Experiences

Unforgettable Summer Adventures: London Edition!

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Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another blog post! This time I wanted to write about a recent trip to London that I have recently come back from. This might never see the light of day, but I guess if you are reading this, then I did actually post it in the end!

At the beginning of June, me and a friend decided to go to London for a few days. We had set out what we were going to do, what day, and when, but as with all these things, it did not go quite to plan, but for the most part, it did. We had decided we were going to go from Sunday to Wednesday, each day packed with many activities, so without further ado, let me tell you about them! 

Sunday

So, we did not have the best start to the trip, as all trains to London St Pancreas were not running due to the heat that day and the day before. After speaking to Southeastern staff, we managed to get a train to London Bridge instead. Once we had arrived in London, we had to get The Tube to King’s Cross, which is where our hotel would be and where we would base ourselves for the next few days! It’s worth mentioning that I had packed everything in a cabin backpack and not a suitcase as I wanted to keep both my hands free, but it was a struggle to carry it around as I had packed a week’s worth of clothes as I would be staying at my friend’s house for another few days and just decided to bring it all with me. 

Once had the hotel, we managed to check in and pay for the hotel. Once in the room and had had a sit out for half an hour due to the travelling, we had decided that we would go to the Harry Potter shop at King’s Cross to see what was there and if there was anything we wanted to get. I got myself a Dumbledore T-shirt. We were going to get our photo taken with the trolley, and Harry Potter House scarves, but the queue was very long, so we just decided to go back to the hotel and try again another day.

A outside summer photo of St Paul’s Cathedral a white building with a dome on top with some green trees in the foreground.

Monday

Monday was the first full day. We had dedicated this day to shopping and going to the various shops that we both wanted to go to. We started by going to The House of MinaLima! For those of you who don’t know MinaLima is the art gallery and company that created all the paper props for the Harry Potter films, from things like the Hogwarts letters, physical copies of The Daily Prophet and things like the school books, labels for jars for magical objects etc. and even The Marauders Map. It was really fascinating and interesting to see all these things up close and to look at all the intricate little details of each of them! You could buy replicas of course as well as some prints of posters and other things from the films. I was very interested in the prints, but the prices were at the time too high, and some were massive and would have been a struggle to get home. But I found out you can order them online, so I might order some one day once I move into a newer house. 

We also ‘M&M World’ and The Lego Store, which turned out to be right opposite to each other, I didn’t get anything out of these shops, but I was amazed at just how much merchandise M&M could put their Lego on. You would have thought that I would have bought some chocolate, but the whole week was in the high twenties, so the chocolate was only going to melt in my bag, so I chose not to. 

After we went to MinaLima, we went to a shop called Forbidden Planet which is a shop for all things nerd! Soon after, we then went into a little bookshop called ‘Gay’s The Word’. A lovely little bookshop set in the heart of Bloomsbury that specifically stocks and caters for the LGBTIQA+ community. Both books from authors of the community or stories/novels about the community! I was amazed to see just how busy this shop was. There was room to move and to look at everything! Even though I am not part of that community myself, I know people who are, and it felt so welcoming, cute and cozy! It is a shame in some ways that the shop was so small because I feel like they should really have a reading corner or something where people can just sit and read if they wish to! I only tend to read audiobooks now because of my level of vision the way it is, so I do miss reading an actual book and sitting under and blanket reading! But this shop was lovely and, like I said, so welcoming and friendly. I am sure I will be back again at some point. If you are in or visiting London, it is defiantly worth the visit! 

Tuesday

This was yet another packed full day. I am not going to lie. This was the day I was looking forward to the most! We started off by heading to St. Paul’s Cathedral. St. Paul’s is a cathedral I have always wanted to visit, and I was so pleased I was able to finally visit. If you are disabled in any way, then we can get free entry to the cathedral along with one carer/PA. Otherwise, there is a charge to visit the cathedral, but if you are going to a service, then, of course, the entrance is free. The cathedral floor itself was amazing to look at, as well as all the side chapels and the crept. We had then decided we were going to climb The Dome! Word of warning here, there are a lot more stairs than you think there are, and the later ones are old stone steps and not that easy to navigate. Nor, sadly, are any of the steps marked with yellow tape to see the edges clearly. So,something to bare in mind if you are thinking about doing it. Once we had finished The Dome, we then sat down before heading to the shop. Once at the shop, we then waited for the daily Holy Communion/Eucharist service to start. This was something that was important to me, and that I really wanted to do, so I was so pleased when we did. 

After grabbing some food, we realized that Gordon Square wasn’t too far, so then went to go and have a look. Gordon Square is famous for having been the set of houses that members of The Bloomsbury Group owned and lived in the first half of the twentieth century. The Bloomsbury Group are a set of famous set of English writers, intellectuals, philosophers, and artists. Once we walked around and looked at all the houses, we then sat in the square green in the sunshine for a bit before heading back to the hotel and again going out in the evening.

Once we had some time relaxing in the hotel, we then travelled again on The Tube to Lyceum Theatre to see ‘The Lion King’. This is a show I have always wanted to see, but for whatever reason, I have not had the chance to see it. But boy, was it worth the wait! I have always heard good things about this show, so I was so excited to see this. I know I normally write theatre show reviews, so if you want a more detailed accessibility review of The Lion King, then let me know either on Twitter or in the comments below. But to summarize, this show was outstanding. The puppetry was out of this world! Along with the use of colour and costumes. It follows the Disney film well, with updated changes too, it would be thoroughly recommended for a lovely night out.

A photo of the stage at the lion king before the show. A red African patterned safety curtain.

Wednesday 

So our final day in London had come around, and we decided to end it all with Warner Bro’s Studios – The Making Of Harry Potter! I have spoken about going to this attraction before, and a lot of it still applies, but as me and my friend I have been so many times over the years, I felt that it was okay to just be around by ourselves without the accessible tour. We managed to see all the new things that we wanted to see, from the updated Number Four Privet Drive, which had the new set of Harry’s bedroom with the scene of Harry meeting Dobby for the first time, Professor Sprout’s greenhouse where you got to pull your own mandrake, a demonstration on how I made the feather float in the charms class in the first film and some of the Hagrid costumes and props and how they made Hagrid come to life on screen.

The one new thing I got to experience was the dedicated shuttle service that takes you from outside Watford station to the studios themselves. This is something I had never had a chance to experience as in past visits. I had always gone with someone who was able to drive. But I found this to be quite a good and accessible experience. Once leaving the station, it was very easy to find the right bus stop, either because of the mass crowd of people or children or adults wearing full Harry Potter costumes! The buses themselves are covered in Harry Potter decals, picturesand advertisements, so you really can’t miss them visually. But have not gone on my own before, the Watford station staff know all about it, so I am confident that if you ask anyone of them about where it is etc. I am sure they will be able to help! 

On this occasion, I got very little from the shop, although I think this goes to show how often I have gone to the studios in the past, even though I normally go about once a year. If you would like to know about how the studio is accessibility-wise, then you check out my other post from a few years ago, as most of it still applies today.

So that was my recent trip to London. I do not know if this was at all interesting. Let me know if you would like to see this sort of thing in the future. If you Could not tell, I thoroughly enjoyed myself during this week and was sad to come home again after, but who knows, we might make this a yearly thing. Thank you so much for reading this. If you have read this from start to finish, then well done! Feel free to tell me what you think below in the comments! What are some of the awesome things you have done in London? 

Until Next Time,

The VI Critic

A photo if the model of Hogwarts castle in the daylight scene.

“Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.” – The Warner Brothers Studio Tour “The Making Of Harry Potter

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The ‘Harry Potter’ series by J.K Rowling will always go down as a classic books series along with the likes of ‘The Chronicles Of Narnia’ by C.S Lewis and ‘Sherlock Holmes’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Back in August of this year, me, Guide Dog Blossom, my girlfriend, and family got the chance to go to the ‘Harry Potter Studio Tour’ in London. All have always been huge fans of the series, so we were all really looking forward to this immensely. This trip had been booked a few months before, which is highly recommended as the tickets will sell out really quickly.

Once we had arrived (in a bit of a rush and a panic, as we were running a little late) we made out way through the crowds of people to the ‘Guest Services’ desk. Back when booking the tickets, I had also phoned them up to tell them that both I and my girlfriend were visually impaired so, I wanted to find out what was available to us in terms of accessibility. They answered, by saying that some commentary headsets would be available and that also we would get our own tour guide to take as round the tour.

Once we got the ‘Guest Services’ a lovely staff member by the name of Carmen greeted us! We said that we had booked some assistant and once she came back after checking with staff, she said that she would be happy to take us around. Carmen, help us to the entrance and said that she would return once we had reached the other side. We walked through into a giant room with some huge screens on both side walls showing all the Harry Potter film posters.

Once the staff had filled the room with guests, they began to play a short film, showing an interview with the director of the Harry Potter films David Yates. After, the film had finished, the doors open to a small cinema screen. As I had Blossom with me, the staff kindly placed us on the front row so Blossom could happily lie down. Once everyone had settled and were seated, another staff welcome us again and said that we were going to watch all eight Harry Potter films back-to-back and that he’d see us to three days! Some people were actually quite happy about this!

Photo shows the Goblet Of Fire standing in Great Hall surrounded by the 'age circle'.

I don’t want to go into detail about what happened next, as I don’t want to spoil it for everyone, but what I will say what happened next was amazing! Once we had been through the introduction and were free to roam about as we pleased, Carmen met up with us again and started to takes us around and showed us some key things that you get to see! Whilst going around with her, she showed us some key props and sets from the films and told us somethings that you wouldn’t get to know if you were just going around on your own.

Some of the things Carmen showed us we got to touch and feel to get a better understanding of what it looked like and how it was used in the film. Some of the things Carmen showed I didn’t even think were physically real. When you watch the films, in some scenes you sit there and think ‘ah that was probably done my computer!’ But actually it wasn’t, which was amazing, some things actually moved and worked! It was brilliant! Not only were there things to look at, but there were also things to do! As we were going around the tour, there were several activities using a green screen, that you could dress up as a Hogwarts student and take part in! This was so much fun! Whilst I was going all these, Blossom was left with my mum. I got told later that Blossom had this confused look on her face as if to say: “why is dad sitting on a stick?” After the various activities, your photo and some videos were taken, after which you purchase them. Which of course I did!

Photo shows the set of the Gryffindor common room with red arm chair and a roaring fire place in the background.

Whilst we were going round we got to ask Carmen all these types of questions and almost every question she expertly knew the answer to. There were a few she didn’t know, but to be fair they were some pretty daft ones, mostly asked by me! Once we had got halfway around the tour, there was a large cafeteria, where you could buy food and drink, we had already eaten before we had arrived, but it was a chance for us to take a breather and take the load off. I went and bought a ‘Butter Beer’ whilst my mum, brother and my girlfriend all had normal soft drinks. Carmen showed us to a table and said that she would go off and have a break and come to us.

After about twenty minutes, Carmen came back and we continued the tour. We moved on and went to see some physical sets, which the actors had actually used, we got to go in them!! Which was again amazing! Every time I sit and watch a Harry Potter film now, I sit there and think ‘I’ve seen that’ or ‘I’ve been in there’ or I’ve touched that!’ Carmen showed us some special effects props which again we got to touch and feel, at one point she showed us a hand that we got to touch. At the time we felt really strange because even though you knew it wasn’t real, it felt like it was, so my brain wasn’t sure how to process that! But then came the one thing that blew us all away! We turned around a corner, and there ahead of us was…the Hogwarts castle! The sight was absolutely beautiful, it was all lit up and cycle from day to nighttime. At night all the lights in Hogwarts Castle lit up, and it felt as though it was alive! We spent some time taking numerous photos, I had taken so many photos that day, but one of the photos, of me, and my girlfriend standing in front of the Hogwarts castle is by far my favorite photo of the whole visit! To the point where now, I have it framed and sitting on display at home.

Photo shows a photo of the giant 'mirror of erised' reflecting some of the crowd.

We could have spent hours in that one room alone, and truthfully I didn’t want to leave! They had music playing from ‘Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire’. Now, when I listen to that song it always that’s me back to that one moment!

Erm…anyway moving on! Once we had exited, we then came to the end of the tour and into the shop! Now anyone who knows me will tell you that I really enjoy shopping, so combining ‘Harry Potter’ with shopping…fatal! Now granted I went online to their website a few days before so I already knew what I wanted. There were a few times where my mum had to say to me: “now are you ever going to use or wear that?” “probably not…” I said, “but it’s Harry Potter!” In the end, I only came out with two items, a Gryffindor jumper, and a Gryffindor backpack and was red with gold zips!

After we had paid (well, I paid), Carmen then escorted us back to the car, I let Blossom go to the toilet as she had been so good whilst going around, that she hadn’t had a chance. I think even she enjoyed herself, there was one moment where we went into the forbidden forest and she wasn’t a fan, so Carmen asked for the sound effects to be turned off whilst we were going through which was lovely of her to think of. Blossom then came face-to-face with a big mechanical version of Buckbeck which she was not a fan, so she quickly decided to pull me away from.

photo shows me, my girlfriend and blossom standing in front of the Hogwarts Express

Overall, we had such an amazing time! Carmen if your reading this again you were amazing! You really made our trip the extra little bit special for us thank you! I would highly recommend you go if you blind or visually impaired. If you are worried about not being able to see anything, don’t! All the staff were great and super accommodating! If you have certain accessibility requirements, they will be more than happy to accommodate!

Some top tips then if you are, or deciding to go in the near future:

  • Book Months in Advance – I highly recommend you book your tickets months in advance, they will book up so quickly. This isn’t something you can just turn up to, as it is so immensely popular!

  • Phone up the studio tours to book disability assistant and access tickets – If you want to book disabled tickets, you will need to phone and do this. You will need to book one adult ticket to allow for a free entry for a carer. The way I did this, was I phoned up asking about disability tickets, and what they told me was I had to go online and book the adult tickets first, then phone them back and book the carer tickets. However, I think there now is an option to phone them and book everything together. But phone and check with them,

  • Going Around the Tour – When going around the tour either with a tour guide or on your own, take your time, the majority of the props and sets that you get to see is in the FIRST section, so take your time and look at everything, because once you leave the first section you can’t go back!

  • Take Plenty Of Spending Money – Throughout the tour, and shop there is so much you can buy and purchase, these things are not cheap, they are quite expensive! There are now two shops at the studio tours, One during the tour and one at the end. There might some items in one shop that you can’t get in the other. So have a look in both, but in my experience, the majority of items are in the bigger shop at the end.

  • It’s going to be very crowded – As the Harry Potter Studios is so popular all over the world, you will get lots of people going to the tour at the same time as you, both people from the U.K and tourists from around the world. If you struggle with crowds or struggle to find your way in them, then let the studios know before you arrive, that way you can be accommodated and help with this as much as possible.

  • Going to the tour with your Guide Dog – obviously, by law, your Guide Dog can accompany you throughout the tour and other areas, when I went with Blossom they had no problem with her being that what so ever. However, it is a good idea to bring your Guide Dogs I.D booklet with you just in case you are asked to present it. They didn’t ask me in my case, but that doesn’t mean to say they might not. Also throughout the tour, once you start, there is nowhere for your dog to go to the toilet, so make sure your dog gets the chance to go before you enter the building.

  • Going through security – When you arrive you will have to go through a security check. Don’t worry it is not too intense, but they will have to check your bag before you enter, so be mindful of this before you arrive.

The ‘Harry Potter Studios’ is a fanatic place to visit, I would highly recommend it to anyone. If you haven’t got the chance to go yet I strongly suggest you do! You won’t be disappointed!!

The last photo shows me and my girlfriend standing in front of the Hogwarts castle (my favourite photo!)

Until Next Time!

The VI Critic!