London - Day 8 (The One with Harry Potter)

What a great day! I went to the Harry Potter Studios Tour at the Warner Brothers Studios in Leavesden with my friend Dani, and we took a million pictures! The whole thing really lived up to my expectations, which were pretty high.
We decided to meet at the train station at 9:15 this morning so that we would FOR SURE be on time for our trains and connections. I was in a rush, but got there with a few minutes to spare, Dani, however, was nowhere in sight. After a while, I tried texting, calling, yelling very loudly, sobbing uncontrollably, but she did not answer. Tension was building, but finally she called me back - she'd been stuck on a subway with no phone service. We rushed to figure out our train, but we missed it by a just a few minutes. We didn't worry though because there was another one 10 minutes later.
We rode the new train to Watford Junction where we stepped out to see a large bus with "Harry Potter Studio Tour" covering its sides, so we hopped on that and were on our way!

If this doesn't excite you, leave this blog at once!

We got there about 30 minutes earlier than our admission time, so we perused the gift shop, where everything was amazing and also very expensive. SO, word to those who plan a trip there: prepare for the shock and sadness of wanting everything, but not having enough money for any of it. (Okay, there were a few things that are decent in price, like key-chains...I bought a Time-Turner one.)
After browsing the shop, we took our place in line to let the real fun begin! The following pictures are but a few of the hundreds we took, but these are the pictures that I liked best. In no particular order, here you go!

The group gathers at the huge doors of the Great Hall...

The Great Hall! It was beautiful!

Racks of costumes. I didn't even need the tags to tell me who they were for.

Amazing gates to Hogwarts.

Those are the wands of all the main characters! The REAL wands!

Hey, that's me in the Mirror of Erised! It was much bigger than I thought.

This is the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone was like ruby obsidian.

This "miniature" was awe-inspiring. It was the "jewel in the crown," said one sign - it really was though!

These Olivander's boxes had the names of the 4000 people
 who helped make the Harry Potter films a reality 

Number 4 Privet Drive!

My hair does the same thing if I sleep on it funny.

Dani's driving a flying car! I'm holding on for dear life!

The Knight Bus was very tall and purple.

The set for Diagon Alley was really fun. Here's Gringotts

This cabinet held the Horcruxes. The Diadem was so pretty!

This is the door to the Chamber or Secrets. The mechanics of it actually worked!

I took so many pictures that my battery died, so a bunch of these were taken by my friend Dani. The whole thing was just a top-notch experience. Who knows of I'll ever see this stuff again? I hope to someday, but I'll always remember this super fun trip to the studio!

After Harry Potter, I was back in time for dinner, but I didn't want to let the night waste away, so I went down to Piccadilly Circus and stopped in at the Criterion Theatre to see if I could get a cheap seat for "The 39 Steps." Luck was in my favor and I got a cheap one, but with a 'restricted' view that wasn't all that restricted at all. In fact, it was just like sitting in those fancy booth seats. I also had the row to myself, so I wasn't cramped or anything. The show also got out before the other plays in the area, so the tube wasn't yet packed full for the trip home.
Anyway, the play was fun; it only had four actors to play about 15 different parts. The scenery was fun and inventive too. The endless references to Hitchcock's films was funny too. This whole day was fun.

Tomorrow is my last full day in London, and I have some good things planned. Come back tomorrow to find out!