Magic! Harry Potter studio tour opens near London

[March 30, 2012]  WATFORD, England (AP) -- Hogwarts Castle is ready to welcome the Muggle multitudes.

A monumental model of the school for young witches and wizards is part of "The Making of Harry Potter," a studio tour based at the Warner Bros. facility near London where the eight movies were shot between 2000 and 2010.

The studio expects 5,000 people a day to visit the attraction, which opens Saturday.

It features real props, models, costumes and sets from the films, including the Great Hall of Hogwarts school, the dormitory where the young wizard slept and the office of headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

The attraction is part of Warner Bros.' redevelopment of Leavesden Studios, 20 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of London, into Europe's largest filmmaking complex.

[Associated Press]

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