Harry Potter Studio Tour

[ShillyShallySherbet]

Has anyone done this before? I’m looking to book it quite in advance but there are so many times slots available I’m not sure which is best. Is it best to do an early tour, are there other things to do after? Or does it not matter?

We went in at about 10am, stayed all day and had dinner there. My DD is a massive fan and dressed up (which the staff loved) and wanted to look at ALL the details 😆 Yours might get through it faster. There are no rides, it’s all sets and things from the making of the films. It’s quite pricy so I’d go in early and stay for as long as you like.

It takes a while to get through everything without rushing. We went in at 4pm and were there a good 5 hours. Could have spent longer there too.

Theres a place half way through where you can get food, or I guess you could take a picnic.
The gift shop is huge and we were in there about 45 mins!

If I was going again, I’d probably aim for a 2pm entry time, and have lunch beforehand.

It is really good!

Don’t go late and find yourself having to rush, there is a LOT to see.

Thank you! We’re not early risers so I like the idea of going in at 2pm after lunch and staying until it gets dark as it’ll be autumn when we go.

Sorry, another question… Is it a self guided tour or does someone show you around? And if someone shows you around how long does that last?

There is a short talk before you go into. Which is basically about how and why the films came about. It last about 10/15 minutes. The main part you go around by yourself.

Been twice, morning slot around 9/10, stayed all day!

I've been and it's amazing. The first bit someone shows you around and then you are free to wander about. It's kind of like Ikea in that you can spend as much time as you like in each section but you have to follow the route through and not go backwards to revisit things again.

2 is a perfect time.

It's self guided after the first 10 mins. So you can spend as long as you like, but you can't go backwards, so make sure you're completely done with each area before you move on.

Set a budget for the gift shop before you go!

I've been twice, and wanting to go back again. Its a self guided tour, but with an audio option if you want extra information.

Thank you so much this is so useful. Is priority parking worth the extra £10? Is the parking a long distance away without it?

I wouldn't pay for parking as it has a massive car park, but none of it is too far away from the studio.

Definitely don't pay for priority parking!

the food there is very expensive! We took a picnic and then just bought butter beer ice creams. The gift shop is massive and has some great stuff. Depending on the age of your children you could spend hours there looking at every single thing!

Don’t pay for priority parking. There’s loads of parking.

We went in the morning and I thought we’d be done by lunch and spend the afternoon in London. I was wrong - there is so much to see! Definitely plan to be there at least 6 hours. It’s one of the few attractions which are really expensive where I’ve come away feeling I hadn’t appreciated how good it was going to be.

It's fab, been twice both times at 10am and stayed until around 4pm. Also paid for priority parking which is literally by the front door oh and you get a nice sticker!

We’ve been twice, which is remarkable as it’s really not the kind of thing my husband or I would normally enjoy. But it’s just very well done and enjoyable. I agree that about 2pm entry is perfect. Expect to spend a fortune in the shop.

We went at 5pm, it's open until 10 pm so we had plenty of time there. It was the second time we went, and there was far more there than when we went 10 years ago. We had a great time.

You don’t need to pay for parking, there’s loads of spaces. Ds has been twice, once with us as a family and more recently on a school trip a couple of weeks ago (he’s 13). 2pm is a good time to go. The one thing I will say is take a lot of drinks / money for the shop as it’s expensive- as you’d expect really. A bottle of Coke is about £3 something.

I'd go for an earlier slot if possible. You can always leave before it closes if you're finished, but can't stay after closing if you're not.

The café is expensive and shit. We take a picnic, but don't leave it in the car until you want it. Getting out and in again is a nightmare!

I've been twice. First time we drove down, had a big pub lunch and went in at 2. We stayed late and had butterbeer and snacks half way round. We stayed in a hotel overnight before going home so that evening we had nice picncic food bits in our room for tea. We went with friends so I didn't have to drive which was easier!

Second time, we drove down the night before and stayed in a hotel then drove to the studios in the morning and started at 9.30 am. Bought lunch in the cafe (only two of us so it wasn't too expensive). Then we left in the afternoon to drive home.

Either is fine but we couldn't have done it without staying nearby. We took a small bag in with a water bottle and snack and wore light jacket/ body warmer as it's mostly inside and I didn't want to carry a coat round. Lots of charge on your phone for photos and expect to spend at least 50 quid in the gift shop - probably more.

Check which ‘events’ are on for the time of year you’re going - we went in the summer and they had the great hall dressed as the exam room with the big pendulum and Umbridge costume at the front, and Fred and George on broomsticks suspended from the ceiling. At Christmas they’ve dressed it up as the Yule ball before.

As others have said- early afternoon is good as you can eat lunch or brunch beforehand and just pick some snacks as the food is v expensive and long queues for it.

That aside, it’s amazing and you’d easily spend 4-5 hours and enjoy it!! We’ve been twice and i have no doubts we will be back again one day.

We went during a London trip so we took the train and shuttle bus. So can’t advise on parking, sorry.