please empty your brain below

The 25 metre stretch of pavement between the Junction station entrance and the Harry Potter bus stop has quickly become the most cosmopolitan part of Watford in history.
I am surprised at you DG. Its not like you to lamentably understate something.

Consider the scenario of grandparents (over 60) taking children (under 16) and it is dramatically worse. I believe Londoners over 60 with a Freedom Pass could take the slow train (and its not that slow) for free. Children under 16 are charged an incredible £26 on the bus. Children aged 3 or 4 are charged £19 on the bus but travel for free on the train.
Ah, the spirit of the Water Chariots lives on...
I would take the Heathrow Express if travelling to Heathrow between 4pm and 7pm on a working day from the Paddington area.
Hmm, Lewis Carroll comes to mind:

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!
And so business grows fat on the unknowing and uninformed.

Should I ever wish to visit Potter World, unlikely, I'll bear this in mind.

Wondering, does J K Rowling have an 'interest' in Golden Tours?
You catch local bus route 8 from watford jct station to there? Im not sure how much.
But have you actually been inside yet?
If I recall correctly that's twice you've been to visit the outside by bus!
Unless that's tomorrow's post....!
My fear is that, in the same way British companies rip off tourists, I am going to be ripped off when abroad.

Mind you, worrying about every last pound can be a bit wearing on holiday. Sometimes I just think to myself "well it's only money, and I may be only visiting once".
@Bronchitikat

The studio tour is all Warner Bros, nothing to do with J K Rowling except for the fact that Warner Bros pay royalties for the film.
@Malcolm - The same sort of thing happens abroad. Versailles is also out in the suburbs of Paris. (Its a bit like Leavesden is to London!) You can get there on an expensive escorted tour like these http://www.pariscityvision.com/en/versailles or do some research and take the Paris RER to one of the Versailles stations, take a short walk and get a normal ticket to the palace.
That really is shocking. £29 and its not even a coach but a fairly old bus which must struggle on the M1.
I'm a little surprised that it isn't done up like the Knight Bus with the driver acting the part of Ernie Prang and any ticket staff done up like Stan. That would make it hard for any thrifty parent to resist little Snottleigh's cries of "But I wanna go on the Knight Bus, waaaaaaah!". Seriously. I used to love the Potterverse until the writing started to play second fiddle to the merchandising.
Thank heavens I don't have to worry about stuff like this any more!
I have to agree with John that there are certain times that the Heathrow Express can make sense. Not for me - the X26 runs past my house - but I've known a number of (normally pretty cheap) people for whom it's made sense on occasion.

Now the Gatwick Express... What is the point of that one? Even though it's not as expensive as dg is claiming for a turn up and go service, it's still hard to justify the extra fiver to skip two stops.
Surely the Harry Potter bus should be going from Kings Cross not Victoria anyway.
I'd like to add what I think is the worst about the coach service:
It's not that it is overpriced or slow or a bland double decker, it's that you only get 3½ hrs at the Studio. Yes, 3½ hrs is WAY too little. We went 5 adults and still spent 4hrs just faffing about the place, discovering new and interesting things. And then we came to the shop, easily another hour spent.
I'm going again with my cousin and her two children and can't possibly see ourselves spending any less time there than I did the last time.

Also: totally worth a visit, ladies and gentlemen. I'm a bit of a cynic sceptic and didn't expect it to be "all that" but even I was taken in by the charm and warmth of the place, the people and all the magic it's wrapped up in.










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