Trip to London/Harry Potter studios in a wheelchair

A question about : Trip to London/Harry Potter studios in a wheelchair

I'm planning a trip to London for the Harry Potter studio tour in April some time while the kids are on holiday. Travelling will be me, my partner and my sisters 2 kids (both girls, age 10 and 11).

Pricing it up it looks like flying would be cheaper than getting the sleeper train (I wouldn't subject the kids to sitting in regular seats for a long rail journey). Due to OHs holidays from work we would need to fly down one day and fly home the next with 1 night stay in a hotel.

This is what I'm paying so far:

Quote:

The plan is to fly out from Glasgow, land at Gatwick and get GE to Victoria by 11:30am. From there I have 2 options:
Option 1 - head straight to Watford Junction and Harry Potter, booking onto the 1:30 tour. After the tour and a few hours at the studios head back to the hotel, check in and head for food. Get up next morning and go see Buckingham Palace/tower of London.

Option 2 - head to Buckingham Palace, see the artwork in the Queens Gallery. Check into the hotel at 1:30 and get some lunch. Head to Harry Potter and do the 3:30 (maybe 4:00?) tour. Will that leave enough time to see the studios? Head home, supper and bed. Our flight the next day is quite late so if I do it this way we might be able to see more of London, maybe do the tour bus or go see the London eye (or M&M world).

Which option seems best?

The kids are desperate to see the studios and buy a wand (they're saving for their own souvenirs/keeping back some of their Christmas money). Neither have been to London before and I've never done the touristy things - would anyone recommend anywhere that is particularly good for kids to visit?

Also what's the best way to get from Victoria station to Watford Junction? Is the subway wheelchair accessible?

Best answers:

• I don't know about your travel arrangements, but would like to add that HP Studio were fantastic with my disabled daughter
• What time do you land? I would likely do the later one incase my flight was delayed, yes it isn't likely but it isn't worth the dissappointment.
• Hi, could you fly into Luton, at least you're on the right side of London. Maybe book a hotel there as your base or nearer HP world.
• The harry potter only takes 1 and a half to 2 hours to do. Took mine last year.
• I don't know how Wheelchair accessible it is but if possible I would recommend a trip to Kings Cross Station to see Platform 9 3/4 and the Harry Potter Shop there
  https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attract...n_England.html
• The first time I went to the Harry Potter tour I spent 5 hours looking at everything. Remember to factor in the queues to get a photo flying in a broom and a duelling lesson. You can whizz through in 2 hours but there is so much to see and read, especially if you're a HP nut like me. Also make sure you save some money for the shop, its fab.
• I would probably go Luton too - you can get 4 tickets in April school holidays for about Ј260 on the day I checked with Easyjet. If you stay nearer HP world, say Premier Inn Watford Central you can see rooms for Ј49 or so. Enough saving there to splash out on a prebooked taxi to the Studio from the Airport and back, or you could go on public transport also.
  No idea on your question re accessibility though as have never been!
• Journeys by Tube and other modes of transport
  can be planned on-line using Journey Planner.
  Journey Planner allows you to plan journeys that do not
  involve the use of stairs, lifts or escalators, or those in
  which you may need to use wheelchair accessible
  vehicles
  https://www.tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/
• I don't know about the Glasgow to London route but my family did the London to Edinburgh route in first class on a special offer with two girls who were younger than your neices and it was a fantastic service with food included and nice scenery on the way. The time went quickly. If you arrived in Euston it is only a 20 minute train journey from there to Watford Junction to pick up the shuttle bus to the studios. Although the train has a longer journey time time, when you factor in airport security checks, transfers etc, the train is probably easier and not a lot in the difference time wise.
• I'm glad that the studios are ok for a wheelchair.
  I've messed up my times a bit, for some reason I thought we were landing at 10am but it's actually 8:25am, oops! Flying just seems like less hassle, the 10 year old has autism and adhd tendancies so I'd be a bit nervous on a train journey where she's not sleeping. At least on the plane you're just up and down and it will be good practice for her first flight abroad next year. Her autism is another reason I'd like a good bit of time at the studios as she will want to see everything in detail - she loves Harry Potter and I fully expect to be in the shop for about an hour choosing the final wand.
  Thanks for the TFL website, I've been using traveline and it's a bit vague and rubbish. It's good that we can search by accessability.
  Platform 93/4 looks brilliant, I never even thought of that.
  We thought flying into Gatwick would be better as closer to things to do in London too - is there anything near Luton aside from Harry Potter?
• https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms...-guide-map.pdf
  is a PDF Tube map showing step-free access. It's a bit cumbersome on-screen, but hopefully you can get a paper copy from a travel office, or you can order copies here:
  https://tfl.gov.uk/forms/12387.aspx
• Another for flying to Luton if you fly rather than train.
  https://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hot...AHX/index.html is right next to the train station and is very convenient
  If you are focussed on Buckingham palace then Victoria is convenient, but there is a lot of other stuff in London too
  There is a bus to HP from Victoria (which seems to allow wheelchair + free carer too) that might work better for you https://wbsstudiotour.gttix.com/ but you need to phone to book
• The flying route has a lot of unnecessary travel from Gatwick to London, then across London before going out to Watford. And on your final day you've got to travel from central London back out to Gatwick.
  I would look at the train option again. I assume the sleeper train goes into Euston where you can catch a direct train to Watford junction. Book a hotel in the Euston area and ask about leaving your bags there very early on the first day and collecting late on your last day.
  The Harry Potter shop is very close to Euston and has long opening hours. https://www.harrypotterplatform934.co...-opening-hours
  If you do fly to Gatwick, maybe you should do London the first day and then Harry Potter the next morning.
• Harry poter Studio is a fantastic place to visit.Enjoy it with kids.