Get up close and personal with Harry Potter's world at the new Warner Bros studio tour

THE boy wizard's world has been opened up with a studio tour that will be on fans' wishlists, writes Angela Saurine.

Britain Warner Bros Studio Tour

MAGIC is the only way to describe it.

After watching a short film describing the Harry Potter phenomenon from the moment JK Rowling came up with the idea, to crowd hysteria at the film premieres, the screen at the front of the theatre lifts and disappears.

Behind it lies a set of large double oak doors that mark the entrance to Hogwarts Castle. As the theme music from the movies plays, the doors open to reveal the Great Hall beyond.

A few steps later and I am inside one of the most recognisable locations from the franchises, the setting of great feasts, the beautiful Yule Ball and the place where the sorting hat divides new students into their houses.

Based on Christ Church at Oxford University, the set includes the actual York stone floor that was laid 11 years ago for the first of the eight films. Two of the four long oak tables where pupils sat in their respective houses line each wall.

The Hogwarts crest hangs on one wall and costumes worn by characters, including Harry's first uniform and his classmate Neville's cardigan, are on display.

The new Warner Bros studio tour, which opened just north of London yesterday, is a dream come true for fans of the boy wizard.

The attraction is housed in the real studio backlots where the movies were made and showcases the incredibly detailed sets, props and clothes from the films.

The excitement begins before you even enter the three-hour tour, with the cupboard under the stairs where Harry lived in the first film at the start of the queuing area.

There are also hand casts belonging to the three main actors: Daniel Radcliffe who played Harry, Emma Watson who played his friend Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley.

After a film showing interviews with the film's creators and behind-the-scenes footage, including the actors celebrating birthdays on set, the real fun begins.

After the Great Hall, there is a series of sets: the dark potions classroom with shelves lined with jars and bottles, Dumbledore's office, where you can see the Sword of Gryffindor, the sorting hat and Hogwarts headmaster portraits, the interior of Hagrid's wooden hut and the door to the Chamber of Secrets.

A fan favourite is the Gryffindor house common room and the boys' dormitory, which has the original beds made for Harry, Ron, Seamus, Neville and Dean for the first film.

Another highlight is The Burrow where the Weasleys lived, with Molly Weasley's self-washing frying pan in the kitchen.

Visitors can move a mechanical wand and make the iron move along the ironing board by itself, as if by magic, and move knitting needles that appear to be knitting a scarf by themselves. It is one of the brilliant interactive devices in the tour that children will adore.

Copies of the Daily Prophet newspaper are on the display, as well as potion-making books, envelopes addressed to Harry Potter in the cupboard under the stairs and tickets for the Hogwarts Express train. There is also a special effects section and a green room where you can sit on a broom rig and get your photo taken flying over London, fields or in a Quidditch arena.

Some of the exterior sets including the home of the Dursleys who raised Harry at 4 Privet Drive; the Knight Bus, which was built from pieces of three London double-deckers; and the restored Hogwarts bridge can also be seen outside.

In the creature effects workshop, where 100 goblin heads were made, you can learn how the character Hagrid was made to look like a giant.

Above you is the 5.4m animatronic model of Aragog the giant spider, which was fitted by hand with yak hair, sisal and hemp from brooms.

But my favourite part of the tour is when you turn a corner and find yourself in Diagon Alley the bustling strip where Hogwarts pupils returned at the start of each year to buy items they needed for school.

Inspired by streets described in the works of Charles Dickens, the alley features 18th-century storefronts, including Ollivanders Wand Shop, Gringotts Bank and the joke shop.

Just when you think it can't get any better you come across the enchanting 22m model of Hogwarts Castle based on real buildings including the Durham and Gloucester cathedrals with its courtyards, towers and turrets. The detailed model contains more than 300 fibre optic lights, which simulate lanterns and torches, and give the illusion of students passing through hallways.

As with all theme parks these days, the tour naturally ends in the retail store where you can buy any Harry Potter gift imaginable. There are Every Flavour Beans (with tastes such as ear wax, bogey and earthworm), wands, feather quill pens, broomsticks and fluffy toy owls and unicorns.

Tickets went on sale last October and muggles like myself have snapped up tickets faster than a golden snitch.

Getting there
Warner Bros Studio Tour is at Leavesden, about 32km northwest of London. Catch a train to Watford Junction where a shuttle bus will take you to the studio.

Pricing
Tickets cost £28 ($A43) for adults, £21 for children and £83 for a family. They must be booked in advance at wbstudiotour.co.uk. The tour is already booked out on weekends until July but some mid-week tickets are still available.

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