As someone who was a child when the first Harry Potter books were originally released, and then the first movies too, I was definitely one of those humans who was caught firmly in the grips of HP fever.
I shouldn’t say “was”, because – let us be honest – I still am. I still re-read the books every other year, and will forever have the Deathly Hallows symbol tattooed on the skin over my ribcage to remind me of my love for this wizarding world which gave me happiness, hope, and sometimes pure escape during my childhood.
The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was released when I was 5 years old, in 1997, but it was in early 1999, at the age of 7 (and an avid bookworm by this point already), when I first came across it.
I devoured that book, and then the second, The Chamber of Secrets, in almost no time at all – In fact, I distinctly remember how I finished the first book whilst my family was on a roadtrip for one of my older brother’s sporting events, and insisted we stop at a bookstore in some random town so we could buy the second book. I then sat in the backseat of the car with my nose so deep in said book, and refused to leave the car even for rest stops because I was so hooked (much to my parents frustration at the time, I’m sure).
I was addicted. From then on I was one of those children who forced my parents to pre-order the new book releases months in advance, and drive me to the book store the morning of release to pick up my copy as soon as humanly possible, so I could then sit in my room for the next few days to binge-read the entire thing.
When the films were announced in 2000, I was over the moon, and of course marched my way to the front of the queue at each film release to take in the marvel of my favourite fantasy world being transformed from page to screen.
When the final book was released in 2007, I was 15 years old and still as engrossed as ever in the world of Harry Potter, and the same was still true when the final film was released in 2011, when I was 19.
Hell, it was still true when sequel to the entire original series, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, was released in 2016, and prequel films of the Fantastic Beast series continue to be released, as I live through my late 20s.
I know I’m not the only one whose love for this series has never died out. For one, my best friend Ashleigh, who was right there alongside me devouring the books and films as they were released (of course we compared notes with each new book and film), has also always held a flame for the HP series.
She was also right there with me as we got our matching Deathly Hallows tattoos with another one of our good friends.
Ashleigh came across from Australia to visit me in the UK back in November 2018, and it had worked out so perfectly that my amazing parents-in-law had gifted me two tickets to the Making of Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour experience for my birthday that year.
Now while my fiance Dan is a bit of a Harry Potter fan too, he knew Ashleigh’s love for the series was on the level with my own (ie. HP addicts), and knowing Ashleigh was coming to visit, graciously allowed the two of us to use the tickets together, rather than the original plan of him and I visiting together (Thanks Dan!).
So off we trotted, happy as could be and overwhelmed with excitement, to the outskirts of London to visited the Studio Tour, which opened in 2012 following the release of the final films.
What’s inside the studio that was the home of HP film production over a decade is now a treasure trove of costumes, sets, props, and memorabilia, as well as a magical insight into how the story we know and love was brought to life.
For someone like myself, and Ashleigh, this place was possibly more exciting than Disneyland. We were like kids in a candy shop – running about pointing at every little treasure we spotted, gasping in awe at the marvels that were once only behind a screen, now right in front of us.
I don’t think I can even properly put into words how much I enjoyed this experience, and how happy it made the child Marnie inside me. Instead, I think I’m going to have to let my photos and video footage show how I was feeling.
It was a very cool experience, that’s for sure. And it gave me an even bigger appreciation for the films, which I have always LOVED, don’t get me wrong, but have always come second to me compared to the books that I first fell in love with (But I think that’s a pretty common thing for those who read and obsessed over the books first, before the films were even commissioned).
For anyone who has read the Harry Potter novels, or has ever watched and smiled at the Harry Potter films, this is an experience you may really appreciate as an alternative to some of the other classic tourist things to do in London.
If you want to find out more about the tour, click here.
