Hello, World!
Today's post will be very long and (finally) INTERESTING!!! Yayy! Clap and cheer everyone!!
So for this summer vacation, my parents finally decided we could go abroad instead of just roaming around inside of India, where I live. And not just abroad like in Asia, but to Europe! For the first time ever! (Yes, I am poor.)
And since I was going to London, I was extremely excited as I would be going to Warner Brothers' Studios, also known as Harry Potter World, the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street and (possibly) famous landmarks from the Infernal Devices. (see the title of this post.)
I'm not going to talk in detail about the individual sights we saw in London, but I'm going to skip to the day we went to Harry Potter World because it was SURREAL. (If you're planning on going there and want it to be a surprise, I suggest you don't read this. It contains MAJOR spoilers.)
It was just my mum and I that day because my dad had a conference to attend in London (the main reason we were even there.). We had to take two trains and bus to get to the Harry Potter world - but finally, we were there and I literally could not wait to go in.
After getting our tickets, we went inside the studio. The lobby wasn't much, but there was a flying Ford Anglia and pictures of Dan, Emma, Rupert and the rest of the cast. Some were from the first few movies and THEY LOOKED SO FETUS IT WAS ADORABLE.
When we finally got out of a terribly long line, the people at the tour made us watch these two videos that were kind of boring and then FINALLY we entered the Great Hall! It was amazing, all the house tables were marked and there was a mannequin Dumbledore on his podium at the front along with other mannequin teachers like Hagrid, Moody and Professor McGonagall. Supposedly the costumes used were the original ones used while filming!
The next room had a lot of the original props and sets used in the filming that had specifically been MADE, from each oil painting near the marble staircases to the costumes worn at the Yule Ball and each proclamation made by Umbridge in the Order of the Phoenix. This is the picture of the drinks setup at the Yule Ball!
(There will be loads of pictures in this post because I took a picture of literally everything.)
The amount of detail put into these movies was amazing - you could see as huge things as the Goblet of Fire that had been created to each little Horcrux and even the Rememberall that Neville had in The Philosopher's Stone. On the left is a collage of all the items created - you can see Slughorn's hourglass, the Snitch and the Philosopher's Stone.
There was also the Marble Staircase that led to the dormitories - with EACH OIL PAINTING THAT HAD BEEN SPECIFICALLY CREATED. It was genuinely amazing to see how much detail had actually been put into the movies that we could pass off as "not related to the book" or "bad". Despite not being able to put key elements of the book in in some areas, there was still an incredible amount of detail that had gone into all those shots that we thought weren't important or came and went in just two seconds, and I feel like this helped me appreciate that so much.
The set of Dumbledore's office was particularly well-made - from the portraits on the walls to the huge contraption carrying the vials of memories to the Pensieve, it was all there. There was even a model of the griffin staircase that went up to Dumbledore's office - I loved it.
We had luckily come just after the Forbidden Forest Set had opened, so we got to see that too. There were "day" and "night" effects, that changed the sounds from chirping little birds to like roaring monsters. There was a model of Buckbeak the Hippogriff, and I took a picture bowing to him but I won't put that here because this blog is anonymous.
There was this whole experience that was created - roaring noises and then this huge Aragog the Acromantula figurine was lowered (yeah no, I don't have arachnophobia anymore, okay?) down. There was also a "Patronus" that was not much to boast about - it was literally an animal model that had lights on its body and it was very clear that they were lights, so that was the only thing I wasn't impressed with.
After exiting the Forbidden Forest, we arrived at Platform 93/4, where there was obviously the photo op of running into the wall, no one would miss that. Then of course, before us was the huge Hogwarts Express - we were even allowed to go inside and have a look at the carriages (mostly just littered with candy wrappers from the trolley lady, but there was that one carriage where Lavender Brown had made her diagram when she was obsessed with Ron, see below.) There was a shop where we bought Bertie Botts' Beans and a Chocolate Frog (my card had Rowena Ravenclaw).
We then got to this cafe where we could have Butterbeer. There have been loads of reviews saying it's "too sweet" or whatever, but I actually kind of liked it. It tastes kind of like a sweeter version of ginger ale with hints of butterscotch. It's just the foam that's kind of annoying - it smells too sweet and I just don't like foam in general.
We then exited to the outdoor sets -the Knight Bus, 4 Privet Drive, The Potters' Cottage and the bridge outside Hogwarts.
Following this was the Creatures Department, where all the models of all the creatures had been kept - from Dobby to Fawkes the Phoenix to Griphook the goblin, each creature that had been seen in the movies was displayed right here in this room. There were videos describing the making of a model of Buckbeak and of a model of Hagrid's head. The highlight seemed to be a motion-sensing screen with a picture of Dobby on it - you could stand before it and Dobby would copy your actions. The hype was making Dobby dab, attempted various times by a group of schoolchildren around me. Here is what became of my attempt to make Dobby dab: (see right)
We then got out into Diagon Alley - each shop from Ollivanders' to Gringotts' and the shop selling brooms - everything was there - even additional shops that hadn't been seen in the movies - it was a lovely recreation. There was obviously Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes (DON'T YOU TELL ME TO SPELL IT WEASLEY'S), and Eeylops Owl Emporium. I loved Diagon Alley.
(If you are beginning to hate this post, it'll end soon.)
The next room contained miniature models of all the sets - a small model of Hogwarts Castle, the Prefect's Bathroom, Hagrid's Hut, the Durmstrang Ship, so on and so forth. They were very pretty to look at, even though they weren't painted, and yet again made me realize and appreciate the amount of detail that had gone into making these movies.
Okay, we're now getting to the finale of the tour. For those of you that have chosen to take upon yourselves reading this post, I suggest you stop here or skip to the end if you don't want Harry Potter World spoiled completely for you, this will be probably the most beautiful thing you have ever seen in your life. If you have no prospects of going to London in the near future, read on.
As I exited the room of models, I entered this room that was surprisingly dark and had blue walls. I was surprised at the change of light until I TURNED AROUND AND SAW BEFORE ME A SIGHT THAT LITERALLY MADE ME THINK I WAS IN HEAVEN! OH, MY EYES, IT WAS SO BRIGHT, SO BEAUTIFUL, I LITERALLY FANGIRLED SO HARD ON THE SPOT THAT THE ATTENDANT NEARBY JUST LAUGHED AT ME. MY WHOLE BRAIN WAS SCREAMING I COULD NOT EVEN THIS WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING EVER.
YES, READERS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS??
DO YOU?
OH, YOU REALLY DO?
Today's post will be very long and (finally) INTERESTING!!! Yayy! Clap and cheer everyone!!
So for this summer vacation, my parents finally decided we could go abroad instead of just roaming around inside of India, where I live. And not just abroad like in Asia, but to Europe! For the first time ever! (Yes, I am poor.)
And since I was going to London, I was extremely excited as I would be going to Warner Brothers' Studios, also known as Harry Potter World, the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street and (possibly) famous landmarks from the Infernal Devices. (see the title of this post.)
I'm not going to talk in detail about the individual sights we saw in London, but I'm going to skip to the day we went to Harry Potter World because it was SURREAL. (If you're planning on going there and want it to be a surprise, I suggest you don't read this. It contains MAJOR spoilers.)
It was just my mum and I that day because my dad had a conference to attend in London (the main reason we were even there.). We had to take two trains and bus to get to the Harry Potter world - but finally, we were there and I literally could not wait to go in.
 |
| Fetus Dan |
When we finally got out of a terribly long line, the people at the tour made us watch these two videos that were kind of boring and then FINALLY we entered the Great Hall! It was amazing, all the house tables were marked and there was a mannequin Dumbledore on his podium at the front along with other mannequin teachers like Hagrid, Moody and Professor McGonagall. Supposedly the costumes used were the original ones used while filming!
(There will be loads of pictures in this post because I took a picture of literally everything.)
 |
| Items - Slughorn's Hourglass, The Snitch, Crystal Goblet, etc. |
There was also the Marble Staircase that led to the dormitories - with EACH OIL PAINTING THAT HAD BEEN SPECIFICALLY CREATED. It was genuinely amazing to see how much detail had actually been put into the movies that we could pass off as "not related to the book" or "bad". Despite not being able to put key elements of the book in in some areas, there was still an incredible amount of detail that had gone into all those shots that we thought weren't important or came and went in just two seconds, and I feel like this helped me appreciate that so much.
 |
| Dumbledore's Office and the Pensieve |
We had luckily come just after the Forbidden Forest Set had opened, so we got to see that too. There were "day" and "night" effects, that changed the sounds from chirping little birds to like roaring monsters. There was a model of Buckbeak the Hippogriff, and I took a picture bowing to him
 |
| Buckbeak |
There was this whole experience that was created - roaring noises and then this huge Aragog the Acromantula figurine was lowered (yeah no, I don't have arachnophobia anymore, okay?) down. There was also a "Patronus" that was not much to boast about - it was literally an animal model that had lights on its body and it was very clear that they were lights, so that was the only thing I wasn't impressed with.
 |
| Hogwarts Express |
After exiting the Forbidden Forest, we arrived at Platform 93/4, where there was obviously the photo op of running into the wall, no one would miss that. Then of course, before us was the huge Hogwarts Express - we were even allowed to go inside and have a look at the carriages (mostly just littered with candy wrappers from the trolley lady, but there was that one carriage where Lavender Brown had made her diagram when she was obsessed with Ron, see below.) There was a shop where we bought Bertie Botts' Beans and a Chocolate Frog (my card had Rowena Ravenclaw).We then got to this cafe where we could have Butterbeer. There have been loads of reviews saying it's "too sweet" or whatever, but I actually kind of liked it. It tastes kind of like a sweeter version of ginger ale with hints of butterscotch. It's just the foam that's kind of annoying - it smells too sweet and I just don't like foam in general.
 |
| Potters' Cottage |
 |
| Letter-filled living room at Privet Drive |
 |
| Dabby |
We then got out into Diagon Alley - each shop from Ollivanders' to Gringotts' and the shop selling brooms - everything was there - even additional shops that hadn't been seen in the movies - it was a lovely recreation. There was obviously Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes (DON'T YOU TELL ME TO SPELL IT WEASLEY'S), and Eeylops Owl Emporium. I loved Diagon Alley.
(If you are beginning to hate this post, it'll end soon.)
The next room contained miniature models of all the sets - a small model of Hogwarts Castle, the Prefect's Bathroom, Hagrid's Hut, the Durmstrang Ship, so on and so forth. They were very pretty to look at, even though they weren't painted, and yet again made me realize and appreciate the amount of detail that had gone into making these movies.
Okay, we're now getting to the finale of the tour. For those of you that have chosen to take upon yourselves reading this post, I suggest you stop here or skip to the end if you don't want Harry Potter World spoiled completely for you, this will be probably the most beautiful thing you have ever seen in your life. If you have no prospects of going to London in the near future, read on.
As I exited the room of models, I entered this room that was surprisingly dark and had blue walls. I was surprised at the change of light until I TURNED AROUND AND SAW BEFORE ME A SIGHT THAT LITERALLY MADE ME THINK I WAS IN HEAVEN! OH, MY EYES, IT WAS SO BRIGHT, SO BEAUTIFUL, I LITERALLY FANGIRLED SO HARD ON THE SPOT THAT THE ATTENDANT NEARBY JUST LAUGHED AT ME. MY WHOLE BRAIN WAS SCREAMING I COULD NOT EVEN THIS WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING EVER.
YES, READERS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS??
DO YOU?
OH, YOU REALLY DO?
 |
| FULL-SIZE MODEL OF THE HOGWARTS CASTLE - FEAST YOUR EYES!
Yes, that is what it was - a full-size model of the Hogwarts Castle. It was so beautiful, I made sure I spent the necessary ten minutes required to look at it. I even have a whole video that I took while walking around the model. There was this enchanting violin music playing in the background that made the whole experience so much more enchanting - for me, this was probably the best part of the entire tour.
The tour ended after a large set of Ollivander's Wand Shop - 11,000 wand boxes, hand painted with hand printed names. DETAILING WAS EVERYTHING.
We then walked into the official shop, where I bought a replica of Hermione Granger's wand and a poster, and my mum bought herself a key chain. We would have bought up the whole shop, but a wand cost 30 pounds so we quite sadly could not do that.
And with that, I came to the end of an amazing day. Thank you for reading my annoying post that probably went way too long. If I'm passionate, I'm never concise. Thank you for reading my post, excuse me while I go and re-read my Harry Potter now.
Little Miss Imperfect
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