Runway Visitor Park

A Facebook friend had posted photos of her family enjoying a day out at the Runway Visitor Park, and as Baby will be flying for the first time next month, I thought it might be a good idea to take her so that she could see the inside of a plane before our first real flight.

I found the website a tad confusing, unless you were wanting to pay for an aircraft tour, but reviews seemed to suggest that the planes were only open at the weekend. So the week before we wanted to visit, I rang to double check, and was told that a passenger plane, the DC-10, would indeed be open, so we decided to visit on the Sunday.

The park contains five planes: four outside, plus the Concorde which is inside a hangar. The hangar also houses a cafe and restaurant, with a shop next door. There is a small outdoors playground, though it did seem as if further apparatus could be added, such as trampolines, presumably on hotter, busier days. Last but not least, there were three raised viewing platforms, two small ones accessed by steps, and one larger one accessed by a ramp, for plane spotting.

When we arrived we were given a plastic token at the car park barrier. Parking is charged at £5 for up to two hours, or £10 for up to four hours. Not cheap, but I suspect it is intentially expensive to stop people parking there while waiting for arrivals.

There are a variety of planes which can be viewed, but the terminology on the website is confusing for those of us not up on models etc. So here is a quick description of the planes on the site:

DC-10 - The front section of a passenger plane, branded Monarch airways, like the ones you would use to go on holiday, but much older. Now used as a classroom.

Avro RJX - Small not very common passenger plane from around 2000.

Nimrod - Patrol and attack aircraft used by the RAF.

Trident Three - Passenger plane from the late 60s/early 70s.

Concorde - Superfast passenger jet.

We were disappointed to see a sign outside the DC-10 stating that it was closed for a private function, as I had been assured that it would be open for public viewing. A quick glance at the outside of the Nimrod and Trident confirmed that they were not open either, so we headed for the reception desk. There were three members of staff there, but none seemed particularly aware of what was going on. We were told that if the DC-10 was not open, the Nimrod would be, but when I stated that we had just been there and it wasn't, they then told us that the Avro was definitely open currently, and pointed us round the corner of the hangar, past the playground. So we went round, only to find that that too was closed.

We decided to avoid the spots of rain and warm up with coffee and hot chocolate in the coffee shop. The coffee shop and restaurant are inside the hangar. Both are small, and you walk through the coffee shop to get to the restaurant. All the tables in the coffee shop were taken as we entered, though there was a steady turnover as people left so people weren't left waiting for a table for too long.

The coffee and hot chocolate were pretty terrible, both served in take away cups, and neither of us drank more than half. There were cakes and sandwiches on offer, rather expensive, but to be expected with the captive audience.

From the coffee shop we could see into the part of the hangar housing the Concorde. The windows ran the length of the coffee shop and restaurant but most of the blinds were drawn. Tours of Concorde must be booked in advance, lasting around 40 minutes and start from £13.50.

Back outside we stood on the large viewing mound and watched planes landing and taking off. Once she got over the loud noise, Baby quite enjoyed watching them, though there was a limit to how long they entertained her before she was ready for another distraction.

Just before we left, we decided to double check all the planes again, and were pleased to find that the DC-10 was now open to the public. Only the front section of the plane is actually on site, but it contained enough of the plane to show Baby an example of what she would be experiencing in a month's time. The cockpit was visible behind a plastic panel, and there were several rows of seats, though they were taped off so you couldn't sit on them. It was clearly a very old plane, and seemed to be in pretty much the same condition as it would have been when it was last flown. But at least Baby had the opportunity to go on a plane before she has to do it for real.

If Baby develops an interest in planes in the future we'll definitely be back; although parking might initially seem expensive, if you take a picnic, use the playground and can get onto one of the planes it could be a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. I wouldn't want to pay £10 for parking for going over the two hours though.


Key Facts
Month of visit:
January

Weather for visit:
Grey, cold, occasional drizzle.

Is it pushchair friendly?
To an extent. The largest viewing mound has sloped access however access to the planes is by steps.

How are the baby changing facilities?
We didn't actually use the baby changing facilities, but they were located in the building housing the visitor reception.

What about somewhere to feed?
The coffee shop had some comfortable sofas and chairs, but was rather noisy, lots of distractions for a feeding baby.

Is it worth a visit?
Yes, if you have kids who are into planes, or like us, want your children to experience a plane before going on one for the first time.

Baby's highlight?
Seeing the planes taking off.



The Runway Visitor Park
Sunbank Lane,
Altrincham,
WA15 8XQ

www.runwayvisitorpark.co.uk

Warner Bros Studio Tour - The Making of Harry Potter

I am a huge Harry Potter fan, both the books and the films, and have been to the studios at Leavesden four times already. I wanted to see the studios at Christmas last year, but logistically it was just too difficult, being 200 miles away, and too daunting for me to contemplate with a four month old. This year I was determined to make it happen and started planning early. Daddy is not that interested, but Baby's godmother is as big a fan as I am, so we planned to go together in December. We decided that a weekday would be best as it would hopefully be a bit quieter so booked tickets for a Monday. We booked a hotel for the night before and booked an early timeslot so that we could travel back home afterwards. Daddy was working in London so would thankfully be staying with us in the hotel on the Sunday night, as I haven't yet braved staying in a hotel with her on my own. Baby's other godmother had never been to the studios so decided to join us as well.

We'd booked a 10.30 timeslot; early, but with enough time for us to travel there after the rush hour. With Premier Inn breakfasts no longer being value for money we'd planned to arrive well before the timeslot and eat breakfast in the cafe, spend a few hours going round then set off for home around 2pm.

We arrived at 9.45, and after showing our confirmation to the car park attendants, we were directed to a parking space. Since our last visit, the studios has introduced a bag check procedure before you're allowed into the building. There was already a huge queue when we arrived. Collecting tickets via the machine took just a few minutes so we joined the queue. Unfortunately the queue moved very slowly and it took us over half an hour to get into the building. As we approached the front, it split into two and we were unlucky enough to get the queue for the more thorough bag checker. Clearly not enamoured of her job, she really wasn't very friendly. When we finally got through bag check, we then had to be body scanned. This staff member was very friendly and chatty, but at this point we just wanted to get on with it, given that I was carrying a heavy child who had reached her limit for being in a queue about 25 minutes previously. Serious improvement required for this process and it gave a negative start to our day.

Thankfully that was our only negative experience that day. Once through the security checks, we entered the atrium, which housed a ginormous Christmas tree covered in twinkly lights and snow, surrounded by presents. Baby absolutely loved it and continuously walked around it. She also liked walking over the sparkly Warner Brothers logo on the floor by the entrance doors. The cafe, shop, cloakroom, toilets, and entry to the tour itself are all found in the atrium.

As we still hadn't had breakfast, we accepted that we weren't going to get in at 10.30 and went into the cafe. There was a reasonable selection of breakfast items, though a simple slice of toast which would have been ideal for Baby wasn't available. We made do with a pain au chocolat and a juice carton. Overpriced but as expected with the captive audience. Baby's godmothers both appreciated the on site Starbucks.

Once we'd finished breakfast we joined the queue to be allowed into the tour. This queue didn't take too long, but it was long enough for Baby to get restless again. The first room was a small introductory talk, lots of people in an enclosed space, not ideal for Baby. The second room is a brief cinema viewing. Thankfully this didn't last too long as Baby had well and truly had enough of being constrained by that point.

The Great Hall wasn't as big a hit as I thought it might be with Baby, though seeing it dressed for Christmas was lovely. The flaming puddings, witches flying round the trees and the decorations really made it feel festive. I absolutely love the Great Hall, it's one of the highlights of the tour for me. The only downside is that you don't get to spend much time there before you are ushered out to make way for the next group.

The tour continues through various sets, including the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore's office and the boys dormitory amongst others. There are also various displays of costumes and other props used in the films. Most of this hasn't changed over my previous visits. Which is lucky, as Baby skipped through it. Any Harry Potter fan will find the information provided fascinating however so I was glad I'd read it on previous baby free visits. Reading all of the information and understanding all of the work that went into the creation of the film really does enhance subsequent viewings of the films.

Baby was very interested in the Leaky Cauldron set, possibly due to the goat(?)'s head the cauldron was supported by. Sadly she wasn't so keen on the common room or dormitory, which I would have liked to have spent longer looking at as they were decorated for Christmas.

Some displays had been moved around since our last visit, and the broomstick riding opportunity seemed to have been expanded to handle more would be witches and wizards at one time. Definitely worth a go for the first time visitor, though there is a limit to the appeal of flying through scenes projected onto the green screen for repeat visitors. And of course there is the option to purchase a photo of yourself, and even a DVD I believe, for a small fortune.

One new 'feature' since my last visit, was a large canvas wall, essentially lining a corridor to the final section of this building, which had various characters from the film on it, next to a height marker. Although it appeared to be a temporary installation, it was very popular, with most people pausing to take photographs with one or more of the characters. Baby absolutely loved this, and in particular was very taken with Dobby, standing in front of him, touching his face, looking at him from every possible angle. In fact she loved him so much that after a quick nappy change she went back to see Dobby again, photobombing as many people as possible.

This last section of the first building included a section on the darker side of the wizarding world, with Malfoy Manor and Umbridge's office amongst others. Tucked away in a corner you can also learn some wand choreography. Previously a temporary experience it seems to have now become a permanent fixture.

Next up is the studios newest attraction, the Hogwarts Express. Seeing the train was part of the reason for this visit, so I had high hopes, and I wasn't disappointed. It really feels like a train station, the space is ginormous, and even though the studios was sold out that day, it didn't feel crowded at all.

We pushed trolleys through the platform barrier, guessed who the luggage belonged to, climbed on the real Hogwarts Express and tried out a green screen train compartment. Baby absolutely loved seeing the train, and hasn't stopped saying 'choo choo' since. Every so often it makes various noises and steam billows out, which she found alarming the first time but subsequently enjoyed very much.

Of course the addition of this newest green screen attraction provides another money spending opportunity, though the attending staff member did offer to take a photo of us on my camera which turned out better than the official one anyway. There is also a shop halfway down the platform should you have the urge to part with further cash. We didn't go in but I suspect everything in there is also available in the shop at the end of the tour.

By the time we'd finished in this section we were all ready for a break and a refuel. Thankfully the Backlot cafe was next. This has been improved significantly since previous visits, and there is now much more seating, under cover, and a better variety of food available. In addition to the burgers and sandwiches, you can also buy butter beer here. Personally I'm not a fan but it's definitely something every fan will want to try for themselves. On my first visit back in 2012 we bought some, and didn't finish it as it was so horrible. On my second visit I noticed they had installed liquid bins for people to use when they'd had enough. Perhaps not getting the repeat custom hoped for, butter beer ice cream had been added to the menu. At £4.95 without the souvenir cup, it wasn't exactly cheap, but we nevertheless succumbed, not least because Baby absolutely loves ice cream. It looked like vanilla ice cream with butter beer swirled round the edges, though actually the not particularly pleasant taste persisted throughout the whole of the ice cream. Baby didn't seem to mind it and ate rather a lot of it, but the rest of us weren't very keen.

We struggled initially to find a table, not least because we needed one suitable for a high chair, which meant the bench style tables in the centre of the cafe were out. We basically just stood around until a table became free, which only actually took around five minutes thankfully. There were a lot of school groups visiting who all seemed to be having their packed lunches in the cafe, taking up lots of the tables.

I remember on our first visit being advised that we were likely to split our time 50/50 between the two buildings. With the addition of the Hogwarts Express, I'd say it's more like an 80/20 split, so make sure you factor this into feeding children. Technically there is no food permitted within the buildings, though I did manage to sneak Baby some crisps to keep her going.

In the Backlot area, you can see 4 Privet Drive, the Potters' house, various forms of transport and a couple of other large props. You can also walk over the bridge used in several scenes at Hogwarts, as long as the weather is dry. Unfortunately during our visit it had drizzled at some point previously that day so the bridge was closed for health and safety reasons.

The second building houses the props workshop, where you can see Aragog and Buckbeak amongst others, and hear from one of the team members who helped bring the special effects to life. There is also an assortment of sketches, card models and artwork on display.

One of the other standout experiences of the studios is walking along Diagon Alley. Peering into shop windows; examining the tremendous detail of their contents. There is also usually a demonstration of a special effect, which changes depending on the season. For Christmas, it was the footprints made in the snow by Harry under his invisibility cloak.

There is one final surprise in this section that I won't spoil for those who haven't been. True Harry Potter fans are likely to have a similar reaction to Baby though, who repeated 'Wow' numerous times as she walked through.

The last piece de resistance before you exit into the shop is a room whose shelves are filled with wand boxes. Each has the name of someone who worked on the film inscribed upon it, so you could spend a great deal of time in here examining to boxes to see if you recognised any names.

No visit to the studios would be complete without the opportunity to spend a lot of money, and the shop duly provides that opportunity. Clothing, books, posters, sweets, mugs, key rings, wands, jewellery; anything you could possibly want, as long as you have the cash. Whilst there are some lower cost items such as postcards, a lot of what is offered is rather expensive. Wands for example are just short of £30 and t-shirts are £15-£20. A small box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, or a single chocolate frog, would set you back £8.95.

However, you don't actually have to buy anything of course.

In summary, any Harry Potter fan will absolutely love the studios, and would be able to see new things over the course of several visits. It wasn't easy however to stop and look at the exhibits and information with Baby wanting to run around, so I would either recommend taking along a partner so you can take turns looking after the baby, or waiting until your children are old enough to want to stop and look at everything themselves. That being said, Baby absolutely loved it, particularly the Hogwarts Express, and the allocated time slots really helped with crowd control so it was never so busy that I was worried about her being trampled on.


Key Facts

Month of visit:
December

Weather for visit:
Not freezing, some drizzle. Mostly irrelevant as the majority is indoors, but heavy rain would put a dampener on the Backlot area. And be very annoying if you had a long queue for bag check.

Is it pushchair friendly?
Everything is on one level, so in that respect yes. You are asked to leave pushchairs in the cloakroom if possible for space reasons but there were a few people pushing babies in prams, and they didn't seem to have any problems.

How are the baby changing facilities?
There is baby changing before the tour starts, within the first building, and at the start of the second building. You would never be far from some should a desperate need arise. The ones I used were clean, with no queue.

What about somewhere to feed?
A staff member told us about a baby room in the Backlot area, which we saw the door to, but didn't actually need to use. She did stress that it had extremely comfortable seats however, which would make it ideal for feeding. There are benches near Snape's classroom, in the Hogwarts Express section, and by the final surprise, in addition to the seating in the two cafes.

Is it worth a visit?
Absolutely, if you are a fan. If mobile children are not interested, you would struggle to really immerse yourself in all the detail, though there are multiple interactive opportunities throughout the tour.

Baby's highlight?
The Hogwarts Express. Choo choo!



Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
Studio Tour Drive,
Leavesden,
WD25 7LR

https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk