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Feeling Festive at Hogwarts in the Snow

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A massive Christmas tree is currently dominating the lobby at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, declaring to every visitor that Hogwarts in the Snow is going on!

 

 

Think about when Harry enters the Great Hall for the first time in the Sorcerer’s Stone film or when the splendor of the Yule Ball décor is revealed in Goblet of Fire. You get that same feeling of awe and excitement every time the doors open onto the Great Hall at the Studio Tour, and until January 29, 2017, the whole Tour is at its most magical.

 

 

The Great Hall is lined with Christmas trees, decorated with ornaments made specifically for the films, and the tables are covered with a feast so delicious-looking that it’s easy to forget that it’s all made of resin! The spread also includes some puddings to which there is more than meets the eye…

 

 

The Great Hall isn’t the only set dressed for Christmas with both the Gryffindor common room and the boys’ dormitory bedecked with tinsel and streamers.

 

 

Fun Fact: the Christmas cards used to decorate the dormitory (like those seen by Dean’s bed below) include ones made by cast members.

 

 

As the name suggests, there is also a lot of snow to be found during Hogwarts in the Snow. From snow showers projected onto the windows of sets…

 

 

… to the sudden blizzard you may find yourself in as you cross the backlot.

 

 

Anyone who thinks there is only one type of fake snow will soon discover upon visiting the Tour how sorely they are mistaken. There’s snow for dusting props, snow for dusting people, and snow for general ground coverage, as well as a type that falls nicely and another that crunches realistically under foot. Near the end of the tour, they have a booth set up where an interactor can talk you through how they made snow (and fire) during the films while you get your hands on some of the different types and discover what they’re made of. There’s also a demonstration of the film wizardry behind Harry walking through the snow while under the Invisibility Cloak in Prisoner of Azkaban.

 

 

The grand finale of Hogwarts in the Snow is the incredible 1:24 scale model of the Hogwarts Castle, and in all its snow-dusted majesty, it certainly does not disappoint.

 

 

Then it’s off to the gift shop to decide which pieces of the new Fantastic Beasts merchandise you just have to have!

Hogwarts in the Snow will be featured until January 29, 2017. Tickets can be purchased via the Studio Tour website.

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Jennifer C.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was the first film I watched in a cinema and was my introduction to everything Potter. This was swiftly followed by starting the books, which I grew up reading. I’m a proud Hufflepuff and an almost stereotypical Brit from near London (amortentia would definitely smell like tea to me).