With the final movie installment released, Harry Potter fans seeking to hold on to the magic for a while longer will be pleased to know that the magic isn’t going anywhere. Universal Studios and Warner Bros. have just announced that their popular “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” park attraction in Orlando is also coming to Hollywood. The park will likely not open for a few years yet, and ride and feature details have yet to be released. Worry not, though, because Warner Bros. has more good news – starting March 31, 2012, you can participate in the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London and see the sets, costumes, and props from the Harry Potter movies.
For more than ten years the Warner Bros. Studio Leavesden was home to the Harry Potter films, and the tour has a lot to show for it. You can enter the Great Hall, wander Dumbledore’s office, check out Harry’s Nimbus 2000, learn about the green screen effects used in the films, and see other sets and props. Tickets are already on sale (adult tickets are $44, children ages 5 to 15 get in for $33, and children under 5 are free), so if you’ll be in London and want to get your Potter on, be sure to make your reservation. www.wbstudiotour.co.uk
Other HP options include Tralfagar’s Castles & Kilts Tour, an 11-day UK tour that makes stops from London to Edinburgh, and has Harry Potter highlights in places like King’s Cross Station and Platform 9 ¾, Harry’s house in Lacock, and the Great-Hall-inspiring dining hall at Oxford. Tours are available from April 4 to August 15, 2012, start at $2,599 per person, and do not include air travel. www.trafalgar.com
If March and April are too far away for you, you could try yet another tour. The Mysteries & Muggles UK tour by Explorica will take you to places like Lacock Abbey, where classroom scenes were shot, and the Elephant House in Edinburgh, the café where J.K. Rowling began the Harry Potter series on napkins. (The back room has a view of Edinburgh castle and, take it from this girl, the Mallow Delight hot chocolate is delicious.) Roundtrip airfare, daily breakfasts and dinners, and tour director are included, as are visits to other places of historical significance in the UK. Tickets start at $2,015. www.explorica.com
And finally, if you missed the Harry Potter exhibition in Times Square, and happen to be in Sydney, Australia, you can see Harry Potter: The Exhibition, which features props and costumes from the movies, at the Powerhouse Museum. (Weekend adult tickets are $32, children 4 to 15 are $22, weekdays $28 and $19.) harrypotterexhibition.com
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