An arm and a leg and your first-born
It's just a month off my birthday now (hint hint :P) so I was talking to my sister recently about doing something for our upcoming birthdayness as hers is the following month. We're both big Harry Potter fans and both of us really really want to go to the WB Studio Tour so that seemed the obvious choice. I've been having a look at the train times and prices for getting down there. The Leavesden Studios are quite a way out of London and apparently there's two alternate routes, either via London or via Birmingham. Neither are particularly straightforward though.
To go via London, we'd have to get a train into London Euston and then change to another train to go back out and up to Watford Junction. From there, there's a shuttle bus that runs directly to the studios. It's a similar story to go via Birmingham. A train to Birmingham New Street, then change to another train to Watford Junction and then the shuttle bus to the studio. The main difference is the price and how long it takes.
The return journey to London Euston is £42. There are only single tickets available from Euston to Watford Junction which are £10 each, and then the shuttle bus is a £2.50 return. Adding in travel between my house and the train station, the total price is about £75. The train down to London leaves just after 9 and gets into Euston at half 12, but then it's another hour and a half out to the studios so we'd not arrive there until 2pm. The cheaper train back leaves Euston at half past eight and I'd get home around midnight. That is one very long day! There's an earlier train at half past 7 but that's more expensive, it'd be £65 just for the trains to London and £100 in total.
To go down to Birmingham is either £35 for returning at half past 6 or £21 returning after 7. The fare to Watford Junction is only a single ticket again, but it's just £7.50 and the shuttle bus is the same £2.50 return. Total cost is £60 or £50 for the later train. It would still mean leaving just after 9 but getting back at either 8 or 9pm depending on which train back we get. That's quite a difference. It's still a long day but much better than getting back at midnight.
However! The entry fee for the Harry Potter tour is £35. £35!! I can't believe how expensive it is. (In comparison, the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff is £16 and you don't need to book in advance.) Adding in all travel costs and meals, I'd be looking at about £125 for going via London and around £90 for Birmingham. Even if I was working, I'd still baulk at paying that much. It's just never going to happen. That's incredibly disappointing.
ETA: I forgot to mention that supposedly booking in advance gets you cheaper fares so I looked as far in advance as is possible. I got the prices for April 21 (bizarrely travelling on Tuesdays is more expensive) so these are the supposedly cheaper prices.
To go via London, we'd have to get a train into London Euston and then change to another train to go back out and up to Watford Junction. From there, there's a shuttle bus that runs directly to the studios. It's a similar story to go via Birmingham. A train to Birmingham New Street, then change to another train to Watford Junction and then the shuttle bus to the studio. The main difference is the price and how long it takes.
The return journey to London Euston is £42. There are only single tickets available from Euston to Watford Junction which are £10 each, and then the shuttle bus is a £2.50 return. Adding in travel between my house and the train station, the total price is about £75. The train down to London leaves just after 9 and gets into Euston at half 12, but then it's another hour and a half out to the studios so we'd not arrive there until 2pm. The cheaper train back leaves Euston at half past eight and I'd get home around midnight. That is one very long day! There's an earlier train at half past 7 but that's more expensive, it'd be £65 just for the trains to London and £100 in total.
To go down to Birmingham is either £35 for returning at half past 6 or £21 returning after 7. The fare to Watford Junction is only a single ticket again, but it's just £7.50 and the shuttle bus is the same £2.50 return. Total cost is £60 or £50 for the later train. It would still mean leaving just after 9 but getting back at either 8 or 9pm depending on which train back we get. That's quite a difference. It's still a long day but much better than getting back at midnight.
However! The entry fee for the Harry Potter tour is £35. £35!! I can't believe how expensive it is. (In comparison, the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff is £16 and you don't need to book in advance.) Adding in all travel costs and meals, I'd be looking at about £125 for going via London and around £90 for Birmingham. Even if I was working, I'd still baulk at paying that much. It's just never going to happen. That's incredibly disappointing.
ETA: I forgot to mention that supposedly booking in advance gets you cheaper fares so I looked as far in advance as is possible. I got the prices for April 21 (bizarrely travelling on Tuesdays is more expensive) so these are the supposedly cheaper prices.