Harry Potter-ed

Konnichiwa…ok I just had this crazy idea to start off my posts with a greeting in a foreign language…so this was Japanese. I have no reasoning behind this, and I know I will not learn a language by learning the word “Hello”….but hey it’s a start.

So, keeping up with the pace my month has been, my weekend was super busy and fun…Again!!! So my darling friend Bottom turned a year wiser and to mourn this occasion we decided…well I say we...but I had no voice in this as this part of the day was sponsored by her lovely sis Bee….so as I was saying…'we' decided to visit The Making of Harry Potter Studios….say whaaaa!!!! So this was my reaction when this was revealed as the plan for the day…now before I hear the wrath from the Potter fans….I just have to put it out there I haven’t seen any of the movies since the first and the only reason I saw the movie was because I read the first book which was Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. I always tried to read the later ones but always had something or the other come up….this something or the other used to usually be a thing called A LIFE!!! I’m only kidding…I’m just rubbish at remembering characters, their super powers and their sworn enemies for too long…all though how I remember Rebecca (aka Becky) Brandon (nee Bloomwood ) from the Shopaholic Series of novels by Sophie Kinsella is beyond me….oh well !!!

But this wasn’t my birthday and if I had to pretend to ignore the fact that the 3 main characters have'nt aged a bit and still look like they are still in their teens…and that this could have been a potter curse/blessing…then that’s what I will do for the birthday girl….besides it’s another thing to blog about…Cloud, meet your silver lining.

The Studio itself is based somewhere around Watford and I had to get off the Watford Junction station and make my towards the collection points where there were buses that looked like they were drenched in the Harry Potter film realms. But it does add to the excitement and I could see little kids really enjoying themselves and some even crying with excitement. OMG! Have I missed out on something BIG by skipping these books!

The girls were in their Potter mode and were looking at me for some or any facial reactions. They could have been talking German for all I knew, coz I had no clue. Desperate to make some Potter related conversation; I told them how sad Christopher Lee’s passing away was …completely oblivious to the fact that this was a Lord of the Rings character and not a potter character, but seriously did they have similar stylists???Yes, I did get geeky "tsks tsks" and nodding of the heads. But come on, there’s just too many similarities to ignore, both include stories of short guys guided by old guys with beards, there’s your  mystical creatures and potions,and you also have one of the Potter creatures looking a bit like the lil bald guy looking for ‘Precious !’…although why Golum needed a bit of Gabby Sidibe in his life...I will never know... I’m going to regret saying this on a public platform…aren’t I?

So couple of helpful pointers

1.     Bee had to book way ahead for the timed ticket slot. But my co-sister…wait …is that actually a word???…my main girl Sheets decides to join us the last minute and had to get a later timed slot. But if you ask any of the Potter guides, they will happily let your group through if it’s not too busy. The tour that we were on was moderately busy. But yea, book early to avoid disappointment.

2.     There’s an hour and half, depending on your pace of walking, before your next food/coffee stop or the loos. So relieve yourself or/and stuff yourself before the tour. And try not be distracted by the inviting gift shop.

3.     If you are travelling with kids, please do find out about getting Potter passports for them .This is free and also has a lovely treasure hunt. I HAD to have one. But saying that a 5 ft 8 inch woman begging for a Potter passport is not a pretty sight. It’s a great souvenir for the kids (and adults!!) and the passport does get stamped at key points of the treasure hunt. I got my souvenir pic stamped...*smug look

 4.     You do not have to know the entire collection back to back or even who the good and bad guys are to appreciate The Great Hall. If it is your birthday or if it’s just gone by, you get the golden opportunity to open the doors to the Great Hall. Listen to the guides as they do know their stuff and not too shy to share their geeky potter knowledge.

 5.     The place does have Wi-Fi available absolutely free. So if you do need it, please do ask for this. If not for anything else, check yourself and/or your mates in on your social pages.

6.     When inside, jump on the Flying Ford Anglia or the broom in front of the green screen for a picture souvenir or video souvenir. And more importantly go crazy with l’expressionz. You do get to decide later on if you want to buy it or not.

7.     An hour and a half after your walk you come out of one the studios and there is a break out seating area with a food and the ButterBeer counter. Now again , I had no clue what ButterBeer was and I just couldn’t understand why 3 grown women were drooling over the word ButterBeer….I love butter…I like beer….but I don’t like my butter on my beer or the other way round. You do get to buy a souvenir plastic beer mug if you want to. The food selection was very basic and it was like hot dog, hotdog with onions, burger…yea..you get the picture. The ButterBeer was “interesting”…it tasted like a light butterscotch drink. I actually liked the froth; it was like eating cream and the froth gets frothier if you leave it for a bit. So more cream! Also, I came up with this “Bee and Bottom bought a bit of ButterBeer, but the ButterBeer was too bitter, So Bee and Bottom let the ButterBeer bubble, to make the ButterBeer better”

 Ok, so it’s not your average tongue twister.

Bring your own picnic lunch if you want to, you can eat it in the restaurant area.

8.     The second half of the tour is more of what went into the creation of the movie like the creatures, monsters and architecture. There’s nothing that will prepare you for the amazing room that held the scaled down model of the castle, which was (using my very limited Potter knowledge here) for all dreamy exterior shots. Amidst all the photography poses that you will be striking in this room, don’t forget to use the touchscreen displays which will allow you to learn more about what actually went on in getting the films together.

9.     While walking you just land in this magical land with all goodies and before you know it…you realize (sadly!) that the tour is over and also you have ended up in the gift shop. Ok, so being a gift shop for something this prestigious and popular, the prices were a bit steep for me but it is your average London souvenir prices. But I had to get something for my better half (consider this as a bribe money, as he had to take care of the little one  !!) and my little boy. I got a beer mug which came up to around £13 and a battery operated blue flying car which sadly didn’t fly and just kept going in a continous loop like some drunk puppy trying to catch its tail which came up to £12 and a fridge magnet for me, which was around £6 , so… not cheap!

10. If you can, watch the movies or read the books but I dont think that would make the appreciation of the place any less. I have been told that the movies don’t come close to how beautifully the books unfold the stories. But do know your Potter basics so that you appreciate the little things all over the place. I was wikipedia-ying the whole thing as we were walking through the tour. You will appreciate the art that went in the creation of the movie, regardless!