THE MAKING OF HARRY POTTER VISITORS TO CROSS ICONIC HOGWARTS BRIDGE

This summer the iconic Hogwarts bridge from the Harry Potter film series will be opened up for the public to cross for the very first time. From Friday 31 August 2012 visitors to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter will be able to walk over the actual bridge that cast members used whilst making one of the best loved film series of all time.

The Hogwarts bridge is one of the few sets used in the films which is not mentioned in the books.  It first appeared in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ when the director, Alfonso Cuarón, wanted something to connect the Hogwarts set with Hagrid’s hut.  It appeared in the later films and a separate section was built for the explosion in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2.

The bridge was constructed from wood – with fibreglass used for some of the more intricate portions. This section was the only part of the bridge built to scale.  The rest was either built in miniature as part of the Hogwarts model or recreated through CGI (Computer Generated Imagery).

Sarah Roots, Vice President Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, explains: “We are constantly looking at ways to enhance our visitors’ enjoyment of the Studio Tour. There was an incredible demand to be able to cross the iconic Hogwarts Bridge so we are delighted to make this possible.”

In addition to this new development, three extra broom rigs will be added to the hugely popular broomstick experience at the attraction. Visitors get the chance to ride on a broom rig, much like the stars would have done, and using green screen technology they are able to recreate some of the iconic flying sequences from the film series.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, one of the UK’s most popular new visitor attractions, offers visitors the ultimate opportunity to journey behind-the-scenes of Harry Potter and experience the magic that has gone into creating the most successful film series of all time.

Visitors can step into the original Great Hall, first built for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone™, walk along Diagon Alley and marvel at the breathtaking miniature scale model of Hogwarts castle.

The attraction allows visitors the chance to see firsthand the sheer scale and detail of the actual sets, costumes, animatronics, special effects and props that have been used in all eight of the Harry Potter films.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is the most frequently reviewed UK attraction on TripAdvisor.  From the 2,000 reviews since the attraction opened on 31st March, 97% rated the experience ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’.