8 Festive Things Spotted at Hogwarts in the Snow
From November 13 to January 31 the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter decorates its wonderful sets and props with snow, tinsel, and all things festive. This time around, the Studio team outdid themselves with all-new Christmas puddings, lit fireplaces, and even the Goblet of Fire. Here are eight festive things that we spotted at the Studio Tour this year!
1. Christmas trees
The Studio Tour featured a huge Christmas tree in the front lobby, which was covered in fake snow and shining blue lights. Like in the books, eight trees lined the Great Hall. They were decorated in festive tinsel and baubles, as well as little witches that rode broomsticks around the star.
2. Flaming Christmas puddings
Although all the food in the Great Hall was fake, including the Christmas puddings, the flames used to light the puddings were real! For the first time this year, you can see up-close how the special effects team used small gas fires to light the Christmas puddings. During filming, gas lines were hidden in the floor and rose up through the tables to provide the fuel for these fascinating little decorations!
3. The Hogwarts model covered in snow
The Hogwarts castle model has been transformed by a team lead by model effects supervisor José Granell. The snow is hand-sprinkled onto the model, and it makes the already fantastic-looking castle look even better. The scale model was first built for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, with a team of 80 model makers working for almost seven months to create the original version. The specialist work was so detailed that it would have taken one person more than 74 years to complete!
4. Snow
There was snow everywhere! You could see snow falling in the windows of the Great Hall and the Burrow, and fake snow actually fell on the Privet Drive and Hogwarts Bridge sets. Snow also covered part of the Diagon Alley set. The snow that covers the sets and models is made from a combination of granulated paper and grains of salt – chosen because it clumps like real snowflakes and catches the light like ice. The snow floating around outside was made of little soapy bubbles propelled into the air by a giant fan.
5. The Burrow
The Burrow set was all dressed up for Christmas. It included pulled crackers and a cake with a snowman ice skating on top. The food in the early films was completely real, but it proved too difficult to store, so in the later films they used artificial food made by the special effects team.
Source: Warner Bros Studio Tour
6. The Goblet of Fire
For the first time this year, the Goblet of Fire was lit! It sparkled with blue and red flames, made by shining light into heated water vapor. There were actually two versions of the Goblet made for the The Goblet of Fire. One was made out of a single piece of wood, while a special effects replica was molded in fiberglass.
7. The Great Hall
The Great Hall was decked out with a feast fit for Christmas. With chicken, potatoes, roast beef, and festive puddings, it’s a shame that all the food was made from powder and resin. There were House-themed crackers and little gifts, as well as wreathes and fiery Christmas puddings. Even the snowmen on the cakes had little Gryffindor and Ravenclaw scarves!
8. The Gryffindor bedroom and Common Room
The Gryffindor bedroom set was decorated with colorful tinsel, and the common room had its very own Christmas tree as well as crackers! Did you know that the bedroom set was built for Sorcerer’s Stone and was never expanded? So in the later films all the cast’s feet dangled off the edge!
You can read more about the Hogwarts in the Snow feature and MuggleNet’s previous review of the feature here.
Thanks once again to the team at the Studio Tour for having us.
What is your favorite part of the Studio Tour? Are you going to see the Hogwarts in the Snow feature? Let us know in the comments below!