Monday 1st August off to bed early, alarm set for 05.30 am. Couldn’t sleep the excitement was mounting going to visit Warner Bros. Studios tomorrow to see The Making of Harry Potter.
The weather Gods were not kind to us it was raining throughout the journey into Manchester. Did somebody say there was a drought.
The YPC members volunteering to assist during the day had been asked to meet no later than 7.30 am at Manchester Piccadilly Station bringing with them a selection of bananas, water bottles and cereal bars to sustain the Young People during the first part of our journey, a train ride to Milton Keynes. After all of the Young People and their parents / guardians had arrived it was time to board our train for an 8.10 am departure. After the provisions had been distributed it was time to handout the “Harry Potter” quiz sheets. One of the committee members, Malcolm, had not read a Harry Potter book or seen any of the films spent the two weeks prior to the trip binge watching all eight films. He was disappointed when we told him committee members were not allowed to compete in the quiz. Never mind, his newly acquired knowledge would be useful during the Tour.
It is a quick journey from Manchester to Milton Keynes, approximately one and a half hours. The group had only just completed the quiz. The Dementors who stood in for our usual team of invigilators were a strong deterrence for any competitor who was hoping to use the internet as a source for the answers. After disembarking the train it was a short walk, to the pick up point for our coach to Warner Bros. Studios which took forty minutes.
Our arrival at Warner Bros. was on time and within the timeslot allocated for our party to join the Harry Potter Tour. After a group photo outside the entrance to the Harry Potter Tour and a reminder of the meet up and departure time it was time to enter the tour, entry ticket and passport in hand. Once through security and ticket checks we sat down to watch a short film explaining how the books became a publishing phenomenon and were transferred into a series of successful films creating major stars of the actors who played the main characters.
The screen lifted and we were invited to stand at the entrance doors to the Great Hall (not as impressive as the entrance doors to Grand Lodge). The Great Hall is impressive, with characters wearing their house uniforms, the members of staff at the top table and the Frog Choir.
After exiting the Great Hall the group split into family and friends pods and went their separate ways into the heart of the Studio Tour. Professor Dumbledore’s Office, Costumes, Special Effects, Quidditch Flying Brooms, Potions Classroom, Common Rooms, Dormitories, Professor Dolores Umbridge’s Office, The Enchanted Forest (complete with Aragog), The Basilisk, Buckbeak, Platform 9 ¾ and much more. Don’t forget to get your Passport stamped at the exihibits.
One committee member who hasn’t read any Harry Potter books or seen any films had great difficulty entering Platform 9 ¾. Fortunately TLC was on hand to guide him through the secret entrance. Well done David and enjoy the films you promised to watch, Malcolm will give you the list.
After Platform 9 ¾ it was time for a refreshment break at the Backlot Cafe. The queue for service at the cafe was huge, at least an hour’s wait. Fortunately, a sandwich and drinks truck opened shortly after we bypassed the cafe and entered the Backlot. The truck had a selection of drinks, snacks and cheese and tomato sandwiches. Don’t ask for tuna, the salesperson has had his sense of humour removed.
The Backlot has a number of attractions, a 1:3 scale version of the Weasley’s Burrow, Professor Sprout’s Greenhouse (our chance to capture our own Mandrake), 4 Privet Drive, Hogwarts Bridge, The Knight Bus, Ford Anglia and other attractions.
Fortified by cheese and tomato sandwiches and tea / coffee we were ready to undertake the second part of the indoor studio tour starting with Creature Effects demonstrating how CGI, Robotics and the creative skills of the model makers were merged to expand our believe in the supernatural.
Creature Effects leads into Gringotts Wizarding Bank a bank run by goblins that houses the Lestrange Vault treasure store. At 16,500 sq ft the bank is huge and impressive. The design, structure and attention to detail are amazing.
The next set is a recreation of Gringotts after the destruction wrought by the Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon after its release by Harry, Hermione and Ron in Deathly Hallows Part Two. We mistakenly thought that the dragon had fled the scene of destruction but were horrified when it made an appearance from the back of the building breathing fire and horrendous roars. The heat and dust was frightening, TLC fear was so great that he beat a hasty retreat from the building (watch the video of TLC’s escape on the YPC web pages news) leaving his committee member minders to make their own escape.
Luckily, we found TLC resting on the treasure in the Lestrange Vault. He wouldn’t say how he eluded the tight security to gain access to the vault. After some discussion security agreed to release TLC on condition that we kept him and his new friend under strict control. Any further adventures and he would be ejected from the building and barred for life.
Security escorted us to Diagon Alley. The shopping centre of choice for all wizards. The set contains all of the shops. All wizardly goods can be bought in Diagon Alley: wands, robes, potion bottles, cauldrons, schoolbooks, quidditch equipment, owls, bats’ spleens, eels’ eyes and everything else a wizard could need.
The Art Department has an exhibition of drawings and plans exampling the detail the artists, draughtsmen and technicians went to in creating, making and decorating the props and sets used in the filming of the Harry Potter films. It was a labour of love, in many cases taking years from design concept to fruition.
The Model Room, the next stop on the tour, is dominated by a model of Hogwarts School. The exclamations of “Oh my God”, “Wow”, “Incredible” etc were uttered by everybody entering the room. It is a fantastic, detailed model of the school created in J. K. Rowling’s mind. We were all taken aback by its size and detail. Entry to the Model Room is at roof level, the walkway gradually winds round Hogwarts until the model is seen from ground level. There are other models in the room each excellent examples of the creativity to take the structure from a description in a book to a physical representation of the wizarding world.
As always at any visitor attraction the last place to visit is the Gift Shop. The shop shown on the plan seems an insignificant space to all of the other sets and exhibitions. The shop is the wizardly equivalent of Dr Who’s Tardis. It goes on, seemingly, for ever.
The cup of tea / coffee at the cafe after leaving the shop was most welcome.
All of our group were on time at the meeting point and boarding the coach for the return trip to Milton Keynes and Zizzi’s restaurant at the Hub.
At the restaurant one member of the group asked if we were aware that Avanti West Coast had cancelled our scheduled train, A quick check on the internet confirmed the cancellation. Karen made a call to Avanti and calmly stressed that our party had to be on the next scheduled train with fortyfive reserved seats in the same carriage. Avanti met our request. The train was one hour later than our original plan. We added garlic bread starters to our order to spend more time at the restaurant. During the meal the winners of the Harry Potter Quiz were announced and presented with their prizes.
After the meal the group walked to Milton Keynes Station. The train was delayed arriving into Milton Keynes ten minutes late. On boarding the train there were some people sat in our reserved seats. Seeing a horde of tired Harry Potter fans entering the carriage persuaded them that they would be better off in another carriage. Tired and weary, but still excited everybody was seated and looking forward to arriving in Manchester with a revised plan for getting home.
The train did not make up the lost time before arriving in Manchester.
At Piccadilly we all said our goodbyes wished everyone a speedy trip home from the station and looking forward to our next gathering.
Report and Pictures by Roger Tinker