Yahoo Movies The best Harry Potter experiences to visit around the world
Across the world, there are lots of wonderful wizarding experiences and spellbinding shows and attractions for avid Harry Potter fans of all ages.
What started as a children’s book series has expanded into a gigantic global franchise that has dominated popular culture since the 1997 release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Potter fans can now fully immerse themselves in the wizarding world with impressive studio tours, theme park attractions, train rides and a theatre show – all catering to the high Potter demand, especially during the festive period.
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What are you waiting for muggles? Grab your wand, learn your spells and get ready for these magical experiences that take you right inside the Harry Potter films.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter, London
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter offers fans a chance to go behind the scenes of the Harry Potter movies and experience how one of the most popular and successful film series of all time was created.
The studio tour gives a fascinating insight into the work and craftsmanship behind the films and gives visitors the unique opportunity to set foot on the actual sets from their favourite Potter movies.
The Harry Potter film series made Leavesden Studios its home for over 10 years and luckily, the dedicated production crew saved many of the sets, props and costumes from the films in case they were ever needed.
Watch: Gringotts Bank comes to life at The Making of Harry Potter
These carefully preserved iconic movie artefacts and sets are now on display so that fans can experience the magic of the films and learn more about how the films were made.
Today, you can visit soundstages and a backlot filled with original movie sets, step inside the Great Hall, browse the costumes and props from the films and witness animatronic creatures and nifty special effects.
Fan favourites including Dumbledore’s office, Diagon Alley, the Ministry of Magic, platform 9 ¾, Gryffindor common room and Forbidden Forest can also be seen at this awesome movie attraction.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando Resort Florida
Immerse yourself in the wonderful world of Harry Potter in Orlando, the home of theme parks.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a big bucket list item for fans of the franchise who want the ultimate Hogwarts experience in the Sunshine State.
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It’s a large, themed area that’s located between two parks – Universal Studios Florida and the Islands of Adventure and you can travel between the two on a life-size replica of the famous Hogwarts Express.
Access to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is included with any valid Universal Orlando ticket, so you can check out the other movie rides while you’re visiting.
Watch: Nighttime lights bring Hogwarts to life at Universal Studios
Here, you can buy cloaks and wands in Diagon Alley, sip on butterbeer and experience immersive rides and coasters. Current ride options include Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – housed inside Hogwarts Castle.
Along with spectacular rides, Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are both wildly impressive with huge attention to detail. Wander around and you’ll find some recognisable shops including Zonko’s Joke Shop, Ollivanders and Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods, as well as food options at the Leaky Cauldron and The Three Broomsticks.
Ride the Hogwarts Express – Scotland
All aboard the Hogwarts Express for the most magical train ride in Scotland on the Jacobite Steam Train experience.
Travel across the Glenfinnan Viaduct – which was made famous by the Hogwarts Express train travelling across it in the movies, as it transported students to Hogwarts.
Come in your finest Harry Potter dress up and enjoy Scotland's enchanting scenery as you travel into the Highlands on this full-day guided tour from Inverness.
On this train trip, you’ll journey around Loch Ness and to Scotland’s bracing west coast to witness beaches, ancient ruins and a hidden waterfall from the comfort of your seat. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for those pesky dementors as you ride the Potter rails.
Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience, various locations
Traverse through an illuminated woodland trail inspired by the Wizarding World at the Harry Potter Forbidden Forest Experience.
Fans will remember that Professor Dumbledore had ordered students to stay away from the dark forest and the magical beast inside, but Harry and his friends were fond of breaking the rules and ventured into the moonlit forest undeterred.
You can recreate Harry’s misadventures on this night-time trail. It's been carefully created by award-winning theatrical designers who have recreated iconic scenes and characters from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series in a woodland setting.
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Wrap up warm and explore sets and immersive sounds, atmospheric lighting and strange creatures that bring the Wizarding World to life.
A Forbidden Forest Experience is also available in several locations including Cheshire (UK), Westchester New York, Groenenberg, Belgium and Leesburg, Virginia.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, London/New York/Melbourne/Hamburg/Toronto/Tokyo
See Harry Potter as you never have before at the most awarded new play in history and “one of the most defining pop culture events of the decade”.
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a two-part play that currently plays eight times a week on Broadway and in other locations including London’s West End.
It is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and is set "nineteen years later" after we left Harry and his Hogwarts friends. In the spectacular show, Harry’s head-strong son Albus befriends the son of his fiercest rival, Draco Malfoy.
This sparks a new wizarding journey for them all—with the power to change the past and future forever.
Prepare for a race through time, spells, and an epic battle, all brought to life with wildly impressive theatrical magic that has won huge praise from both fans and critics.
Harry Potter Film Concert Series, global
The Harry Potter Film Concert Series is currently on a world tour and is calling in at cities all around the world including Paris, Rome, Sydney and Singapore.
Fans can now experience the gorgeous sounds of the Harry Potter films with a live orchestra expertly playing the magical sounds of Hogwarts and beyond.
In this official concert, scenes from the films are projected in HD on the big screen, while a full symphony orchestra performs all the notes to each unforgettable score.
Harry Potter: The Exhibition, Atlanta
2022 saw the launch of a brand new behind-the-scenes, touring Harry Potter experience that’s sure to delight muggles and wizards alike. Harry Potter: The Exhibition celebrates the films and stories of Harry Potter and the Fantastic Beasts series by using cutting-edge and immersive design and technology.
This unique touring exhibition presents crafted environments that showcase your favourite moments, characters, settings, and beasts from the films and stories of Harry Potter and also highlights the filmmaking techniques that brought them to life.
Get an up-close look at famous props and original costumes that blend with innovative, environments and installations, creating an immersive experience that brings you closer to the Wizarding World.
Platform 9 3/4, London
At King's Cross train station in London — well known for being where the famous Hogwarts Express Train leaves for Hogwarts in the films and books — you’ll find the famous Platform 9 3/4, with its trolley photo opportunity. You can have your very own snap taken by professional photographers (timing dependent), which can then be purchased in-store at the Harry Potter-themed souvenir shop right next to it.
Read more: How much do you know about Harry Potter?
This wizarding treasure trove was the first ever Harry Potter Shop to open anywhere in the world outside of a themed visitor attraction and it’s packed with exclusive designs, one-of-a-kind personalisation, and unique fan-favourites.
Don’t forget to wear your house scarf.
Harry Potter: Magic at Play, Chicago
Harry Potter: Magic at Play celebrates Harry’s journey from Privet Drive to Hogwarts in a fun and interactive way. This enchanted and family-friendly attraction takes place in an immersive 30,000-square-foot experience that puts you in Harry’s shoes for the day.
Slide down over Harry’s cupboard under the stairs, practice your Quidditch skills, step into The Great Hall and mix potions in giant cauldrons as you roam around this massive wizarding space.
Along with interactive classes, there’s also a shop on the ground floor with exclusive themed merch like capes, brooms, magic wands, t-shirts, key chains, and the coveted Lego Hogwarts Castle.
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