The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts At Warner Brothers Studios Hollywood
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
See My Other Posts On Harry Potter Themed Activities
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic in New York
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Universal Studios Orlando
Table of Contents Show
Warner Brothers Studio Tour Hollywood
Hollywood, did that word have you envisioning the Hollywood sign with the large white letters on the hill? I believe most people familiar with the movie-making capital of the world have seen that white sign at some point in their life. It’s one of those iconic pop culture references that somehow seeps into our unconscious.
Warner Brothers Studios is known for making some of the most memorable movies ever made. A few of the classics are Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, more recently, The Matrix, and let’s not forget the Harry Potter franchise. And I had no idea that on the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, they had Harry Potter items from the movie sets on display. This was about seven years ago, and my brother and his family were coming out to the Los Angeles area for a trip, and we (me and my kids) were going to meet up with them. The studio tour was on our list of things to do together.
The Tour
Not only is Warner Brothers known for the movies they’ve produced, but they are famous for television shows as well. At the time of our tour, the shows in production that we saw the sets for were the Bates Motel and Pretty Little Liars. We were able to walk through the Ellen DeGeneres studio—I stood precisely where her chair is onstage. Oddly enough, the whole set looked much smaller than it does on tv.
By any chance, have you heard of the show Friends? They have the cafe that was prominently in the show, Central Perk intact, and you can have your photo taken on the couch. This is the same couch where Phoebe and Chrissie Hynde sang “Smelly Cat” on. We had a fabulous time throughout the whole tour!
The Wizarding World: Harry Potter
The tour starts out on a tram, and you have a guide to explain all the history and details. Next, they drop you off to peruse the museum filled with authentic costumes and items from iconic movies. There are two floors to the exhibit. The first floor had a collection of various costumes and items from the DC Universe (Batman) and other movies. We couldn’t wait to see what was upstairs. The second floor of the museum is where we got to see the Harry Potter exhibit.
Get Sorted!
Ann’s Angle
I WAS SORTED BY THE SORTING HAT!!! Yup, you read that correctly. And you can as well when you go! Can you tell how excited I was by that? A fun and exciting aspect to the museum was all of us in our group got to experience being sorted by the sorting hat.
There’s Even More…
The costumes from the various movies were on display. A full-sized Aragog will definitely get your attention here. My eldest daughter was a little creeped out by it—not a fan of spiders like Ron. Also, check out the cupboard under the stairs and the many creatures on display. And yes, by the way, I was sorted into Gryffindor.
Mr. Weasley’s flying car on display.
To The Batmobile!
In addition to the exhibit indoors, they have a display of cars and motorcycles. Remember the blue vehicle that Ron and Harry used to get to Hogwarts? Well, that’s here as well (see pic). They have the Batmobile to other vehicles used in many of their movies.
The Batmobile
For The Movie Aficionado
If you love movies and television, this is a gem of a collection. If you are a Harry Potter fan, I highly recommend checking out the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. Check out the website for updates on the exhibits that are on display. As of this writing, they have included items from the Fantastic Beasts movies as well. If you are in the Southern California area, this is a fun must-see!
