REVIEW: Gringotts Wizarding Bank expansion at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

On Wednesday 24 April 2019, I returned for my fifth visit to check out the new Studio Tour Hub, Chocolate Frog Café and Gringotts Wizarding Bank expansion

Since it opened to the public on 31 March 2012, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter has had three expansions:

• Platform 9¾ – 19 March 2015 (20,000 ft² expansion)
• Forbidden Forest – 31 March 2017 (repurposed existing space)
• Gringotts Wizarding Bank – 6 April 2019 (16,500 ft² expansion)

The Gringotts expansion first came to my attention on 1 January 2019, when I was casually browsing Google Maps and noticed that the entire car park had become a construction site! What on earth were they up to? After finding the Planning Applications online, I discovered that a Studio Tour Extension and Studio Café Extension were being built, due to “be launched by Summer 2019”.

And then, on 29 January 2019, Warner Bros. announced on Twitter that they were adding Gringotts Wizarding Bank, opening a few months earlier than expected, on 6 April 2019! From the press release:

For the first time ever at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, visitors are invited to enter the set of Gringotts Wizarding Bank as the Studio Tour unveils its biggest expansion to date.

In addition to the Gringotts Wizarding Bank expansion, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London will unveil an all-new 17,000 sqft lobby and café on the 6th April. The new café will serve food and drink inspired by the Wizarding World and can seat up to 500 people.

How exciting. I simply had to go back! 😃

The only problem was, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is a very popular attraction. Unlike a theme park, you can’t just go whenever you want, you have to book your tickets well in advance. Typically the tour is “Sold Out” for the next 3 months, making it difficult to go spontaneously.

But if you keep checking the site, availability can open up. On the Select Date and Time calendar, previously “Sold Out” dates can suddenly become “Available”. And so eventually I managed to get tickets, just 18 days after Gringotts opened, albeit for a late 6:00pm entry time.

Exterior & Studio Tour Lobby

On Wednesday 24 April 2019, I returned to Leavesden for my fifth visit, excited to explore the expansion and discover all the changes.

Upon arriving, my first impression was how different it looked. J Stage (J for J.K. Rowling) has been massively extended south onto the old car park, with an enormous new building that houses the Studio Tour Hub, making it necessary to reconfigure the entire entry layout.

The new entrance is far more sophisticated. Gone is the old yellow corrugated metal, replaced with a curving black tiled wall. It’s the same “The Making of Harry Potter” sign as before, but it looks so much cooler now.

After revealing the contents of my tiny man bag and being probed with a security wand, I stepped into the new Studio Tour Lobby. Despite being playfully decorated with illustrations of owls and Hogwarts acceptance letters, it’s a rather empty and forgettable space. But that’s OK. It groups all of the boring and practical stuff together (information desk, cloakroom, toilets, digital guides) so that you’re all set to start having fun.

Studio Tour Hub

You see, the Studio Tour Hub is where the magic begins. Stepping through the automatic doors for the very first time, the thing that immediately caught my eye was the huge dragon hanging from the ceiling! 😍

The Studio Tour Hub is a vast open-plan space containing the Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon, the Studio Shop, the Tour Entrance and three places to eat: the Hub Café, the Chocolate Frog Café and the Food Hall.

The dragon hangs majestically over a regularly hoovered carpet, which provides a comfortable place for visitors (e.g. school groups) to sit. A dynamic “living” photo mural wraps around the two side walls, enhanced with video projected weather effects and immersive sound effects so realistic I wondered if it actually was raining outside. 🙈

If, like me, you’re hoping to share your visit LIVE on social media, the complimentary Wi-Fi will definitely come in handy. Simply connect your phone to “Warner Bros. Public Wi-Fi” and you’ll be blessed with insane internet speeds: 224 Mbps download and 178 Mbps upload.

The problem with the previous layout of the tour was that it was boxed in, too linear, with no possibility of offering an alternative experience. Well the Studio Tour Hub fixes that, presenting you with two choices. On the right is The Making of Harry Potter, and on the left… something they haven’t yet revealed.

At present, a display of seven costumes from Fantastic Beasts hides the exit from this future expansion area. So perhaps that’s a clue? Perhaps the expansion will be a Fantastic Beasts exhibit, keeping within the Wizarding World? 🔮

Or maybe it will be something completely different? Maybe it will be DC Universe: The Exhibit or Enter the Batcave – Batmobile Collection, both of which can be found at Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. Or maybe it will be a tribute to the comedy genius of Ellen DeGeneres? I’m sure we’ll know by late March 2021.

Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon

Let’s go back to that dragon. It’s the Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon from the 2011 film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Of course, it’s not actually a prop that was used in the film, since the dragon was created entirely digitally. But it is a very impressive sculpture, built at half scale. The dragon has a wingspan of over 64 feet, and a head that’s about 7 feet long, and it looks even bigger in person than it does in photos.

If you’ve been to Universal Studios Florida, you’ll recognise this dragon as the same one you see at the end of Diagon Alley, perched on the roof of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. While that one does throw flames every 10 minutes, I think I actually prefer this one because of how close you’re able to get to it. You can walk completely under and around it, a full 360 degrees, appreciating the different textures of the skin and all the injury detail.

Hub Café

Immediately on the right, as you enter the Studio Tour Hub, is a little Starbucks called the Hub Café. It’s lightly themed to Snape’s Potions classroom, and serves the Coffees, Teas and Frappuccinos you’d expect.

It can get quite crowded, so I personally would recommend the Chocolate Frog Café instead. However, the view from the tables is hard to beat, as you’re practically sat beneath the dragon. Surely the coffee beans should be “dragon roasted”? 😂

Chocolate Frog Café

All the way at the back of the Studio Tour Hub, beyond the dragon, is the Chocolate Frog Café and let me tell you… it is an absolute gem! 😍

Its design was inspired by the packaging for Chocolate Frogs, first seen in the 2001 film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Facing it, it’s as if the iconic pentagonal box has been opened up, enticing you with the treats inside. There’s a strict colour scheme, from the menu overhead all the way down to the aprons worn by the staff. Everything is purple and gold, and it looks stunning. 💜💛

If you walk around the café, you’ll discover that its side and rear walls are decorated with five mirrors, oversized reproductions of the collectible cards found inside Chocolate Frogs. The twist here is that the famous witch or wizard is you!

The centrepiece of the Chocolate Frog Café is a very ornate golden chocolate fountain. It’s unclear whether the chocolate flowing is actually consumable, or if it’s purely decorative, but nevertheless it’s fun to watch.

So what is consumable? Ice Cream, Hot Chocolate, Sweet Treats and Hot Drinks! Let’s focus on the important part, the Sweet Treats, described on the menu as “a selection of handcrafted treats and bakes”. There were six on display during my visit, out of a possible nine:

• Bullion Brownie, £3.95
• Chocolate Coin Cupcake, £3.25 (not available during my visit)
• Coin Cupcake, £3.25
• The Frog Cupcake, £3.25
• Fun Bun, £3.75
• Jelly Pot, £2.95 (not avaible during my visit)
• Neopolitan Chew, £2.95
• Paris-Brest, £3.50 (not available during my visit)
• Tuck Shop Mess, £3.75

I love chocolate and I love cupcakes, so I simply had to have The Frog Cupcake. Slowly sinking my teeth into it, I was pleasantly surprised. I expected it to be good, but not that good. It was so soft and yummy, as if it had been freshly-baked that morning. 😋

The Chocolate Frog Café is a lovely place, one that I definitely want to return to. I was very happy just sitting there, stuffing my face, appreciating the design, admiring the towering petrol blue walls decorated with golden word art from the Marauder’s Map. I hadn’t even started the tour yet!

Food Hall

The old Studio Café is now known as the Food Hall. It’s technically still in the same location, but it’s been completely redesigned, expanded into what used to be the tour’s Lobby and themed. Yes, you can now dine under the arched timber ceiling of the Great Hall, complete with floating candles and a bewitched night sky.

Even the food is themed! Menu items include traditional British dishes such as Roast Chicken, Beef Doorstop Sandwich, Fish & Chips, Filled Yorkshire Puddings and Handmade Pies. They even do a Full English Breakfast and an Afternoon Tea. 🙌

Unfortunately I didn’t have time to eat there, but let me tell you, the food being served looked great and it all smelt so good. The counter alone had my seal of approval, stocked with four freshly baked cakes: Rainbow Cake, Ginger Cake, Carrot Cake and a Vegan Chocolate Cake.

If you haven’t booked your Warner Bros. Studio Tour London tickets yet, my advice would be to pick a 2:00pm entry time. That way you can arrive around midday, grab a booth table in the Food Hall while it’s still quiet, enjoy a proper lunch, then spend some time afterwards photographing the dragon. If you enter the tour before you’ve had lunch, you’ll be stuck half way round it with just one option, the inferior Backlot Café. 🙈

Tour Entrance, Holding Room and Cinema

If there had been better ticket availability when I booked, I certainly wouldn’t have chosen to start my tour at 6:00pm, as that left me with just 4 hours until the whole place closed! But 6:00pm was all they had. So, at 5:56pm I passed through the new Tour Entrance and finally began my tour!

The Tour Entrance is in a completely different location to where it used to be. You’re actually walking through what used to be the old tour’s Lobby, but you’d never know it. Sweeping curved walls decorated with J.K. Rowling quotes, set schematics and pages from the original screenplay, lead you to a room devoted to Privet Drive Beginnings. This is where the Cupboard Under the Stairs set is now displayed, the first of many photo opportunities.

The next room features a visual timeline, a collection of photographs and international posters, from the seven Harry Potter films.

Next up is the Holding Room which, while technically in the same location as before, has been enlarged and upgraded with new technology. Previously, a pre-show video played across eight video screens, hung vertically. Well those video screens have been replaced with something far more impressive, a 180-degree seamless projection that surrounds you on three walls. Some of the old footage has been reused, but the pre-show video is essentially brand new, presented by cheeky twins Oliver and James Phelps. The best part is that J.K. Rowling is now in it, welcoming you to the tour with a personal message.

After that is the Cinema, which is exactly the same as it used to be. The 6-minute film, featuring Rupert Grint, a husky Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, hasn’t changed since the tour opened in March 2012, and is starting to show its age. Hopefully they’ll update it soon, along with some new jokes. 🙊

“Oh, one more thing. We’re going to reveal some closely held secrets about the magic of Harry Potter so I just want to warn you, you may never look at Quidditch the same way again.” – Daniel Radcliffe

Gringotts Wizarding Bank

Since this review is all about what’s new, let’s skip straight ahead to Gringotts. So, where exactly in the tour is the Gringotts Wizarding Bank set located? It’s actually after the Creature Shop, but before Diagon Alley. If you’ve been on the tour before that will sound impossible, as there simply isn’t any space between those two areas. That’s where the 16,500 ft² expansion comes in. K Stage has been enlarged, to the east towards Aerodrome Way, allowing for a massive detour before reconnecting with Diagon Alley.

Warner Bros. describe Gringotts as “the Studio Tour’s biggest addition to date” which is slightly misleading as that 16,500 ft² expansion space is shared with The Vaults. The Gringotts set itself is noticeably smaller than Platform 9¾.

That said, stepping into the grand banking hall for the first time was a “wow” moment. Like the Great Hall, it’s a spectacular set with a high ceiling, and the reveal is genuinely impressive!

The Gringotts set features imposing “marble” columns, five goblin bankers sat at desks lined with handwritten bank credit notes, and a “marble” floor that, while highly detailed, is too obviously Amtico (luxury vinyl tiles).

Dominating the space are four enormous chandeliers measuring 12 feet wide, made of 70,000 plastic “crystals” and finished with real brass leaf. Interestingly, they were modelled after the chandeliers found in Australia House, a Grade II listed building in London.

Which brings me to an important point... The whole premise of the tour, and what separates it from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal theme parks, is that you’re seeing the actual sets used in the films. However, the Gringotts scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was actually shot on location inside Australia House. So in truth, it’s not the real Gringotts set, it’s an elaborate reproduction of Australia House dressed with props and set pieces from the films. And yes, Platform 9¾ is obviously a reproduction of a location too, but I think they should be slightly clearer about what it is you’re looking at. ☝️

There are a couple of things about the Gringotts set that felt a little bit off to me, things that could do with improvement: the music and the lighting.

When I was there, they were playing Nicholas Hooper’s “Flight of the Order of the Phoenix”, a heroic piece of music that accompanies Harry’s broomstick flight over the River Thames. Personally I found it too joyous and energetic to match the tone of a bank. I think they should play something calmer and more sombre, such as John Williams’ “Diagon Alley And The Gringotts Vault” and “Hogwarts Forever And The Moving Stairs”. More French horn, please.

As for the lighting, I felt that the set looked overly bright and modern, as if it had been optimised for taking selfies. So, I think the lighting should be changed and made more atmospheric, more faithful to the films. Gringotts should look dark and old fashioned, not lit up like a JD Sports! 🙊

The Vaults

Like I said, there’s more to the expansion than just the Gringotts set. All the way at the back of the grand banking hall, to the left of Rusty Goffe’s “aged gringotts goblin” prosthetic, is an opening that leads to The Vaults. A huge schematic diagram welcomes you, detailing the fictional design of the tunnels and caverns below.

I must admit, while dark and atmospheric, with a pleasant new carpet smell, I found this new area a little bit sparse. There’s a beautifuly lit Vault Cart prop from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, dynamically positioned on a section of roller coaster track. However, being the second cart you see on the tour, it loses its impact somewhat.

To the right of the cart is Vault 713, the top security vault originally built for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Aside from the “little package wrapped up in brown paper”, the highlight here is the vault door, intricately designed with many moving parts. You’d assume all those parts were computer animated, but no, it was a practical effect that they really built. 😮

Next to Vault 713, a fantastic piece of rockwork, that looks straight out of Disneyland Paris’ Adventure Isle, leads to the Lestrange vault.

The Lestrange vault is a relatively small set, but it’s absolutely full of detail, flooded with 38,000 pieces of treasure made from a special rubber polyurethane material. There are 7,010 Hufflepuff cups, if you care to count them. Unfortunately you can’t join the costumed versions of Harry, Ron and Hermione and climb into the set, but a couple of photo opportunities have kindly been provided to pretend that you can.

To be honest, I didn’t spend too long in there, because a very loud roar was coming from the room next door. What could it be? 🤔

Turning the corner, I discovered… there isn’t just one Gringotts Wizarding Bank set, there are two! This set depicts Gringotts destroyed. It’s obviously smaller than the first set, but cleverly extended via a huge video screen.

Remember the Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon from the Studio Tour Hub? It’s back in digital form, repeatedly burning down the grand banking hall in a spectacular sound and light (and smoke) show. The way the rear projection blends into the physical set is very well done, and the dragon’s roar is so loud that the walls actually shake! It’s a “bloody brilliant” finale to the Gringotts expansion. 🔥🔥🔥

Studio Shop

Despite rushing through Diagon Alley and around the Hogwarts Castle model, I barely had any time left to explore the Studio Shop. However, I was amazed to discover that it had been completely reimagined. Whereas the shop used to be one big space, it’s now divided into immersive themed rooms that incorporate large props from the old tour’s Lobby (such as an armillary sphere from the Astronomy Tower) and play with forced perspective.

Conclusion

By 9:18pm I was back in the Studio Tour Hub, back where I started. Even though I skipped lots of things I’d seen before, I still managed to spend 3 hours and 22 minutes inside the tour! Add on the time spent admiring the Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon and eating at the Chocolate Frog Café, and I’d actually been on-site for 5 hours. And yet, I came away wanting more, wishing I could’ve been there even longer.

And I think that’s testament to the quality of the whole experience. It’s Disney quality. It exceeds your expectations, delivering more than you could ever imagine. There’s so much to see now, it really is a full day atttaction.

Is it worth returning to if you’ve been fairly recently, since they added the Forbidden Forest in March 2017? Absolutely. Gringotts Wizarding Bank and The Vaults are impressive additions, plus they’ve completely changed the entire experience up until you get to the Cinema. It’s dramatically different.

Tickets are expensive. Back when the tour first opened, the ticket price was £28 per adult. Seven years later, that has shot up to £45, just £4.25 less than a Disneyland Paris Ticket MINI 1 Day/1 Park! Unfortunately, rubberised treasure is not accepted as a form of payment.

The TV advert invites you to “see how filmmakers brought the magic to life”, and the key word there is magic. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London truly is a magical place, one that I shall be returning to… for more cupcakes. 😋

Photos: @CafeFantasia with an iPhone 7

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