If you’ve spent your life being jealous of the feasts the young witches and wizards enjoyed at Hogwarts, you can now experience it for yourself, with a halloween meal and cocktails in the great hall.
As many fans will already know, a lot of the amazing parts of the wizarding world of Harry Potter can be found at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London.
There’s the night bus, the Dursley’s house, a whole range of props, and even butterbeer to be enjoyed – but one of the first amazing sights you see on the tour is the great hall.
Now that Harry has moved on from Hogwarts, the hall is mainly used as a spectacle to wonder around with awe.
However, in October the Warner Bros. Studio Tour will be opening the room for a special Halloween meal, giving you the chance to truly see what dinnertime at Hogwarts is like.
Adding a grown up twist to the school meal, Hogwarts After Dark offers cocktails to start the evening.
The adults only event will begin with the drinks and canapés before a meal in the great hall – which wouldn’t be complete without the added spectacle of some spellbinding floating pumpkin displays.
The website gives a mouthwateringly magical description, explaining:
Begin your magical evening with smoking dry ice cocktails and canapés before stepping onto the red carpet through the doors of the wizarding school into the Great Hall, which will be completely transformed for Hallowe’en.
The Great Hall will be decorated with over 100 floating pumpkins, as seen on screen in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone while the long tables will be laden with a Hallowe’en feast of red apples, pumpkins and cauldrons of lollipops.
Tucking in to a cauldron of lollipops in the great hall at Hogwarts sounds like all of my childhood (and adulthood, to be honest) dreams come true.
The night doesn’t stop there though, and following the meal guests will be led to the Forbidden Forest, where ‘dessert will be served in the company of magical creatures such as Buckbeak the Hippogriff and Aragog the Acromantula.’
Lollipops and then dessert? What a time to be alive. I suppose this is Hogwarts, there must be a spell to stop your teeth from rotting somewhere. Maybe in the restricted section.
Once they’ve had their fill of the banquet, guests head off to explore the Studio Tour, where they will encounter Death Eaters in original costumes from the movies before meeting members of the prop department to hear some filmmaking secrets.
The Hogwarts After Dark events are running on October 26, 27 and 28, and tickets run at £240 per person – so you might need to consider getting a loan from Gringotts in order to afford a ticket.
It’s sure to be an incredible event – though don’t have too many cocktails, you don’t want to wander off and get lost in the Forbidden Forest.
Tickets for Hogwarts After Dark go on sale August 28 here.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.