Anyone that asks how our little vacation was, before I excitedly launch into the specifics, I make it clear that it was very much a nerd trip. Tennis aside, between Harry Potter and Disney (more on that later), it was very clearly planned to bring out the kid (and inner nerd) in all of us. Say it loud, say it proud.
While Wimbledon got us to London in the first place, my task after that was to craft a week full of things that were on my bucket list and that my family would no doubt enjoy as well. While my brother reluctantly enjoys Harry Potter, my mom and I (and Tomato, though she will admit to a lesser affinity, should you ask her) are ALL into it, and made our way around Edinburgh and the Highlands last year looking for the clues of Potter that dotted the country. This time around, we hit up the obvious attractions. Both took months of forethought, but the consensus amongst our quartet was that it was worth the planning.
First up, the play that came after, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Picture, courtesy of Tomato
Now, I’ll be the first to say that when I read this, I didn’t love it, not the way I love the original 7 books. I just couldn’t get into it as much. BUT, when everyone I spoke to said that we HAD to go, that the audience was at the edge of its seat, that it was 100% worth the 5 hour run time (yup, you read it right), I signed us up, all in.
Should you find yourself in London, or know that your’e going, sign up for email alerts for dates when they release tickets for dates during your stay. I had been on this list for years since I figured I’d make it to London to see it eventually, so I was #700+ “in line” in February to get our tickets for July.
You can choose to see this play (parts 1 and 2) on two consecutive evening nights, or you can do what we did and opt for the matinee + evening show to get it all done in one day. I suggest this since you won’t lose the momentum of what’s happening in the story.
And you won’t want to! All of us, even the doubters among us, loved it. Win-win. Get thee to the theatre!
As for dinner, Covent Garden restaurants are hard to book up since many, I found, around the theatre district do not take dinner reservations. We opted to skip the lines and walk 10 minutes to Chinatown, where while we were a bit late for dim sum, we waltzed right into a place, sat down and enjoyed some delicious dumplings and more.
The more being matcha taiyaki.
I was clearly very into it.
We enjoyed our food so much that we did, in fact, go back the next day for dim sum.
Steamed buns with BBQ pork, duck egg rolls
Pork steamed in lotus leaves
Shrimp dumplings
Chili squid and shu mai
And scored some treats to go. Chinese buns…
and some of my own personal Cadbury favorites.
Our Harry Potterness didn’t end there. The Warner Brothers studio tour is about an hour’s ride outside of the city, and takes you through the actual studio and sets where the movies were filmed.
Getting a glimpse into the costumes, props and other bobs that brought the magic to life.
Sherbet lemon!
You can even try some magic out on your own.
I also booked these tickets in advance, particularly since we were going high season. We opted to take the tube to a train to a shuttle, but if you’re looking for more convenience, you can hop on a bus from designated pick up points in central London to get you to/from.
It took our party between 3- 3 1/2 hours to get through the whole thing. It seems like a long time, but don’t worry, there are some delicious snacking opportunities along the way.
Butterbeer ice cream- get this rather than the drink (which I think is way too sweet)
And after all, what is time when you have a time-turner?
I wish I had one! A solid two days of Pottering around my favorite city…I’d surely go back and do it again and again.
Footloose & fancy free!
