In the next stage of our partnership with Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter, Guide Dogs has helped with the creation of new Tactile Tours at the world-famous attraction.
For the first time visitors with sight loss can touch familiar props, including the wands of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Voldemort, allowing those with visual impairments to immerse themselves into the world of Harry Potter and experience the filmmaking magic.
Costumes worn by the infamous Death Eaters and other characters from the fan-favourite film series, as well as fabrics from Professor Trelawney's Divination classroom, will be available for visitors with visual impairment to touch. Visitors will also be able to get closer to magical creatures by stroking a section of Aragog’s prickly spider leg, and they will get to touch the treasure found in Gringotts.
To conclude this new experience, the iconic Hogwarts castle model has been transformed into a raised, tactile floorplan so visitors can trail their way through their favourite locations using their fingertips.
People with visual impairment, including children and young people, were invited to visit the Studio Tour to offer feedback on how to improve the experience. Their insight helped influence the Tactile Tours by highlighting elements of the tour which could be brought to life through touch.
Penny Hefferan and her guide dog Questa, as well as Skie Hewitt and her guide dog Derek visited the Studio Tour to share their thoughts and feedback about how it could be made more accessible.
Penny, from Rayleigh, says: “I’d always thought how fantastic it would be to touch some of the displays, and I’m really thrilled to have been able to do so. It exceeded my expectations and really brought everything alive for me.”
Skie, from Basildon, says: “The tactile tour was amazing and I absolutely loved it. I loved being able to touch and feel all of the props and realise how many details were on them. I just feel so happy to be included in the tour now, it was brilliant.”
Guide Dogs’ ongoing partnership has seen the Studio Tour introduce various initiatives to cement its commitment to developing inclusive policies for its team members and visitors.
Staff at the Studio Tour completed sighted guiding training created by Guide Dogs, covering topics such as how to approach someone with sight loss, and navigate narrow or busy spaces, steps and doorways. The sessions included advice on language and communication and how the power of description and use of the senses can be used to bring the experience to life.
Through the Name a Puppy scheme Warner Bros. Studio Tour London also sponsored three guide dogs in training named after the trio of leading characters in the iconic film series - Harry, Ron and Hermione - who are all celebrating their first birthdays this week.
Geoff Spooner, Senior Vice President at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, says, "We’re excited to introduce our new Tactile Tours, where people with a visual impairment can get hands-on to discover how their favourite Harry Potter moments were brought to life through the magic of filmmaking. Our work with Guide Dogs reflects our commitment to setting a new standard of inclusivity and accessibility for visitors with sight loss at UK attractions. We hope to inspire lasting change throughout the industry and offer a magical experience for everyone that visits us.”
Alex Pepper, Head of Accessibility at Guide Dogs added, “Over the past year, our partnership with the Studio Tour team has made impactful changes to enhance the experience for visitors with a visual impairment. We have worked closely together and as a result of our consultation, advice and training, we are supporting Warner Bros. Studio Tour London to drive change across the UK attractions industry, making it more accessible for people with sight loss. We hope visitors who are blind and partially sighted will feel confident in exploring this great attraction."
Visitors can request a Tactile Tour in advance, or on the day of their visit by asking one of the Warner Bros Studio Tour's Interactors.
To learn more about how people with a vision impairment use tactile items to experience and identify objects through touch, visit our tactile markers page.
