Neopolitan Mastiff, trained like those who played Hagrid’s loyal dog Fang, will be stationed outside the half-giant’s hut and visitors will be able to compare him to the incredibly lifelike figure that currently sits in the Gamekeeper’s hut.
Over the weekend WB Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter revealed a poster (in six pieces!) announcing their first anniversary; that full poster may be seen in the gallery! From Monday 18th March to Sunday 14th April, the WB Studio Tour will be celebrating their first anniversary with a bunch of surprises for guests who visit the attraction! Great giveaways and extra experiences will take place at Leavesden over that time, so be sure to order your tickets at www.wbstudiotour.co.uk. Here are some highlights since the opening:
The first person to visit the Studio Tour was a four-year-old boy named Harry and the millionth visitor was a nine-year-old boy from the appropriately-named town of Dudley.
The longest distance traveled to the Studio Tour by a visitor to date is over 11,000 miles. This particular person came all the way from New Zealand.
The longest time a visitor has spent in one day at the attraction so far is 10 hours.
Over 20 members of the Studio Tour staff worked on the Harry Potter film series as costume makers, extras, chaperones and/or members of the tech and catering teams.
The Great Hall doors have opened more than 14,000 times since the Studio Tour began, and each group of visitors has been greeted with the words “Welcome to Hogwarts!”
The number of wands sold by Warner Bros. Studio Tour London since opening would, if stacked end to end, be taller than 7,000 triple-decker Knight Buses.
Fans will recall that we were at the grand opening last March to interview the stars and experience the tour. What an amazing year it has been for the tour, did you get a chance to visit yet?
Starting this Monday, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is launching a new advertising campaign that will feature some of their talented staff members for the first time. The new ads will be appearing on bus sides, billboards, websites and in magazines, shopping centres and newspapers over the next week. You can see a preview of the ads in our gallery!
Over 20 members of the Studio Tour’s staff worked on the Harry Potter film series as costume makers, extras, chaperones and members of the tech and catering teams. They won a national customer service award last September and the feedback from visitors about them has been incredible. They are real fans, incredibly knowledgeable and the keepers of so many behind-the-scenes secrets.
The company said, “We’re looking forward to the Studio Tour staff receiving even more recognition for the fantastic job they do.”
This week is Wand Week at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter and to celebrate the Harry Potter Facebook page released a video on how to use a wand with Paul Harris, who choreographed the wand battles in the final film. The studio tour also had a special guest today, Chris Rankin! He was on hand, along with Paul Harris, to answer fan questions on the Warner Bros Studio Tour Twitter.
Delve into the world of wand making, spell casting and wizarding duels this February, during our first ever Wand Week.
Special effects and choreography experts from the Harry Potter film series will be involved in creating the activities for Wand Week.
Discover how fight scenes were developed and the incredible amount of planning that went into each wand movement.
Original moulds, concept art and wand designs will be showcased in the attraction.
For the first time, Ollivander’s authentic costume (as worn by John Hurt) will be on display at the entrance of his famous wand shop.
Our knowledgeable staff members will be on hand to share many of the behind-the-scenes secrets of the most successful film series of all time.
Wand Week will take place from Saturday 16th to Sunday 24th February, limited tickets available, book your tickets today.
Arthur Weasley actor Mark Williams visited Warner Bros Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter this past weekend to help them celebrate their one millionth visitor! A photo from the surprise visit may be seen in our gallery, thanks to Warner Bros.
WARNER BROS. STUDIO TOUR LONDON – THE MAKING OF HARRY POTTER CELEBRATES ONE MILLION VISITORS
December 8th 2012: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, the UK’s newest attraction, today welcomed its one millionth visitor.
Benjamin from Dudley was delighted to be met by actor Mark Williams, who plays Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter film series, and presented with a collector’s edition Nimbus 2000 broom.
Benjamin said: “I couldn’t believe it when I walked through the door of the Tour and Mr Weasley met me. I love Harry Potter and I’ll never forget my visit to the Studio Tour.”
Mark Williams commented: “It’s wonderful to be back on the Harry Potter sets and to see so many people getting the chance to enjoy them. I feel really privileged to meet the millionth visitor to the tour.”
Sarah Roots, Vice President, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London says: “Since opening our doors on 31st March 2012 we have been overwhelmed by both the level of interest and the incredibly positive reviews and we are delighted to welcome our millionth visitor in the first year of operating. We limit the number of visitors per day so this is a particularly significant achievement.”
Mark Williams then went on to surprise visitors in the Great Hall by revealing filmmaking secrets as an impromptu tour guide.
This past weekend Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter was given a festive makeover for the Holiday’s (running until January 6th)! This morning we have been sent a few photos of the new decorations! View the photos in the gallery!
For those of you that missed the first post, the press release stated:
Eight Christmas trees will line the Great Hall, adorned with authentic decorations as they first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone™. In the film, these decorations are levitated onto the trees by Professor Flitwick, played by Warwick Davis. The long dining tables will be dressed as they were for the seasonal feasts with turkey, hams, fruit, vegetables, plum puddings and snow cakes. The food featured in the feasts throughout the early films was real; however, the Set Decoration Department later used artificial food created from powder and resin.The Gryffindor common room, boys’ dormitory and Weasley kitchen will also undergo a seasonal transformation and visitors will see the hand-knitted jumpers that Molly Weasley gave Ron and Harry for Christmas in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone™. Other costumes on display include Harry’s first Christmas present at Hogwarts – his Invisibility Cloak – and the dress Luna Lovegood wore to the Slug Club Christmas party in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince™. It took over two months to make the four versions of the dress needed for filming which were adorned with 50 metres of real tinsel and 1000 individual crystals. Evanna Lynch, who played Luna, created the jewellery she wore with the costume and many of the other accessories she wore while filming.
Visitors will also discover secrets behind the footprints in the snow, which were filmed for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ and appear when Harry sneaks into Hogsmeade under his Invisibility Cloak.
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