Overview
It has been more than two decades since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone first brought its magic into our lives, and muggles still share one particular dream: to attend Hogwarts. Yes, it's a fictional setting. Yes, we all know that. But that still hasn't stopped all manner of places trying to make the school an enchanting reality, from HP-inspired wizarding schools to huge brunches held in Great Hall-like spaces to activewear decked out in house colours.
London's Warner Brothers Studio Tour is going one step further as part of its The Making of Harry Potter exhibit: it's letting visitors try on authentic Hogwarts robes. Short of casting a spell to go back in time and star in one of the eight Harry Potter films — or somehow finding your way onto the Fantastic Beasts' set — that's as close as you're going to get to some actual Hogwarts action.
The specific tour wizard obsessives will want to take is the Behind the Seams experience, which dives into the costumes created for the movie franchise — all 25,000 of them. Sketches, finished outfits and stories about their creation are all part of this wander through a workshop-like environment, with threads worn by Cedric Diggory, Professor Sprout and even Voldemort on display. That's all great and bewitching, but the main attraction is the chance to pick your house colours and pop on a robe that featured in one of the movies. We'd tell you to BYO wand, but you've probably already thought about that.
Anyone finding themselves in London over the next few months can take the Behind the Seams tour between May 23 and July 22, with sessions running daily until June 2 and then every weekend afterwards. Tickets cost £65, which includes the one-hour costume frenzy — but no, you can't wear your Hogwarts garb for the whole hour, sorry — as well as the standard studio tour, complete with a walk through the Forbidden Forest and a wait on Platform 9¾.
For more information, visit the Behind the Seams website.