A Bank Holiday Weekend in London & Surrounding Areas

 Way back in 2019, my husband booked surprise tickets for us all to visit Warner Bros Studio Tour in Watford. Who'd have though two years later we'd still be waiting to visit! Having rebooked and cancelled several times, we were hopeful the easing Covid restrictions in May 2021 would allow us to finally visit. And thankfully WB Studio Tour opened it's doors to the public on 17th May giving us the green light to go - yay! 

We decided to book a few hotels either side of the tour date to allow us to have an extended weekend break and it was so fun to be able to plan things again - it's been too long! Here's what we got up to: 

Saturday

We set off from sunny Dorset and our first port of call was Reading. My husband has a good friend who lives here that he went to uni with so we try and visit if we're in the area. We had a lovely stroll at a local country park called Dinton Pastures and we found an amazing play area for the kids. 

If you're ever in the Reading area with kids I'd highly recommend a trip here - the play area was absolutely massive and there was so much for the children to do.  

We had dinner at a local pub before heading to our first hotel of the weekend, the Holiday Inn Express in Hemel Hempstead. With these kind of chains, you can't usually go far wrong and this HI was more than adequate for a one night stay. It was a bit of a squeeze in the room with all four of us but it was clean which is the most important thing! We found the staff on the front desk really helpful too. Our car is electric and we asked if they had a charger - they let us plug in through a ground floor window and leave it charging all night. Very handy!

Sunday

Breakfast was a bit different at the hotel due to Covid and there weren't any hot veggie options but there were sausage/bacon baps already packaged up and plenty of cold options like toast and cereal. The breakfast was included in the price of our stay and the kids were more than happy when they discovered the nutella sachets. 

We checked out and headed down the road to the Warner Bros Studios Tour and excitement levels were high when we spotted the huge buildings! I will probably do a separate review for the studio tours because it was absolutely brilliant and we had such a fantastic day. The last time I went was 8 years ago and there is so much more there now. I won't ruin it if you haven't been but Gringotts was AMAZING! 

The only disappointing point of the whole day was the long queues at lunchtime for the Backlot cafe but we made do with ice-cream and Butterbeer 🍦🍺

The gift shop is of course located just as you exit the tour and if you've never been before, it's pretty big. And they sell all sorts so you'd be hard pushed to leave empty handed! Elliot decided to spend his pocket money on a wand - always useful! 

We bid a fond farewell to the studio tour and started making our way into central London for the next stop on our mini break. 

Our hotel was the Premier Inn at Waterloo and the central location was really handy. We dropped off our bags and headed straight back out to enjoy the sunshine. The Southbank was really really busy - being a sunny bank holiday, everyone in London seemed to be out! We managed to get a table in Giraffe and found it was really reasonably priced for food,especially for the kids. 

We did plan on having a walk right along the Southbank but it had been a long day for the kids with lots of walking so we decided to head on back to our hotel. All in all, a great day 👍

Monday

We were up bright and early due to the hotel only having very early breakfast slots - 645am is a bit early to eat but as we'd already paid for breakfast it was either that or 1030am which was far too late! Bellies full, we checked out and headed towards the tube station (Waterloo) to start our next adventure. 

We hopped on the tube and headed over to the British Museum near Holborn. There are some fantastic FREE museums in London...I'll say that again - FREE! We did have to pre-book a time slot but I think that might just be due to Covid and staggering the amount of people visiting. From the outside the museum certainly looks impressive and we were excited to see what was inside. 

The British Mususem is one of the largest museums in the world and houses over 13 million objects, although obviously not all these are on display. The museum has nearly 100 galleries open to the public and you can see two million years of human history. Not bad for a free ticket! 

Currently the museum has Covid rules in place meaning there is a one way system around the galleries but we didn't feel this detracted from the experience at all. There were lots of staff around the museum who were happy to answer any questions or give some more information about particular exhibits.

The kids really enjoyed seeing the Egyptian Mummies and it was absolutely fascinating to see all the artifacts that had been discovered in the tombs.

There is SO much to see and you could probably spend all day without reading every single information board! I was a little unsure about how much our children would get out of it but we spent a good two hours and it was thumbs up from them. If you visit with children, check out the British Museum website where you can download activities and museum missions. 

After a visit to the Forbidden Planet shop for some comics, we stopped for lunch at a BrewDog pub. The weather was absolutely beautiful so it was lovely to sit outside with a nice cold drink. Not eaten at one of these before but the food was brilliant - lovely burgers and big portions, especially the kids meals. Check out the size of Elliot's burger! 

We spent the next few hours wandering through central London, taking in the sights and sounds. It was very busy, it's been a while since we've been to somewhere with that many people so it was a bit of a shock to the system. 

Our final stop for the day was Hamleys - the kids have been getting excited about this for so long and all complaints of being hot and tired went out of the window when they saw the famous red shop! It's not mine and Paul's idea of fun, especially as it was the temperature of a sauna inside, but the things you do for your kids eh! 

We explored every floor and eventually the boys split off to find the Lego and Erin and I found ourselves surrounded by Barbies and LOL dolls. It took a while but they finally managed to choose something to spend their pocket money on!

Back out in the fresh air (thank goodness) it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up the car. It been a long hot day of walking so those last few miles weren't the fastest! Predictably, Erin fell asleep as soon as she got into her carseat, my fitbit said we'd walked 22,000 steps so no wonder she was tired. 

We arrived in Slough around 730pm and after a quick stop at the local Tesco for some sandwiches, we checked in at the Holiday Inn Express. We had another family room booked and this was a lovely large room with two double beds. Alot of the time a family room will have a double and a sofa bed/pullout bed which are never very comfortable so this was good to see. Erin was wide awake after her dangernap so bedtime was a bit never ending but we got there in the end! 

Tuesday

Big thumbs up for the Holiday Inn breakfast, thought it might just be continental but you could have a full english as well as all the cold options. Really good for a "free" brekkie. 

Starting the day with the all important nutella!

We checked out of the hotel and made the short drive into Windsor. We parked up in Alexandra Gardens Car Park and headed towards the centre of town. First impressions of Windor were wow, that's an impressive castle! It's one of those places that I've seen on TV so many times and it felt a bit surreal to be stood in front of it. Erin was fascinated to know that the Queen lived there, I think she was expecting her to be stood by the window waving at passers by! 

Our original plan was to walk some, if not all of the Long Walk but the weather was rather warm and we decided to save that for another (cooler day!) - instead the kids were happy chasing each other and pouring water over their heads to cool down! 

We did have a peek through the gates and it was pretty cool to see the Queen's Guards. We were really hoping to catch the Changing of the Guards in the town but sadly due to Covid this isn't happening at the moment. 

We spent the rest of the morning exploring the town and we eventually found ourselves by the river. The boat trips seemed to be really popular with most of the time slots sold out. There were also huge queues to hire out boats, the lovely weather definitely made everyone want to be out on the water! 

The kids had a quick go on some of the rides in Alexandra Park but we decided to call it a day and head on home. Heat + tired children = cranky everyone!

There's so much more in Windsor that we didn't get round to seeing so I really hope we get to visit again one day. If you want an in depth Windsor day out write up, have a look at my blogger friend Sabrina's post - she lives in Slough and has lots of lovely photo of Windsor and Eton on there. I wish I'd read that post before we went, super useful 👑

Both children fell asleep in the car on the way home, this never happens. So I'm taking this as a sign of an action packed, fun, weekend away! 

Florida Holiday 2017 ~ Day 3 - Universal Studios

If I had to choose between DisneyWorld or Universal Studios, Universal would win every time. We love the parks and I couldn't wait to visit again this time around - especially as Elliot is finally tall enough for the minion ride, yay!

The kids were awake at 6am today so not as bad as yesterday. Being up early has it's benefits I suppose as we were at Universal by 9am! The parking attendant tried to get us to upgrade to preferred parking ($30 rather than standard $20) but it was dead quiet and we didn't bother with that, we were in the first block anyway. We headed over to Citywalk and popped into Cinnibon for breakfast. I love this place and we always try and visit while we are in the US! I had a giant sticky bun and it was AMAZING!!

We headed over to the big Universal arches and of course had to take some pictures...along with the rest of the crowds! Elliot was so excited at this point, it was hard to reign him in for a photo. He was literally skipping along with excitement! We always take a photo here so I really need to dig out our pics from holidays gone by to see how we've all changed :)

Hubby went off to pick up our tickets and he confessed that he'd treated us to express passes - woohoo! Our first stop was the Minion ride and Elliot could not wait to get on it. Last time we came he was too small to go on and he's been talking about it ever since so he was so happy to have grown those extra inches over the last two years. It was my first time too and we both loved it! As we were coming out of the ride we joined the queue to meet two of the minions (who knows which ones, I can't tell them apart) and we got a selfie!

We didn't really have a plan with the park but the express pass was really useful in maximising our ride times and minimising queuing. Like most 4 year olds, Elliot doesn't have a lot of patience so it was great not to be waiting in queues and having him whining!

We met lots of characters throughout the park including Transformers, Beetlejuice, Shrek and the gang and Spongebob. Elliot was hoping to see Scooby Doo but sadly we didn't spot him! I don't know what the schedules are for the meet&greets but it looked like you just had to be in the right place at the right time. When we met Shrek we were the very last family before they closed the queue - phew!

We bought one of the refillable cups which was around $20 I think but we definitely got our moneys worth - sharing it between 3 of us meant we must have filled up at least 10 times! My fave was the pink lemonade. The only downside with drinking lots was Elliot needed a wee constantly. It became a running joke that we'd get to the front of the queue and he'd need the toilet - this happened on the Harry Potter ride, Jimmy Fallon and Minions!!

Speaking of Jimmy Fallon, I loved this ride! Paul had no clue who he was but I've seen lots of clips of him on YouTube - really enjoyed the ride and it was so clever how it was done. I liked that there was lots to look at before you get on the ride too.

When we reached Kings Cross and Diagon Alley, the skies went ominously dark and a breeze came out of nowhere so we guessed that rain might be on the way....and yep, it poured down! Paul and Elliot were on the Gringotts ride whilst I was sheltering from the rain and trying to feed Erin in the dry, all whilst trying to wrangle my poncho. They had a bit of luck on the Gringotts ride - Elliot was saying he didn't want to do it but one of the staff members convinced him he should do it, and took him and Paul right to the front of the queue! (Couldn't use express passes on that one). By the time we'd had a look in the sweet shop (and taken Elliot for yet another wee) the rain had slowed down and we were able to go outside without getting drenched.

Between Paul and I we managed to cover most of the big rides (he did more than me, I'm abit of scaredy cat with the big ones) and it was great that Elliot could go on most of them too. He loved the Simpsons area and really enjoyed the Simpsons ride.

We were tempted to get a Lard Lad giant doughnut but thought we'd better not...they were huge! Instead Paul had a beer from Moe's and we wandered onto the kids area for the ET ride. I love this one, I know it's so old and outdated but it still gives me goosebumps when the bike flies through the air!! Hearing him say goodbye to Elliot was pretty special too :) (Can you guess where I got the inspiration for Elliot's name!)

The whole day went so fast and before we knew it, it was time for the parade at 7pm. Paul got us a spot and Elliot and I popped over to do the Transformers ride which was brilliant!! We got back just as the parade was starting and it was nice to see all the characters, especially the Secret Life of Pets ones who weren't there last time.  Erin seemed to enjoy it too and she got lots of attention from the parade dancers!

The boys had one last go on the Minions ride and we then let Elliot loose in the gift shop. Everything was so expensive and typically, he wanted everything! We got away quite lightly with a $5.99 Secret Life of Pets blind bag but we really could have spent a fortune.

As we left Universal Studios and walked round through Citywalk, the sun was just setting and the colours were amazing - the Hard Rock Hotel seemed to glow!

We ended our day with dinner in Bubba Gumps, taking advantage of our Landrys card. The rest of the queue were told a 40min+ wait but we were taken in and seated pretty much immediately - brilliant! We had a nice meal but Elliot was so so tired, poor boy was literally falling asleep as he ate his pudding!

We managed to keep him awake just long enough to get back to the car and he was fast asleep before we'd even left the carpark :)

We had a brilliant but exhausting day - love Universal Studios!

Hogwarts in the Snow at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - Review

Written by Sarah Abbott - Entertaining Elliot's brand new guest blogger (and family member!)

Warner Brothers have made a lot of films but none as big as the Harry Potter series (yes, even bigger than Ace Ventura: when Nature Calls) so it's no surprise that their studios in Watford have been transformed  into a permanent interactive exhibition of all things Potter related.We were lucky to be some of the first to see 'Hogwarts in The Snow' - all the usual attractions but with an added festive tinge. Walking into the entrance you're met with huge portraits of the film's stars and as it's Christmas, a ginormous Christmas tree which everyone was queuing up to get nice pictures in front of for their mums. 

We had to wait a while for the tour to actually start but nobody seemed to care as everyone was given mulled wine, spiced ginger punch and mince pies. There was also some guests clutching what looked like large goody bags but no amount of hovering near the sign-in table procured one for us. Then we were ushered into the studio's cinema where the tour guide joked we were about to watch all eight films (judging by some of the squeals in the room, I don't think a few of the guests would have minded, however, sadly we had places to be before the next 22 and a half hours had come to an end). The film's three main actors  talked through an introduction to the series along with awkward jokes (bless 'em) and then the evenings first audible crowd gasp happened when the cinema screen was pulled up to reveal the gates of Hogwarts behind.

 Behind the gates is the set for the Main Hall where many of the film's memorable scenes such as the Sorting Hat doing some sorting happen. The realistic banquet food on the long tables had been replaced with yule time fare including spontaneously lighting Christmas puddings and the room (which is as big as it looks on screen) was lined with beautifully adorned Christmas trees each with 'fairys'- that looked suspiciously more like witches to me - at the tops which flew in circles.

Onwards from this section, the tour is self guided so you can take as long or as little as you like. The place is stacked high with props, sets and costumes from all eight films, some of which are really quite impressive in size such as the snaked embelished door to the chamber of secrets or the imposing Magic is Might statue.

For us the absolute highlight was the other half getting to 'fly' a broom stick, or at least mess about in front of a green screen - much to the indifference of the staff whilst I laughed like a woman possessed- then magically get superimposed over a whizzing backdrop of Harry Potter related scenery. Some might say £25 for the privilage is a bit on the extortianate side, but a small USB stick containing twenty seconds of comedy gold says otherwise.

There's so much to look at  including exterior props such as the house on Privet drive, the Knight bus and the Weasley's house that you really could spend all day at the attraction. There was a snow machine on the go during this outside segment which wasn't quite as exciting as it sounds but it's funny how a few bits of foam wafting around in the air makes everything feel that bit more christmassy! 

Another highlight was the Creature Effects Department where you can get up close and personal with Dobby, Buckbeak, Werewolves and centaurs among many others. Take this as fair warning though of the humongous model of the  spider 'Aragog' which boats a leg span of 18 foot which you will encounter dangling from the ceiling when you turn a corner, incase you want to survive the rest of the tour without ruining your pants. This bit was fascinating and makes you really appreciate the time and effort that went into creating that realism that CGI alone can't quite achieve.

Harry Potter fans and fans of luggage alike will love experiencing Platform 9 and 3/4 in real life and no one's going to judge you for making sure you get that shot of you racing 'through' the brick wall with your bag trolly.

 The Hogwarts express is there too and you're able to walk through the carriage section which in reality is just a carriage of an old train with bits of prop scattered around it, but tourists from  outside of the UK probably go crazy for it. Who am I kidding, we did and made sure we got pictures of us hanging out of the Hogwarts express window waving imaginary hankies. In case you were worried, there's plenty of opportunites to splash a bit of cash around tour- Hogwarts Express gets it's own train station related gift shop and there's also a Honey Dukes sweet cart, Butter Beer Cafe as well as lots of opportunites to pay for a professional to take your photo during a famous Harry Potter scene.

There's also a replica of Diagon Alley to marvel over complete with it's owl emporium, Leaky Cauldron and Gringott's Wizarding Bank, but the most awe inspiring 'prop' is left for the end when you walk down a corridor with various Harry Potter concept art and imagery to find at the end, the extremely detailed model of Hogwarts itself, complete with it's sprinkling of 'snow'. Photos of the handsculpted model don't do it justice and you only really get the impact of the sheer size of it (nearly fifty feet in diameter) by walking around the whole thing to the background track of 'Harry in Winter' from the soundtrack- it's lovely. There was also a man in this room explaining how the snow and fire effects were achieved in the films. Much of the time small fires in the film were made with clever lighting and carefully engineered vapour which was good because fire is expensive to make. 

The exit of course, is through the gift shop, however before you get there you find yourself in Ollivander's Wand Shop where individual wand's with thousands of names are printed on the boxes. We found out later that these are all the names of everyone involved in the making of the films, however at the time we assumed that  if you found your name it meant you were a wizard! Luckily a helpful guide is on hand to cross reference her massive book of names against yours...alas we were both merely muggles, which almost ruined the entire evening. The nice lady also said that hopefully everybody elses names would be added soon so when we visit next time I'm looking forward to spending the day scouring  a warehouse of about 500,000 wand boxes out-back. 

Looking for the perfect wand!

The gift shop itself is a treasure trove of everything you might possibly ever want to buy in your entire lifetime if you're a big harry potter fan including finely rendered replica's of all the wands; nostalgia inducing uniforms; gorgeously pretty jewellery; delectable looking sweets and chocolates straight  from JK Rowling's pages; painstakenly detailed illustration books and prints and incredible replicas of many of the props themselves. Us? We parted ways with a crisp five pound note in exchange for a very small plastic keyring, because we know how to have a good time .....and also because we blew all of our budget on a fake broomstick ride (no regrets). 

You should go; it's what Dobby would have wanted!

Ticket Information - https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/

*Disclaimer - We were provided with free tickets for this event in return for this honest review 

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