Saturday, January 9, 2016

Hogwarts

No, I didn't actually go to Hogwarts, but I did come about as close as I could. I went with a big group of our class to The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour, and saw a bunch of sets and props and costumes from the Harry Potter films. I'm definitely part of the Harry Potter generations. I grew up reading it and seeing all of the movies, so it is a major part of my childhood and it has a sentimental attachment for me.

 Let me set the scene for you.
After waiting in line for a good thirty minutes, after we had our ticket, they herded us into a theater to watch a short film about the tour. It ended with a shot of the doors to the great hall, then like magic, the screen rows and behind it was the doors to the great hall. There was genuine shock and excitement in the crowd as we all jumped to our feet and rushed to the doors. They talked for a while, then opened the doors and like nervous first years, we walked into the great hall.




The Great Hall was one of my favorite parts of the tour. I waited until everyone else had left to get this shot. We went sometime after thanksgiving, so it was decorated like Christmas. It's a lot smaller than you would imagine but no less awesome. I only wish we could have sat down at the tables and pretended to eat some of the delicious looking fake food. If you're curious about which house I'm in, it's undoubtedly Ravenclaw.





This is the Gryffindor Boy's Bedroom. There are little clues in the details here that tell you which bed is whose. Details are what makes the world of Harry Potter really incredible.





There's a running joke among some friends and I, that if we were all characters from Harry Potter, I would be Dumbledore. So here I am in my office. This set was particularly cool because you really get to step into the room and you look around and it doesn't look like a movie set, it looks like real life. Fun trivia fact: most of the books in the office are actually rebound phone books. It looks like a pretty killer library, something I would love to have in my office some day. Maybe I am Dumbledore.









Some more sets from the tour, including Potions Class, The Hogwarts Express, The Ministry of Magic Statue, Gryffindor Common Room, and The Weasley's House.






These are from scenes from the more outdoor areas of the tour including The Queen from Wizard Chess, Potter's Cottage, The Dursley's, and what we called the "deep conversations bridge". Also, they were making it fake snow outside, and for a moment we believed magic was real and it could snow without there being a cloud in the sky. 
   

Finally, I present you my favorite, most magical parts of the tour. These two places are Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Castle. I waited for the opportune moment to take this photo and got one that looks like I might actually be shopping for school supplies at Diagon Alley. The castle itself is really breathtaking. We wanted to hang out here for longer, but we were running out of time. It's pretty small, as they only use it for outside shots, but they put it at the very end of the tour because its the epitome of Hogwarts and Harry Potter. This was so cool and I'm so glad that I got to feel like I was really in the storybook world of my childhood.         Cheers,                                                                 Sarah 
 

 Also, I drank Butterbeer and it tastes like magic (which taste a lot like caramel and butterscotch as it turns out, very sweet.)
















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