It's hard to believe that it has been 12 years since the Harry Potter film franchise came to an explosive end with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011). And so it's just as hard to believe that it's been almost as long since Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter first opened its great big wooden doors to the public, giving Harry Potter fans from all over the world the opportunity to marvel at sets, props, costumes, creatures and lots more from all eight Harry Potter films.

And while the price of admission has increased only slightly over the past 12 years, you still get "more bang for your Galleon" these days, as the tour has expanded in some truly epic ways. So, in addition to areas like the Great Hall, the Creature Effects Workshop, the Room of Requirement, and the Ministry of Magic, what else is now on offer at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter?

Get your Marauder's Maps at the ready...

The Atrium

If you've been a regular guest at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter for some time, then you'll have no doubt noticed the major transformation the main atrium underwent a few years back. It's almost as if it was remodelled using magic itself, which might explain why the giant "Gringott's Dragon" is suspended overhead, who's surrounded by a large changing graphic of Hogwarts and its surrounding landscape, which shows everything from the Hogwarts Express to Dementors in motion.

There's also the new Chocolate Frog Café, and the Food Hall Restaurant, where you can marvel at "floating candles" as if you're in the Great Hall itself. Now, you can also check out costumes from Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight films in the main atrium -- the Batman suit as worn by Christian Bale, and the Joker costume as worn by Heath Ledger, as well as Wonder Woman's costume as worn by Gal Gadot in the film of the same name. Don't worry - Harry Potter gets plenty of attention outside this wonderful display!

The Forbidden Forest

Another relatively new addition to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is the Forbidden Forest, which can be found just to the rear of the Ministry of Magic - which, with its Death Eaters and Dolores Umbridge's office, is just as terrifying in its own right! The forest's dark and foreboding appearance is hardly inviting, and the sounds you can hear from the safer side of the threshold only get louder and more terrifying the deeper you venture into these woods.

The Forbidden Forest, known also as the Dark Forest, is home to countless magical creatures, some of them quite friendly, like Buckbeak the Hippogriff, others, not so much, like the Werewolves and Centaurs. Not particularly afraid of those hellish Acromantulas, even when they emerge with their many hungry eyes from dark tree hollows, or from the trees overhead on their spiderwebs? Well, we're pretty sure you'll be absolutely fine then. Or, as someone once said, "Goodbye, friends of Hagrid..."

Continue with us as we explore Number Four Privet Drive, Herbology and Gringotts and The Vaults...