The Harry Potter Diagon Alley film set is covered in snow at Warner Bros Studio Tour London

Doesn’t it look wand-erful?

New pictures reveal the Christmas version of the Warner Bros Studio Tour London Harry Potter film set – which features a spellbinding snow-covered Diagon Alley for the first time.

The cobbled stones and shop fronts of the magical shopping street have been draped in layers of filmmaking snow as part of the annual Hogwarts in the Snow transformation, which opened to visitors today.

The Harry Potter Diagon Alley film set at  Warner Bros Studio Tour London pictured with a dusting of snow for the first time 

The cobbled stones and shop fronts of the magical shopping street are draped in layers of filmmaking snow

Diagon Alley’s transformation is part of the annual Hogwarts in the Snow feature at Warner Bros Studio Tour, where sets from the Harry Potter movie franchise are given a wintry transformation

Diagon Alley was never seen covered in snow in any of the Harry Potter movies – so it’s a real treat for fans

During the filming of the Harry Potter movies, Warner Bros Studio Tour London says that many different types of ‘snow’ were used, each selected for its ‘ability to crunch underfoot, float like falling flakes or glisten in the light like ice, but never melt’.

The same techniques have been used by filmmakers to give Diagon Alley its festive makeover. 

The studio adds that although the shopping street was not seen in the snow in the movies, the same set was used for parts of Hogsmeade during wintry scenes that see Harry make use of his invisibility cloak to join a school trip without permission.

A family takes a sneak peek inside the Great Hall set at the attraction, which has also been dressed for the festive season 

In the Great Hall, visitors are ‘welcomed with wreaths, garlands and trees topped with witches on miniature broomsticks’

The long dining tables in the Great Hall are dressed as they were for the seasonal feast in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

The tables in the Great Hall come ‘complete with special-effects flaming Christmas puddings and prop versions of mouth-watering roast turkeys and hams studded with cherries’

In addition to Diagon Alley, the Hogwarts castle model, a fan favourite, has also been transformed with a dusting of snow again this year. 

Warner Bros Studio Tour London explains that during filming a member of the crew climbed aboard an elevated work platform and ‘sprinkled a mixture of granulated paper and grains of salt onto the model by hand with a sieve – like dusting sugar onto a cake’.

It says that the same process takes place at the Studio Tour every festive season.

Meanwhile, when visitors step onto the original stone floor of the Great Hall set, they are ‘welcomed with wreaths, garlands and trees topped with witches on miniature broomsticks’.

Hogwarts in the Snow will run until Sunday, January 17, 2021. Tickets must be pre-booked, and all extra features are included in the ticket price

Fireplaces throughout the Studio Tour, including those in the Leaky Cauldron and Great Hall, are also ‘lit’ with special-effects fire

The long dining tables are dressed as they were for the seasonal feast in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, ‘complete with special-effects flaming Christmas puddings and prop versions of mouth-watering roast turkeys and hams studded with cherries’. 

The Gryffindor Common Room and Boys’ Dormitory are decorated with original props including handmade Christmas cards, some of which were created by the cast members during production.

Fireplaces throughout the Studio Tour, including those in the Leaky Cauldron and Great Hall, are also ‘lit’ with special-effects fire, created by John Richardson and the special effects team using a combination of water vapour and lighting effects.

Hogwarts in the Snow will run until Sunday, January 17, 2021.  Tickets must be pre-booked, and all extra features are included in the ticket price.