Anyone been to Harry Potter World?

[Bunnylady54]

DD really wants to go for her 12th birthday. We’re not having a holiday this year so should be able to save towards it. Can you do it in a day & where else is good to visit nearby? Would also welcome hotel recommendations

Yes you can do it in a day! For sure.
I don’t think there is much around it at all!
We went from London, it is a bit away from anywhere.
Bit easy enough to get there they had some special buses I think.
If you have a nice budget perhaps you could book a hotel in London and visit some of the places that they go to on the last two movies and make it a Harry Potter weekend, make like a quiz or a nap to follow and go to the places?
They do Picadilly, St Paul’s, etc.
That could be fun?

A nap? A map

Oh and the Platform in Kings Cross!
It is there and you can take a pic

Haha- you will probably need a nap to follow too!

Oh I meant book a hotel and do two days! One London one the HP World.
Bus route 15 good to go to some of those places

And still old double deckers on routes 9 and 15 at times

Do you mean the Harry Potter Studios just outside London? Or the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Florida? Very different advice depending which one you mean!!

Oh!

I went to the one in the UK.

Tickets were quite expensive.
Lots of walking. You enter through the main hall (where all the kids eat in the film).

Lots to look at. Not sure it was worth the money. The shop was packed and not very big.

I meant in the UK

We went a couple of years back and enjoyed it. There's been stuff added since like the Hogwart's Express and the Forbidden Forest.

The studio is just outside London but near to Watford so there's probably a Premier Inn type place there which might be cheaper than a London hotel.

Oh and the shop is eye wateringly expensive. My DD's took their birthday money and basically spent it all on a wand and a chocolate frog.

It’s great you definitely only need one day though. It’s like a studio tour not a theme park. You need to book way in advance though

Worth every penny, I’ve taken the grandchildren several times.

Beware of the butter beer. It’s rank! Go for it

A day easy. There’s no rides or things like that.
There’s a premier inn reasonably close by (not walking distance or anything though).
The butter beer is revolting as pp said.

Oh and DEFINITELY book online ASAP!

You only need a day (or 1/2->2/3rds of a day).
You do need to book in advance.
The more popular the day the further in advance you need to book.

I liked the butter beer 🤷‍♀️

Yeah it's a whole day affair, I thought it was brilliant! The first half is all the sets and the second part is models, concept art and that sort of stuff. We spent a lot longer in the first part.

I've seen people suggest picking up some cheap Harry Potter merchandise to take with you and give them at the end rather than be bankrupted by the gift shop. Honestly, it's ridiculously expensive.

I've been twice! Love it. I'm a big fan of HP though and interested in film production as well.

Both times I've travelled down the day before, stayed overnight (there's a travel lodge or premier Inn nearby ish) as I've booked the first slot of the day both times. There is so much to look at and I hate rushing.

They've added more since I've been and there's a different layout now I think. Will be going again later in the year!

They’ve added Gringotts Bank now which is amazing! We’ve been several times and each time there’s something new.

I bought myself a mug & chocolate frog in the gift shop, and regret not buying a Hogwarts Express Christmas tree ornament. It is crazy expensive.

It would be a great birthday treat, my children found it really interesting to see how the movies were made. Stayed at the premier inn at St Albans which was cheaper than Watford and just a 10 minute drive away.

You do need to book in advance though.

Just a word of caution, it’s very much about the making of the films, so there are films and sets and costumes etc. Lots of places to get photos etc but not many things that are interactive or about the actual stories IYSWIM, it’s much more about how they created the films. It’s really interesting and I enjoyed a lot of the techy stuff but one of mine was really disappointed that it wasn’t actually what they had expected.

Definitely doable in a day, we took DD and 2 friends for her 11th birthday and were there around 5 hours, I think. The shops are VERY expensive and have items unique to eachother, so if you see something you want in the railway or forest shop you have to decide and buy it then as you won't find the same items in the main gift shop. Would also recommend one butterbeer to share around, it's a very acquired taste!

One thing to note is you can't go back to previous sections.

Once you've left the Great Hall you can't go back.
Once you've left the first large area to go into the café you can't go back.

So really be sure you have finished with an area before you move on.

A number of people go dressed up, so if you have HP 'stuff' feel free to wear it.