The Warner Brothers Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, has announced plans to expand its tour on the fifth anniversary of the popular attraction’s launch – with the permanent addition of the wizarding world’s Forbidden Forest.

Debuting on 31 March, the Forbidden Forest – which in the series is home to a number of magical creatures – is being opened up to the public with a number of never-before-seen movie props to go on display in the new area.

Among the new objects on show, one of the original costumes of Hagrid will be shown, as will a full-sized model of Buckbeak the Hippogriff and Aragog – a giant spider with a leg span of 18ft (5.5m).

The immersive area will start at the Hogwarts gates, which visitors go through to enter the forest. 19 trees each with a diameter of more than 12ft (3.6m) will fill the area, with visitors able to ‘control the weather’ using the same techniques used by filmmakers when making the Harry Potter series.

“It’s great to be working with so many of the original filmmakers who know so much about the wizarding world,” said Sarah Roots, senior vice president, Worldwide Tours, who is working with Oscar and BAFTA winning production designer Stuart Craig, and BAFTA winning creature and makeup effects designer Nick Dudman, among others on the expansion.

“There will be an opportunity to take control of the weather and discover the techniques used to create a realistic forest within a film. We can’t wait to let visitors step into this mysterious set and discover all this amazing detail for themselves,” she added.