Christmas At Hogwarts: Harry Potter Fans' Ultimate Present

Christmas At Hogwarts: Harry Potter Fans' Ultimate Present
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Harry Potter fans have the chance to fulfill their festive dreams by spending Christmas at Hogwarts.

Warner Bros has unveiled a Christmas makeover of the Harry Potter Studios so that followers of JK Rowling's schoolboy wizard can enjoy Hogwarts in the snow, complete with towering Christmas trees and grand dinner tables.

Visitors can follow the trail of Harry, Hermione and Ron through the film's sets, discover treasures hidden in Dumbledore's office and check out the colourful shop fronts on Diagon Alley.

The tour, which is near Watford, runs until February 1.

Special effects experts have transformed the tour into a snow-sprinkled taster of how the festive scenes were achieved in the eight blockbuster movies.

The showpiece of the tour is a spectacular scale model of Hogwarts Castle, built for the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

PA

Durham Cathedral and Alnwick Castle in Northumberland were used for many of the shots, but atmospheric cuts of the courtyard tower and turrets were made using the 1:24 scale model, which was produced by a 40-strong team.

Most of the snow used in the films was a mix of paper and salt - used because it gathers like snow and makes a realistic sound under foot.

During filming, the mixture was sprinkled onto the model by hand with a sieve.

Fans can also marvel at the Great Hall, which is decorated with the original props seen during the festive feast in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

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Eight Christmas trees will be hung with over 200 gold stars, and the dining tables will be dressed with prop versions of turkeys, hams, fruit, vegetables and snow cakes.

Puddings will be rigged with flames, using gas pipes hidden along the floor and running up on to the tables, while crackers in each of the house colours – red and gold for Gryffindor, green and silver for Slytherin, blue and silver for Ravenclaw and yellow and gold for Hufflepuff – will also dress the tables.

Other attractions include the first Christmas present Harry received at Hogwarts – his Invisibility Cloak.


Tickets are available at Wbstudiotour.co.uk

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