It’s no Chessington, but the kids’ imaginations were turning loops – a day out at Harry Potter Studios

It was a half term treat the whole family was looking forward to. Just a 45 minute drive outside East London, we promised the kids a trip to Harry Potter studios nearly a year ago as a shameless bribe to get them more interested in books than Minecraft. This was back when Jonah was on the verge of becoming an independent reader. He’d got a bit stuck on Beastquest and persuading him to read anything else was proving a bit of a challenge. Of course, he’d watched a few of the less scary Harry Potter films, but we’d always said he should read the stories before he saw the darker films. But he needed an additional push to get him started on the books. So reluctantly, with a trip as the incentive, we left him in bed with that first chapter of The Philosopher’s Stone and the rest is history. Within a week he’d polished off the first instalment and by the time the summer holidays were over, he finished the lot, got started on Narnia and displayed an interest in The Lord of The Rings. Now, I have Treasure Island – fairly tough going by any standards for its archaic use of language – just waiting in the wings. The boy reads like he eats: greedily, with no memory for details but a hunger to get to the end as quickly as possible. Like me, he has no appetite for suspense. So when Nana Zoo offered to treat us all to a family ticket for Ava’s sixth birthday treat, we jumped at the chance, even though I knew Jonah, nearly nine, would get more out of the day. At 80 odd quid for the four of us, it’s not a cheap day out, but no more expensive than, say Chessington, or one of the other theme parks where you feel obligated to have *thebestdayever* because you’ve parted with so much up front. But there’s no such guarantee of thrills and spills here, . Universal Studios this is not, so it’s better suited to tweens than little ones. Set on a quiet film lot in darkest Middlesex, where what looks like the depths of Mordor are currently under construction in another lot nearby, we are greeted by the gigantic scary chess figures that made such an impression in the first film, but apart from that, it’s a fairly unassuming entrance – more like a giant warehouse than a tourist attraction. Stepping inside, you are greeted by blown up pics of the stars and the flying car used by Harry and Ron in the 3rd book – (forgive me, if I’m wrong – I’ve read most of them – I was a child myself when they came out in the 90s, but I’m no expert)-  alongside the usual merchandising orgy, but nicely done – you can genuinely spend a fortune in the gift shop – but little sense of what lies ahead. You are offered a timed slot when you buy your tickets, and most people take about three hours to wander round, although you can takes as little or as much time as you like – the record is eight hours, we were told as we were ushered, along with 100 or so others, into a holding room that began the tour with cinematic aplomb. Nothing can quite prepare you for the screen to recede, and to be transported outside Hogwarts’ formidable entrance and into the Great Hall, where graffiti-carved benches – the result of cast members’ entire childhoods spent filming sit on flagstone floors where trestle tables are laden with food that magically never goes off, and ghostly mannequins sport original costumes worn by the stars. It is an overwhelming experience, for devoted fans, perhaps only surpassed by the moment where the suspension in your disbelief is disenchanted and you realise the seemingly rock solid walls are paper thin and held up by scaffolding. It is an uncanny experience echoed around the rest of the attraction. Displays of props are whelming in their detail, and sets of the Griffindor Common Room, Dumbledoor’s study and the Weaselys’ living room at once transport you and remove you from a sense of the familiar and strange. Yet, for children captivated by the stories, this is a lesson that teaches all is not what it may appear, but, with the magic removed, little ones may lose interest in the feat of workmanship that has clearly gone into bringing it all to life. For younger visitors, issued with a passport on arrival, strategically placed snitches are hidden around the various sets and displays, with stamp embossing machines dotted around to keep the little ones engaged in spotting and stamping while their parents marvel at the detail. A green screen broomstick attraction provides a concrete distraction from the many props and scenery, enabling visitors to dress in robes and capture a video of themselves swooping over the castle, but while we were happy enough to fork out a further £20 for two pictures of the kids, the video package was deemed too steep at nearly £50, even though our outing was essentially a gift to us.

Having been terrified by a living dementor, we edged towards to exit from part one of the attraction, and a chilly brew of super-sweet, but nonetheless delicious butter beer (like foamy cream soda) in the incongruous location of Privet Drive, set cheek by jowl next to the Potter family home and the Hogwarts bridge. It’s hard to believe scenes like this could be filmed in so tight a space, but marvelling at the construction aside, my one grumble, considering the price, is, instead of the cosy mock up of the Leaky Cauldron I had imagined in my mind’s eye, refreshments are only available sat outside on drafty wooden benches, which I felt was a bit of a lost opportunity – but that’s because I’ve been to the set-up for tourist attractions, rather than a visitor attraction retrofit of a real life studio.

The second half of the tour begins in the animatronix department, where latex goblin and troll masks vied for space with giant spiders, and actual giants for that matter, followed by a stroll up Diagon Alley where Olivander’s Wand Shop jostles next to Gringotts and the Weasley boys’ Joke Shop, and Dementors roam freely. A wander past scale models of sets and scenery opens to the money shot, for which we were completely unprepared – rising like a mountain, with a spiral walkway travelling vistors around it, a scaled model of the whole of Hogwarts, used to create wide angle shots of the castle and grounds, complete with Whomping Willow, glasshouses where undoubtedly mini mandrake grow, turrets a plenty and the famous bridge where Harry and hsi peers once swooped so realistically.

It really is fascinating and we spent a good ten minutes marvelling at the incredible detail, before wandering through the “wand department” where every person who worked on the entire eight(?) film production has their own named wand, through to the fabulous gift shop, where we couldn’t resist treating the kids to something special. A life-size Hedwig puppet was chosen by Ava, which twists its head and tweets realistically, though alas, only offline, and a wand for Harry – I mean Jonah, who was torn between Voldemort’s want and Dumbledore’s Elderwand, but thankfully plumped for the latter, with which he has been “accioing” ever since, as well as Bertie Bott Every Flavour Beans for the whole family, whose flavours contain a mix of nice and nasty such as dirt and vomit so realistic they have lain uneaten for nearly two weeks. Given the proximity to Halloween, the trip felt even more apt, and it’s fairly safe to say, a cliche though it may be, we all had a magical day. Even if the contents of our wallets afterwards felt like a shrinking spell had been successfully performed upon them.