First, if you’d like to review a side-by-side as we discuss this trip, here is a link to our Itinerary. It’s a pretty basic one, but I think it gives the idea and I’ll try to summarize the trip in a few parts as we discuss my thoughts and feelings on the trip, and what I would do differently/the-same if we were to do it again.
To start off, this trip is an amazing trip for any Harry Potter fan. I think it had the intended result… I think we made some lasting memories both for my niece and her entire family as we meandered around the United Kingdom in search of Harry Potter lore. I don’t want any of the below considerations to take away from that, nor do I want this post to seem like I am complaining by any means – I am not. Any problems that I had on the trip, honestly, were “First World Problems”. I didn’t have a single bad day! With that said, however, I’m writing this summary to help others who might want to do this trip, and to work through my own feelings for the trip in general and how it went – so while it may sound like complaining… I hope I can balance that out with good things along the way!
London
Hotel: St Pancras London, Autograph Collection
Why we stayed here: The hotel is adjacent to Kings Cross, where Platform 9 ¾’s stands, and was used for multiple films including the scene where the flying car is stolen by Harry and Ron when they can’t get onto the Hogwarts Express.
Highlights: Great breakfast included, close to central London and lots of Harry Potter locations, Fantastic train station history, attached to St. Pancras International along with Kings Cross – so you can get here by subway or train.
Low-lights: Expensive, can be ‘too fancy’ for children especially in restaurants and foods
Would I stay here again: Yes
Summary: For me, London I think was the “Best” of this trip. The hotel was good and they had a good amount of daily items for adults (drink ceremonies, etc.,) that it’s almost like we got some ‘free treats’ for staying there. It’s also just so centrally located… it was easy to get a cab out to the Houses of Parliament and end up taking the train back to King’s Cross without much more than Google Maps and help getting a taxi from the hotel staff. Add in the Harry Potter lore surrounding the hotel and it’s a fantastic luxury – though an expensive one – to stay here.
The tours in London were also some of the best – between walking around seeing the sights and obviously going to see the Harry Potter Studio Tour… you really can’t ask for much more. We booked our London walking tour as a private tour – which again is more expensive – but looking at some of the other ‘filming location walking tours’ out there on the web I’d encourage using the link in our Itinerary above if you’re looking to go – it’s longer, doesn’t stop you in crowds like the one you’ll find at Platform 9 ¾’s, and you’ll feel very well taken care-of all along with way with caring guides.
I wish the same could be said for the Harry Potter Studio Tour – and I did share a link in the Itinerary, but be warned: The standard tour expects to wait 4-5 hours while you’re inside the studio – and if you’re anything like us… that may not be enough time. I will admit I think that if I were on my own I might have walked through a little faster… but if you at all want to stop and look at the intricate details of the studio tour, or you have kids and want to do ‘all the things’ (like riding a broom on a green screen, etc.,) you should ask to extend the wait time on the private transfer. This is very important! Most of the drivers have other places to be – so if you don’t want to feel rushed, and you don’t want to get abandoned about 45 minutes outside of London – plan ahead! Ask for more time to be added to the transfer!
One additional item here to consider as well – you may want to look ahead and see when attractions or desired locations are open. We planned some ‘free days’ along the trip (really just one, in London), and ended up filling them up with revisiting things like the original shop used for the Leaky Cauldron entrance because the shop was closed on Sunday when our tour took place. Book tours on days when things are open if you think you’ll want to go inside or interact with stores, shops, etc.. it doesn’t hurt to look ahead – or if you want to just organically experience your trip… plan some ‘free’ days on days when you know things will be open – like Tuesdays or Wednesdays, so that you can revisit some landmarks that might be closed on weekends, etc..
Edinburgh
Hotel: The Balmoral Hotel
Why we stayed here: J. K. Rowling finished the last of the original Harry Potter books in this hotel. It’s also closely-located to the Royal Mile, where you’ll spend nearly all of the rest of your Harry Potter touring time (minus the Viaduct).
Highlights: Great breakfast included, amazing staff, they will make you feel like a celebrity. Close to most Harry Potter landmarks including the Elephant House (where supposedly most of the Harry Potter books were written). This hotel is one of the best hotels in the world according to Forbes, and includes things like fresh fudge to welcome you, family rooms for parents and kids (including small toys and snacks specifically for children), and just an overall unbelievable experience.
Low-lights: Expensive, can be ‘too fancy’ similar to St Pancras.
Would I stay here again: Yes
Summary: I’m so torn on Edinburgh and Scotland in general. It’s hard to say somewhere was the ‘worst’ stop on the trip… but if I had to grade our time in Scotland I would say it was the ‘least best’ time we had on the trip – and it’s not the town’s fault! The hotel was fantastic, really one of the best at which I have ever stayed, the food across town was great. The architecture is fantastic. Even the history is fun and interesting… but boy is it ever hard to beat a “Studio Tour” – especially one with butterbeers. We also brought along to children under fourteen – and while they are ‘all in’ on all things Harry Potter… hearing about Scottish history, even when the tour guide makes it fun and interesting… isn’t what they signed up for.
This was really the downfall of Scotland across all the tours we took – there’s a lot of Harry Potter items… but just not enough densely-populated Harry Potter items. Each tour you take is essentially a Scottish History and Scottish Life tour with some Harry Potter items thrown in – and that’s not a bad thing but it’s also not a great thing if that’s not why you’re on the tours.
Victoria Street, from Victoria Terrace – the inspiration for Diagon Alley
We enjoyed our four-hour walking tour around Edinburgh and there was a lot of Harry Potter, but the guide did a great deal of the leg-work in ensuring we were bought into the history lesson as well, and carried the tour, switching halfway through to “Harry Potter stuff” and hitting the high notes really well (Elephant House, Lewis Chess Set, Tom Riddle’s grave, etc..). The same cannot be said, however, for the Viaduct tour to see the Hogwarts Express along the famous route from the movie. It was a twelve hour day of driving – with maybe three hours worth of stops, to see thirty seconds worth of train crossing the viaduct. At the end of the day… we can say we ‘saw’ the Hogwarts Express (actually the Jacobite Train)… and if that’s a life-goal for you then this is not a bad tour.
For me, for us, it probably would have been better to skip this tour. While it did give us a day off our feet, and some fun experiences with ice cream and cows (who weren’t interacting that day, not that we can blame the tour company for that!), the experience was very short (of course), the train timing wasn’t guaranteed and caused us a two-hour delay and that cascaded into everything else being closed, underwhelming, or just late/hurried. We got back into Edinburgh just as all the nearby restaurants closed and ended up ordering room service not out of desire but out of necessity – and by that time of day we were all just ‘done’. Maybe go stay one day nearby the viaduct, enjoy the potentially muddy and slick hike up the trial, and make this a 1-2 hour adventure instead of a twelve hour adventure… and it may be more fun… but don’t take this tour unless you’re a die-hard Harry Potter fan – it’s just not worth the time for the reward.
We ended up making the most of our time by actually cancelling our second “Harry Potter” tour of Edinburgh (including castle entrance tickets) because it overlapped the first one so much. We did still tour the castle – which of course was Scottish history through and through, but that was by choice. The kids were bored out of their minds, I think, but the adults enjoyed it. It’s a sight worth seeing, and a fun part of our trip to Edinburgh, but not Harry Potter related… at all.
Overall Edinburgh was the least impressive Harry Potter location we visited, even with the sights to see (and there were some cool ones!). Oh, also the train doesn’t run year-round – so look into that, too.
Orlando
Hotel: Residence Inn by Marriott Near Universal Orlando
Why we stayed here: This hotel is, almost literally, across the street from Universal Studios Orlando
Highlights: Inexpensive, has the standard ‘residence inn’ items like a refrigerator and small kitchen so you can bring/prep your own food and/or keep leftovers. Has a Universal Vacation Desk where you can pick up reservations, get tickets, etc..
Low-lights: Continental Breakfast is busy, stocked bottom-of-the-barrel items made for mass-consumption – including food and utensils/plates/etc., There are not enough tables, or space, to enjoy breakfast. Shuttle times are limited to morning/evening with no flexibility and no guarantee – even if ‘booked’.
Would I stay here again: Yes, with caveats – if I’m traveling with kids or a large group, and I know I’m going to be parking vs shuttling to Universal
Summary: Without anything special about the hotel or location… Orlando as a destination is really counting on Universal Studios to bring the excitement to make this a ‘must see’ for Harry Potter fans. Overall? They deliver pretty well! It’s amazing though how much overlap there is between the London Studio Tour and the parks in general. I mean, there should be, right? It was fun to walk into some of the scenes and be able to say “oh yeah, this looks just like it did in the movies” and actually know that to be true – because you’ve seen the studio. With that said… it is of course more about the theme park overall than Harry Potter, specifically. There’s more in the park, there’s themed roller coasters, there’s *people*, lots and lots of people.
I’m not a theme park person, never have been. When had tickets for two days – and I went one of two days and that was enough. As with all theme parks there aren’t a lot of places to sit or relax, it’s mostly “go here, buy stuff” with some rides and themes thrown in, but as long as you know what you’re getting into… it isn’t half-bad. The theming is amazing, the rides, I’m told, are great. It’s worth a trip, according to my sister’s family, so there you go! We’re glad we went, glad it was included on the trip. It was a good way to end the excitement and wind down with something a bit more fun than the history lessons we had in Scotland and bring back the Harry Potter theming for the trip finale.
My overall Impressions of the Trip
If I were booking this trip again there is little I think I would change about what we did or where we did it – with one major exception. I would start the trip in Edinburgh, Scotland. I would do the tours there, maybe have one extra day there of ‘free’ time to do whatever we want and shop around, and skip the Viaduct trip unless absolutely necessary. Edinburgh is a good ‘introduction’ to the Harry Potter world. You get your feet wet with some visual things like looking down on Victoria Street and seeing where the books were written… and then you’re moving on.
From Scotland, I would fly to London and see the filming locations just like we did… then do the studio tour. I would suggest checking out the soccer schedule before you go – we barely missed some delays or impact (the Tube was shut down at King’s Cross right after our train due to the swell of fans and celebrating), but had a great time seeing the pubs crawling with sports fans that spilled over into the streets – so it’s a double-edged sword.
And of course, I would still encourage ending in Orlando to head to Universal Studios – just a few tips for that: First – the butterbeer is better in London, don’t get your hopes up. Second if you’re doing the ‘interactive wand’ thing – plan in time and patience. And lastly… watch some videos on the Universal parks and get familiar ahead of time. There are three of them that have Harry Potter theming – the original “Orlando Studios”, “Islands of Adventure”, and “Universal Epic Universe”. This ensures you have to buy a “3-park pass” if you want to see the entire Wizarding World, and while Orlando Studios and Islands are closely located… Epic Universe is a ways away (not too far), so keep that in mind, too.
I hope this summary is helpful to anyone looking to do the same or a similar trip. Once again a huge thanks to Tripping on Travel for this post, which started it all when we began planning some three or four years ago now.
