Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

Thanks to my daughter, I'm pretty sure the last 4 or 5 of our family trips had to have some focus on Harry Potter. The whole Europe trip got planned specifically so Mariah could not only visit King's Cross Station, but so she could also go on the Warner Brother's Studio Tour and see all of the sets and props from the Harry Potter films. *Just a head's up: this is going to be a photo heavy post!*

Mariah thought it was a bit serendipitous that when she woke up that morning and checked her Facebook, her memories timeline popped up showing it had been exactly 5 years to the date that she made a post wishing she could visit The Warner Brother's Studio Tour - Making of Harry Potter.
 
Even though we booked our time slot before arriving, we did still had about a 30 minute wait to get into the actual tour. There were a few spots for photo opps while waiting though, like this iconic cupboard under the stairs set.

The tour starts with entrance to The Great Hall, which is quite impressive and sets the tone for the remainder of the tour.

After a brief informational message from the tour guides, the doors open to the remainder of the building and you are free to roam from there on out on your own.

I thought my girls were giddy going to Universal Studios and seeing the replica sets and props, but their excitement over viewing the real sets was totally worth this trip. They were flitting around from set to set and prop to prop just breathing in all of the magic that blew life into the movies.

You do get to climb aboard the Hogwart's Express and check out the cabin cars, and just like at the real King's Cross Station, there is a spot for photo opps to walk through Platform 9¾.

 

Midway through the tour, there is a spot to stop for refreshments. You absolutely cannot leave without a mug of Butterbeer. We noticed they were also selling Butterbeer flavored ice cream cones and decided we would grab one of those first, then would grab a mug of the beverage before leaving the tour at the cafe we spotted when we first arrived. Little did we know, this is the ONLY time on the tour you will be able to buy Butterbeer as it must be finished before returning on the tour due to licensing and not being able to carry it out of the attraction. We didn't think we would be allowed back through the tour to buy Butterbeer since we had already finished our tour, but thankfully the attendants were super awesome and called someone to walk us back through to purchase some.

For those who have been to Universal Studios, you'll be disappointed to know that they do not offer frozen Butterbeer here and the liquid isn't as tasty as what you'll find there, but the cream topping is much better than what you find at Universal.

You can take your refreshments back outside to tour the house on Privet Drive, The Knight Bus, Hogwarts Bridge, The Potter's Cottage, as well as hop in the Weasley's muggle mobile and climb aboard Hagrid's motorbike for a few more photo opps.

The final stretch of the tour is where you'll find the grand prize. The humongous replica of Hogwart's Castle.

It took us around 3 hours to go through the tour from start to finish, though you may need to factor in more or less time depending on how thoroughly you want to study each set and prop. While we've been to Universal Studios in both California and Florida and have experienced the magic of Harry Potter there, the Warner Brother's Studio Tour in London is a definite must-do for any Harry Potter fan. I'm glad we made time to see it during our European travels and would absolutely recommend booking a tour whether you're a fan of the series or just a lover of film making in general. The behind-the-scenes look is fascinating any way you slice it.

Does this look like a tour that would interest you if you were traveling to London?

Must Have Gifts for Pop-Culture Fans

*Disclosure- I received the mentioned products courtesy of the sponsor for the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.


Now that Halloween is officially over, we can dive right into talking about holiday shopping. I like to have my shopping done before Thanksgiving hits, but admit that there are always a few people that I procrastinate on because they are so hard to find things for. My oldest daughter is one of those hard to buy for people, so we're usually hunting things down right up to Christmas Eve for her. This year though, things are going to be a wee bit easier for holiday shopping because I recently came across some beautiful gift ideas for pop-culture fans. We ALL have someone on our holiday list that loves pop-culture, and when it comes to gifting, you can never go wrong with cards and candles. 

Insight Editions offers gorgeous sculpted candles and handmade cards for pop-culture fans. The candles and cards make awesome gifts for any teen or adult who is into Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, or DC Comics. With ultra-detailed designs, they are as beautiful as they are functional. 

These Sculpted Candles will allow each recipient to let their fandom glow. But, if they are like me, they'll think they are too pretty to burn and will find a spot to display them in the home or dorm room year round. In addition to the sculpted candles, Insight Editions also offers pretty glass candles, votives, and scented tins.

My teens are huge Harry Potter fans, so I know I can never go wrong with anything relating to that series. Mariah is away at college right now, but after the holidays I know she's going to love going back to school with these pretty Harry Potter candles to display in her dorm room. 

The Gryffindor Sculpted Insignia Candle features a sculpted, hand painted emblem of the Gryffindor crest. It is very detailed and artistic, and the vibrant colors on the candle really draw the eye in. It's a true must have for any Harry Potter fan, but if space is tight, the smaller glass candles make for a lovely gift too!

Also made with rich, vibrant colors, decorated with the house crest, and measuring at 3.15 x 3.54, it's the perfect size to display on a bedside nightstand or bookshelf. 

Cards always make a great accompaniment to any gift, but Pop-up Cards are even better! I absolutely loved the artwork on the front of this Hogwarts Castle Pop-Up Card, but was blown away by the amazing castle that popped up when I opened the card.

This isn't some cheap and flimsy pop-up card. It is handcrafted with the finest Italian pressed and dyed paper and intricate paper engineering, any Harry Potter fan would love to have it for a keepsake or display piece. My photos really don't do this card justice. The castle is paper crafted in stunning gold tones that look rich and shiny when the light hits and is even more beautiful to see in person. 

The card is a nice size too, measuring at 7x9, so it really makes for an attention grabbing piece.

Need stocking stuffers? These scented tin candles are perfect for the pop-culture fan on your list this year.  

I am treating myself to this Wonder Woman scented tin candle this year, and not only is it really cute, it smells incredible! Weighing in at 2 ounces, it's the perfect size for stocking fillers.

If you have a pop-culture fan on your holiday list this year (and I'm sure you do), be sure to check out all of the sculpted candles, tins, and votives from Insight Luminaries and pop-up cards from Popcraft Cards. My pop-culture loving girls were impressed with these gift ideas (look for them to be added to our annual gift guide, coming out in a few weeks), and I'm sure yours will be too! You can by them direct from the website, but they are also hitting store shelves this month at Barnes & Noble, Game Stop, and Amazon, just in time for your holiday shopping.

Harry Potter, DC Comics, Game of Thrones, Supernatural.... so many pop culture choices! What's your favorite?

Going To Hogwarts Through King's Cross Station

We were fresh off a 7 hour flight to London, and instead of grabbing a taxi from the airport, we thought it would be a brilliant idea to try to navigate London's train station to get us closer to our hotel. I like to think that we aren't complete morons, but trying to figure out the workings of a foreign train system when you're completely exhausted was a little more than we could handle. After Jason had to ask the attendant 3 times which train was ours, I had a feeling he was muttering "stupid Americans" under his breath before we finally got it right. Thankfully, that was one of our very few snafus on our trip.

After about a 30 minute ride, we arrived at the station and decided to cut across the street to King's Cross because Mariah had it on her London bucket list to get to Platform 9 ¾.

There were about 50 people milling around in front of it when we arrived, and we were a bit confused as to where the line started. Eventually, the workers told us they only let a handful of people into line at a time, but led us to a line outdoors where they were having people wait their turn to get into the official line so they could keep train station traffic from getting clogged up in the area in front of the Harry Potter platform.

It only took us about 30 minutes of wait time before it was our turn. They give you a wand and let you choose your Hogwarts house color from a selection of scarfs to use as photo props. It was completely free, but they do take your photo, which you have the option to purchase in the gift shop when you are done. We did bring our own camera, and they are totally cool about letting you take your own photos, but you'll only get enough time to snap two or three quickly before they take their own and move you along.

I guess we were Slytherine House as the girls picked out the green scarf for us to wear. Fitting, since we were looking a bit rough still in our flight clothes :)

While we didn't have the magic touch to get through to the Hogwarts Express, we were able to hail a cab outside of King's Cross to take us to the Holiday Inn, which looked pretty magical itself after an exhausting day of planes, trains, and taxi cabs.

Which Hogwarts House do you belong to?