Today was light when it comes to site seeing, but it was a good day - tiring, but good. We got up SUPER early and left the hotel by 7:10 to make it to The Making of Harry Potter at WB Studios. Our scheduled time was 9 and it takes an hour and half to get there. I want to say before, I vent that we had a good time, but they made the start of it be really miserable.
We got to the bus station 20 minutes before 9... they are supposed to come every 15 minutes. We waited in a line until 9:20. I had planned on doing the regular buses but they didn't take the Oyster Card out that far so we decided to the Harry Potter Shuttle and we waited... Then we get there and instead of being able to scan the bar code on my e-ticket that I had printed they make you go through this kiosk to claim your tickets... So we wait some more. The Kiosk are absolute shit and require you to type in this 17 digit code because the scanners don't work ... then you have to basically beat the screen for it to see you are typing. They are making millions off of the Harry Potter movies and the visits to this studio, but they can't invest in basic technology like my local coffee shop has??? REALLY! This got it started off on a really bad way. By time we got in there at 10 - an hour after our scheduled time - we were all super grumpy. Or at least Jack and I were - Mama was just along for the ride.
We got our audio guides and decided to make the best of it. I did mention to the little lady scanning our tickets that they needed to redesign how this was done and her comment back "it works"... UMMM NO IT DOESN'T. You want people to be happy and have a good time - everyone in that line was complaining, not just me.
So anyway, rant over. We enjoyed going through it and seeing the props, stages, costumes, etc... It took us about 3 hours and we took lots of pictures with our phones. It was a little dark for my DSLR without the flash so I stuck to the I Phone. My favorite parts were seeing the sorting hat, Diagon Alley and the actual school itself. They have this model that they used with a blue screen to create the movie and it was AMAZING. I took pictures, but it's something you have to see in person for sure.
After we had enjoyed the experience, though I wish we could have spent maybe an hour more... just so we could have stop and rested in the middle and savored it a bit more, but we had to get back. We rode the train back to London and came back to the hotel. Side Note - I love the trains that go to the outskirts of London -- so clean and relaxing!
Once back to the hotel - Jack went to work and Mama and I went to grab a bite to eat. Jack had a sandwich in the room - I don't want you to think we are starving him, lol. The sandwiches in this little shop near us are really good. Mama and I ate at the restaurant next to the hotel. I had the beef stroganoff and Mama had salmon patties. Both were good though I preferred mine. I don't think I loved either to order them again, but they were good and filling on this cold day.
We then went up to the room to rest for a bit. We laid down about 45 minutes and then decided to go to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Unfortunately they closed at 4 - my research said 5:30... ah well. We did a little souvenir shopping and then called it an early day. On the subway ride back one of the trains broke down so we were stuck in a very crowded subway for quite a while. I had a mini-panic attack, but we made it through. For those that don't know I struggle with crowds... crowds where I can't move without bumping into someone is an nightmare for me. On this subway not only could I not move an inch but it was all I could do not to get knocked over.. and people were still trying to squeeze in. It was worse than a sardine can. I finally had all I could take and we got off a stop early, walked a few, and then got on another one. It wasn't quite as crowded and we only had one stop to go. I have done ok with the crowds here so far - only 2 mini melt downs... today was one of them. It was worse I think because Jack wasn't with me. He is good about getting me to a non-panic place when he can.... not sure much he could have done, but ... anyway - we made it. No worse for wear.
After we rested - Jack took a late lunch at 8 and we went to the Italian place again and I had pizza this time. I tried one with a 27 year old age ham and Parmesan. Very yummy... We wanted to try the pub across the street because I like to try different places while on vacation, but it was sooo loud we decided we just didn't feel it today and went to something we knew would be good.
We are now in the hotel resting and getting ready to face tomorrow. We sleep in a bit tomorrow which will be nice after this mornings predawn wake-up call. Hope you all are well - stay safe with the incoming storm.
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