Warner Bros Studio Tour - Making of Harry Potter - Part 2 (May 2016)

Following on from my previous post,a review of my first visit in October 2015, here is my review from my visit on 10th May 2016.

As I didn't want to have the same issues as last time I emailed the tour, explained the issues I'd had due to crowds, and asked when it was usually quieter as I had been disappointed that I missed lots. I was told that I was best coming first thing in the morning, or later in the day which didn't really help but decided to book midweek when Lee and I were off of work. I went to 10th May 2016 with a 11am slot as we had to travel on the M25 for about 40 miles and I was worried about traffic. This time I didn't book an audio guide, book or butterbeer as didn't feel they were necessary and didn't feel we needed the audio guide as there was so much information anyway on the tour.

We left home at 8.30am and got the the studio about 10.15am. It was so much quieter in the car park but there was a large queue to get in due to security searches being introduced. We got our tickets and made our way in. Security didn't take long at all and I was the first wheelchair user for a trainee to search. Security were really friendly and were doing a great job. We had actually gone on our first visit the day after the attacks in Paris and it was a bit un-nerving as they didn't do searches then, but I'm glad they have brought them in now as its a bit of reassurance.

Good news - this time the disabled toilet was fixed! Bad news, my feet were wet from walking from my car to my wheelchair and this made the floor mega slippery in the toilet so I ended up having to dry the floor (and my shoes) off with loo roll to stop a scene from Bambi.

As we were early, and it was quiet, I went up to guest services and asked if we could go in (as we did last time) and I was told that we just needed to join the queue but we could go in the side door (as we had before) but we would miss the cupboard under the stairs and we were also told that they regularly test the queue so ensure its ok for wheelchairs, so we joined the zigzag queue. The queue was so tight that I ended banging my feet on the corners and also we moved so quickly we didn't get much time to see under the stairs (and it wasn't that great in my opinion either). If I went again I'd bypass this.

After the film we still had people pushing infront to get a view of the door so I didn't see much of it again but after this, the experience was so much better as the place was so quiet!

Some of the displays had changed so we actually saw the sorting hat this time which was nice. I also saw so much I had missed with the crowds last time and also saw lots of hidden bits up towards the ceiling such as the Tom Riddles tombstone. On my previous visit I'd mostly been looking at the floor to ensure I didn't bash into anyones feet.


I saw more in 45 minutes in the main area, than I had in the 1 1/2 hours from my previous visit.

When we got to the train area I got Lee to have a look around and he took my camera to take some photos since I couldn't access the train due to the stairs. It would be nice if there was a ramp here as I would have been able to have walked with my stick along the train, but maybe they don't do this incase people try and take a wheelchair up there (as the walkway is very narrow).

We then got to my husbands favourite bit, the butterbeer! It may be expensive but it's worth it in our opinion. This time we also tried the ice cream but this isn't the same taste as butterbeer (my husband thought it was until he dipped the ice cream in the remaining butterbeer froth) and it was more like toffee ice cream. We got our butterbeer this time in disposable cups (as we have the souvenir one at home from last time) so it was cheaper but still more expensive than a pint of beer (but in my opinion its worth it).

While sitting there we noticed a film crew coming in and putting their cameras down but didn't think anymore of it until we got home and found they'd been filming Aunt Petunia on the Privet Drive set ahead of its opening later this month (ie being able to go inside).

We went into the next area with all the mask and models and we were the only ones in there. Last time had been so packed my husband didn't see the full size models of Harry and other characters.

I must admit I did accidently swear in here as we looked around the glass box in the middle with the models that you can activate by pushing a button (like the owl) but when we got to the book it had no button (but must have had a sensor) and I jumped out of my skin! Lee found it hilarious.

Now for Diagon Alley and again a word of warning - if you are in a wheelchair don't drink too much butterbeer or eat too much as you may regret it. A very authentic cobbled road which doesn't bode well for those in a wheelchair (or the person pushing it). It's very pretty and my favourite looking part of the tour but very rocky (as stated last time).

Lee was so glad for the bench at the top of Diagon Alley to have a rest after pushing me up the hill and cobbled floor. It was actually empty in here too!

We then got to the Hogwarts model. This is the second time I've seen it, but the first time it was snow covered and so it was a bit of a let down without the snow. I think it would have been good to see it the other way round (ie normal and then snow covered) but it looked a little dull without the snow magic.

We finished our tour in the wand room and randomly found Lenny Henry's wand.

Due to the quietness we saw everything and the total tour for us lasted 2 hours which was very surprising as we saw more than we'd seen previously.

I would also like to note that if you are in a wheelchair the doorway thresholds are quite high and it was so much easier being reversed through them, even to get into the toilets. 

The gift shop also has a lot of uneven flooring which was hard to navigate with my wheelchair and I would have been worried walking round it in case I tripped.

I'm really glad I went back to give it another try when it was quieter!