If you want to spend some time in the Wizarding World (and who doesn’t), there are a couple of options available to you. You could go to one of the Wizarding World theme parks or, if you want the most authentic experience possible, you could go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in England, which will soon have even more to offer with the addition of Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is adding Gringotts Wizarding Bank to its offerings for Potterheads beginning on April 6, according to Pottermore. The new expansion will allow Muggles to explore the actual set, fully restored, of the goblin-run bank that was the location of so many crucial moments in the Harry Potter movies.
In a rare instance where going to a bank is a pleasant experience, the Studio Tour will allow guests to walk through Gringotts' marble hall, marveling at the costumes and prosthetics that allowed actors like Warwick Davis, who played Griphook in the films, to become the goblins that handle wizarding kind’s gold.
The banking hall of Gringotts is just the start, because as Potterheads know, the real excitement is in discovering the riches and secrets lurking in the bank’s vaults. After the entrance hall, guests will get to visit the vault of one Bellatrix Lestrange, a location that played a pivotal role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II.
In the Lestrange vault, regardless of House, Muggles will all find themselves worthy Gryiffindors, and they can lay eyes on the legendary Sword of Gryffindor. As in the film, the Lestrange vault will also be home to the Hufflepuff Cup, which secretly contained a piece of Voldemort’s soul. In Deathly Hallows - Part II, the curse upon the Horcrux meant to protect it, resulted in the cup replicating itself 7.014 times when Harry, Ron and Hermione broke into Gringotts to retrieve it.
And while you probably won’t be walking out with actual gold, guests to the Studio Tour will be able to walk away with their very own Lestrange vault photo. As Hagrid once said, with the exception of Hogwarts, there’s no safer place to hide something than Gringotts, and there are more secrets and surprises yet to be revealed about this new Studio Tour expansion.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is actually in Leavesden, 20 miles northwest of London. In addition to Gringotts, the tour already boasts the sets of Hogwarts Great Hall, the Forbidden Forest, Platform 9 ¾ and the original Hogwarts Express, as well as Diagon Alley. The addition of Gringotts Wizarding Bank just gives Potterheads another reason to check out this tour to learn more about the films and immerse themselves in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World.
While we won’t get to visit the Wizarding World again onscreen until Fantastic Beasts 3 hits in 2020 (although that could change), there are plenty of magical titles arriving in theaters this year. Check them out in our 2019 release schedule.
