On Tuesday, we had pre-purchased tickets for a 4pm tour of Harry Potter. So earlier in the day Marty took me to a Farmer's Market/Nursery because it was on my list of things I wanted to see. Nice place and I really appreciated the fact that anything that wasn't local was clearly labeled as to where it came from and was it fair trade/organic/etc. The nursery was fun as well..lots of typical "English" flowers and herbs but also more exotic items like...wait for it....OLEANDER!!!!! Marty and I both laughed and swore we would come back with warning signs to post about Oleander and how it like bamboo. Once planted very difficult to deal with and hard to remove.
In the early afternoon we were off to the Studios. Just Marty, Taylor, Rhiannon and I as Jennifer had to work. The trip was about 45 minutes and the lot was very organized. We got our tickets printed from one of the kiosks and away we went. Although it is not high season, it was plenty crowded. We got into the "queue" and began to wind around and around. Plenty to keep us entertained.
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| Harry's cupboard under the stairs |
Once we were into the tour, there was a brief over view of the history of Harry Potter then we were into a large movie theater. Another film clip then the .... well you might someday get there so I won't reveal the big surprise. Suffice it to say that you get to a big door and enter the great hall.
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| Fireplace from the Great Hall |
Then a great tragedy occurred...my camera was out of juice! Fortunately Taylor loaned me her phone for pictures but I haven't yet had time to get her to download them so I could use them for this post. I promise that I will have more pictures later on to show you.
The whole tour is mostly self-guided and it includes lots of amazing original sets and props with incredible detail. Did you know that many of the oil portraits are actual pictures of the crew members? Or that every one of them was created by hand for the films? It boggles my mind.
I took the chance to take a virtual broom ride and got a great picture that I have to figure out how to post..either I will scan it or take a picture of it.
Midway through the tour there is a spot to get a bite to eat and to enjoy some butter beer. Only London and the attraction in Florida offers this treat. I think I know how to replicate it...I will be working on that when I return. If successful I shall share my recipe. The liquid is definitely some form of a cream soda..it is the head or the froth that makes it so yummy. Real cream just whipped to very soft peaks and butterscotch flavor added to it.
After our break it was time for the animation/tronic section. Really interesting to see the pieces and some of the molds used to bring some of the characters to life.
The most amazing part of the tour is the large scale model of Hogwarts. I can't wait to show you a few of those pictures because it is definitely very special.
The last bit includes WAY too much shopping at the very nice and strategically placed gift shop. Filled with every flavor of bean, House paraphernalia, time turner, quiditch balls, and books that you could wish for..it was glorious and now I am much poorer!
(Sorry, as I publish this I see that the format has gone wonky...not sure how yet it will be fixed but I am working on it!!)
Next: CORNWALL
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