Harry Potter Part I

Finally, at last, I was able to fulfill my dream, and enter Warner Bros studios, and more importantly, Harry Potter world. Picked up from London in a Harry Potter bus, we were trundled off to the studios early in the morning. As I got off the bus, this sight greeted my eyes.

Waiting in line for my ticket, I passed Harry's cupboard under the stairs. We were then ushered into a large room, where we watched a short movie about Harry Potter introducing us to the studio - It was an exciting start! Things only got better from there, as we were told we had no timelimit, could wander as long as we wanted, and as it wasn't guided, we could go where-ever and however we pleased; just how I like it! Then without further ado, the Great Doors swung open and suddenly we found ourselves in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

Arranged as if in the midst of a feast, with each table sporting Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin or Gryffindor colors, fake (but very realistic looking) food filled the tables, and mannequins dressed in the original costumes used in the films, stood as Dumbledore, Snape and Professor Mcgonagall giving a speech at the head of the hall.

As i came at Christmas time, it was all decorated as if it really were the Christmas day feast at Hogwarts. 

Once out of the Great Hall, I entered a huge room (more like a giant warehouse) full of the props used and collected over the years of the Harry Potter movies. One of my favorites was this table of food, although some of it is of course fake, items like the Phoenix cake are in fact edible, and incredibly lasted for over seven years in storage! Don't think I'd like to eat it now though.

The original wigs of all the actors, plus all their costumes could be seen all over the place, from Hermione's Yule Ball dress, to Harry's clothes over all of the movies, to Snape's wig. It was all there.

Many of the characters had their own area, with sketches, wigs, design art and personal effects. It was awesome to see the development of characters in this way. 

Then it was on to the actual movie props used in the movie. One of my favourite things was the magic fire they had on display. I'm not entirely sure how they did it as it moved and was tangibly there like real fire, but was more see-through, and completely silent. The right-hand photograph shows the Ministry Decrees put up by Umbridge from fifth movie. The amount of detail on each decree was awesome. 

One of my favourite movie sets was the Gryffindor common room, each bed was personalized, Dean's bed with football posters, Ron's with pictures of the Chudley Cannons and so on. 

My favourite part was the beds which were made in the first movie and never changed. Although they had fit the actors when they were eleven, by the later movies their legs would hang off the ends when they were lying down - all of which had to be concealed from the camera!

Madame Tussauds

For Christmas, mum gave me the treat of being able to go to Madame Tussaud's. This was in fact far cooler than I expected it to be, and far larger too! There were sections for everything you could think of, celebrities, the royal family, historical figures, famous sports figures (they even had a couple of people from the All Blacks!) and political figures.

It began with the celebrities!

Emma Watson and Colin Firth were the first ones that caught my eye

Then they had some more acting greats, including Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch (Not only Sherlock Holmes but also the voice of Smaug!!) 

 

Audrey Hepburn was one of my other favorites

Then some classics, including Charlie Chaplin and 007.

Alfred Hitchcock featured as the last celebrety before it 

was onto the historical figures!

Then onto politics and world leaders 

Next came the aptly named 'Chamber of Horrors' which was one of the original parts of Madame Tussauds. Her life was in fact far more interesting than I ever imagined. When she was seventeen she became the tutor of King Louis XVI's sister until the French Revolution where, to keep herself alive and in favor she was forced to make death masks of executed aristocrats. She then fled to England and continued her work, using her wax figures as a type of early newspaper, providing news on historical figures and bringing them to life for the common people.

Inside the Chamber of Horrors lay this guillotine, the blade is the one that was used to execute Marie Antoinette.

 

There was then an interesting section on the history of Madame Tussaud and some of her original documents, tickets, birth certificates etc.

 Lastly, there was an awesome ride that took you through the history of England, from medieval to modern day. It sped us past Shakespeare, through the plague, the fire of London and even the rebuilding of St. Paul's Cathedral. 

It also took us through war-torn London during the Blitz, complete with sound-effects. It was the highlight of the visit for me!

The War Rooms

Before my Australian friend left, she highly recommended the Churchill War Rooms to me, a massive bunker beneath London from which most of World War II planning was conducted. The bunker itself was huge, full of long passageways, bedrooms, map rooms, typewriters and kitchens. There was a sizable museum below ground also which was really interesting to wander around, unfortunately the lighting was so dim Photos didn't really work. 

This was my favourite room, set up exactly as it would have been in the early 1940s for planning. The bunkers went even deeper than we were allowed to go, but there were signs explaining that it led to a crawl space where once couldn't even stand upright, there were no lights or toilets down there either, and this is where the common soldiers slept. It noted that they often braved the air raids than sleep down there.

Officers quarters and a little kitchen.

Lifelike figurines showing daily life, receiving and sending messages out of the bunker.

War map showing how things were during the War (borders etc) and an old typewriter.

 

More planning rooms, all set up as was when the lights turned out in 1945. Using all the original equipment too. 

 

Some amusing and interesting war propaganda posters, they really show their times.