Diagon Alley

The first time we went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour was in 2015, just after they had added the Hogwarts Express and Kings Cross set to the tour. At the end of November 2019 we made a return visit, mainly to see how different it was dressed for Christmas and with snow.

I had expectations that Diagon Alley would be (or could be) rather festive, but in the end it was no different to how it is normally. Well there were some footprints in the snow and the special effects about how they were created, but that was less Diagon Alley and more Hogsmead.

Diagon Alley is a cobblestoned wizarding alley and shopping area located in London, England behind a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Inside the alley is an assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights.

More Harry Potter Bits and Pieces

The first time we went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour was in 2015, just after they had added the Hogwarts Express and Kings Cross set to the tour. At the end of November 2019 we made a return visit, mainly to see how different it was dressed for Christmas and with snow.

There are lots of costumes and props in the tour and you can spend ages looking at the attention to detail and if you rush you will miss stuff.

Harry Potter Bits and Pieces

The first time we went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour was in 2015, just after they had added the Hogwarts Express and Kings Cross set to the tour. At the end of November 2019 we made a return visit, mainly to see how different it was dressed for Christmas and with snow.

There are lots of costumes and props in the tour and you can spend ages looking at the attention to detail and if you rush you will miss stuff.

Gryffindor Dormitory and Common Room

The first time I went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour was in 2015, just after they had added the Hogwarts Express and Kings Cross set to the tour. At the end of November 2019 we made a return visit, mainly to see how different it was dressed for Christmas and with snow.

The Gryffindor dorm and common room were dressed for Christmas with a tree, decorations and presents.

 

Gryffindor is one of the four Houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was founded by Godric Gryffindor. Gryffindor instructed the Sorting Hat to choose students possessing characteristics he most valued, such as courage, chivalry, and determination, to be sorted into his house. The emblematic animal is a lion, and its colours are scarlet and gold.

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The Ministry of Magic

The first time I went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour was in 2015, just after they had added the Hogwarts Express and Kings Cross set to the tour. At the end of November 2019 we made a return visit, mainly to see how different it was dressed for Christmas and with snow.

The Ministry of Magic always looked huge on the big screen, all done via the clever use of CGI. However they did build some physical sets to complement the virtual ones.

The Burrow

The first time I went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour was in 2015, just after they had added the Hogwarts Express and Kings Cross set to the tour. At the end of November 2019 we made a return visit, mainly to see how different it was dressed for Christmas and with snow.

As you can see not too much Christmas stuff in the Weasley’s home The Burrow. I think that may have been a real opportunity.

The Weasleys’ home, known as the Burrow, is located outside the village of Ottery St Catchpole,. The Burrow was used as the Order of the Phoenix’s headquarters, due to the compromised Fidelius Charm placed on 12 Grimmauld Place, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows until it lost its given protection. The Weasley house has seven floors. It is also quite dilapidated, managing to remain standing only by magic. Despite the house’s rundown appearance, Harry remarks on his first visit that it was the best house he had ever been in and it becomes his second favourite place in the world (after Hogwarts). The well-hidden orchard nearby doubles as a Quidditch pitch for the Weasley boys and Ginny Weasley. A multitude of garden gnomes infests the garden of the Burrow. There is also a small hangar located there that Arthur Weasley uses as a workshop to tinker with muggle items that he brings home (much to Mrs. Weasley’s chagrin).

Potions Classroom

The first time I went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour was in 2015, just after they had added the Hogwarts Express and Kings Cross set to the tour. At the end of November 2019 we made a return visit, mainly to see how different it was dressed for Christmas and with snow.

The Potions Classroom, though a magnificent piece of film set design and full of amazing props, didn’t have a festive theme….

Top Gun: Maverick

Okay, okay I know I shouldn’t like this as much as I think I will….

However it is taking me back to when I was 17 when the first one came out…

Which I think I might need to watch again, haven’t seen it for years.

Filming in Bristol today

They were filming on Corn Street in Bristol today. No idea what they were filming. Update: They are filming a new HBO series called Industry, which is a new American drama series which follows the lives of young bankers and traders trying to make their way in the world in the aftermath of the 2008 collapse.

There were some powerful lights shining into The Jetty.

filming on Corn Street in Bristol

filming on Corn Street in Bristol

filming on Corn Street in Bristol