Visiting the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London: I Saw the Magic Up Close — and It Hurt a Little

I have a feeling this may be an unpopular opinion within the Harry Potter fandom. But fortunately for me, I’ve been obsessed with the series since I was in the first grade (don’t ask me what age that was — my memory doesn’t keep track of that). And because I’ve built my whole personality around this series, I feel secure enough in my love for it that internet trolls and fandom gatekeepers can’t touch it.

Harry Potter fans, for the most part, are great company. But sometimes, that shared obsession goes too far — to the point where certain kinds critique can make people say, “You must not be a true fan.” I’ve seen it on Reddit: people claiming you can’t really love the series unless you’ve read the books. And as someone who has re-read the series several times, let me be clear—if you love the movies, you’re a fan in my book. If you’re missing out on the depth of the books, that’s not my problem. That’s just more magic for me.

Anyway, on to the point.

You can probably imagine the level of excitement I felt stepping off the Harry Potter-themed double-decker bus and walking up to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London in May 2024. I booked the earliest reservation time possible so my husband and I could stay as long as we wanted. For the record, we were there for five hours. The average is three.

As I sat in the back row of the exclusive intro video that starts the tour, I remember thinking about how in awe I was. I had made it to the place that baby Olivia (my inner child alter ego) would have dreamed of. What I didn’t expect was how real the magic would still feel to her. Dan Radcliffe ends the video by warning, “You may not ever never see Quidditch the same after this tour.” And honestly? That bummed me out. But I carried on, still bursting with excitement, because how often does a girl from the U.S. South get to visit the WB Harry Potter Tour?

When we entered the Great Hall and started roaming freely through the rest of the studio, something shifted. Slowly, I felt the magic leaving my eyes. A part of me realized how much I had built up the idea of this place in my head. As a kid, magic in movies doesn’t just stay on the screen, it becomes real. I mean, what do you mean the moving staircase wasn’t actually on a massive tower of hundreds of steps?

You might be thinking, “Seriously? You thought it was all real?”
And no, of course not. I didn’t think these places literally existed. But in my head, they were real enough. And something inside me cracked the moment I saw how it all worked behind the scenes.

Still, I carried on and enjoyed myself. There wasn’t time to grieve the magic. I told myself I’d process it later.

I imagined the actors filming the scenes as I walked through the sets. I rode a Quidditch broom. I felt the eeriness in the Forbidden Forest. But the moment that hit me the hardest was at the end (and maybe this makes me sound dramatic) but when I saw the model of the Hogwarts castle, something stung. It wasn’t my Hogwarts. It was a beautiful miniature, sure. But it was a prop. It wasn’t the one I had imagined and carried with me my whole life.

If I could go back and tell myself how my childhood brain would react, I would still go to the tour again. In fact, I do plan on going back.

Before this trip, I had been to Universal Studios Florida's Wizarding World multiple times. And honestly? That’s where the real magic lives for me. The scale. The fire-breathing dragon. The rides that throw you into the story. Diagon Alley there feels like stepping into the actual world. It’s immersive and alive. The studio tour gave me the behind-the-scenes. Universal gave me the experience.

That said, there were incredible parts of the studio tour. You can’t truly appreciate the craftsmanship and detail that goes into these films until you see it in person. The prop makers, costume designers, set builders—they deserve way more credit than they get. And let me tell you, the studio store? Dangerous. We spent the last two hours in there. Don’t ask how we fit everything into our luggage.

And standing in the same space where your favorite movie was filmed? That’s still surreal. That feeling is real. And worth it.

When I rewatch the movies now, I try not to think about what I know from the studio tour. I want to stay in that childhood mindset and love the story the way I always have. But sometimes, I do try to imagine what it looked like on set, because it still feels like a pretty special and rare experience.

I would go back. I am going back. But these were my raw feelings.

So no, it did not ruin the movies for me but there is a new perspective lingering in my mind when re-watching.

All photos are original