Game of Thrones Studio Tour opening this fall!

Game of Thrones Studio Tour Logo

We haven’t heard much about the Game of Thrones Studio Tour ever since it was officially announced back in April of last year, but now we have more details and a more accurate date for its opening.

As reported by The Irish News, the Studio Tour at Banbridge’s Linen Mill Studios, where much of the show was filmed, will employ up to 194 people, operating 12 hours per day, seven days a week. Expected to cost £23.7 million ($31 million USD), this Game of Thrones museum is predicted to attract up to 600,000 visitors per year, resulting in a £396.2 million ($520 million USD) boost in tourism spending for Northern Ireland by 2030, after ten years in operation. Indeed, as we originally announced, the tour is debuting in 2020, though it’s now projected to open this fall.

An official mock-up of the Studio Tour's entrance
An official mock-up of the Studio Tour’s entrance

The expanded studio will offer a 110,000-square-foot interactive experience in which guests will be treated to a close look at a wide selection of items pulled straight from the show and have the opportunity to walk through authentic set pieces, from the first to the final season, as well as informative displays highlighting the production spaces and the craftsmanship and artistry of the creative teams who brought the show to life.

There will also be a restaurant and a ‘back-lot’ café, designed to replicate the studio catering experience that the cast and crew of the show enjoyed (I hope) during production, which should be quite interesting.

So, anyone planning a trip to Northern Ireland this fall?

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21 Comments

  1. ”… Studio Tour at Banbridge’s Linen Mill Studios, where much of the show was filmed, will employ up to 194 people, operating 12 hours per day, seven days a week. Expected to cost £23.7 million ($31 million USD)…”

    ——-
    Holy smokes! 194 people! That’s going to be like Disney World!

    I can only imagine how much GoT pumped up the local economy when the show was in production. This “Studio Tour”/Theme Park will keep things humming.

    Only Question: Will they have an animatronic Sandor Clegane at the entrance to greet the visitors?

  2. ”There will also be a restaurant and a ‘back-lot’ café…”

    What, pray tell, will be on the menu?

    Entrees
    Kidney Pie
    Sally’s Rabbit Stew
    One of Those Chickens
    Two Chickens
    Every F*cking Chicken in this Room

    Desserts
    Wolf Bread
    Deluxe Wolf Bread
    Black Walder & Lothar Meat Pie
    Pastry with Pre-Browned Butter
    Pigeon Pie w/Precision Spoon

    Beverages
    ????

  3. Ten Bears:
    ”There will also be a restaurant and a ‘back-lot’ café…”

    What, pray tell, will be on the menu?

    Entrees
    Kidney Pie
    Sally’s Rabbit Stew
    One of Those Chickens
    Two Chickens
    Every F*cking Chicken in this Room

    Desserts
    Wolf Bread
    Deluxe Wolf Bread
    Black Walder & Lothar Meat Pie
    Pastry with Pre-Browned Butter
    Pigeon Pie w/Precision Spoon

    Beverages????


    You forgot the wee toasties!

    And don’t forget to stop by the nurses office if you’re not feeling well where Lady Crane will fix whatever ailes you with her magic soup

  4. Dangit!! I’m going to Ireland at the beginning of May so I’ll be too early! I guess I’ll have to go on an existing tour in N.I., which I’ve already been looking at. I have a reason to go back then I suppose. 😀

  5. Mr Derp: You forgot the wee toasties!

    And don’t forget to stop by the nurses office if you’re not feeling well where Lady Crane will fix whatever ailes you with her magic soup

    What about lemon cakes?

    Hot Pie’s could be the new Emeril
    My guess is he would be glad to be celebrity chef in residence with a big HP instead of Emeril’s E. This isn’t hot pie but you can see Maisie making some wolf bread.

  6. I was in NI in November so will definitely be going back as soon as this opens. It’s a pity we won’t get the Red Keep and Mereen throne rooms but I’ll take whatever they’re giving!

    Is there any word on the remaining Moneyglass and Belfast sets, and any possible tours there? When I saw them they were in pretty poor shape, but still intact -with the WF set surrounded by a sheet fence.

  7. Grandmaester Flash:
    Ten Bears,

    You forgot the gravy!

    Of course I didn’t forget the gravy! No gravy. no pie. It’s as simple as that. The menu would not offer kidney pie if it didn’t contain gravy.

    Having said that, I was going to list extra gravy as an option for an additional charge. Since I’m not familiar with the exchange rate from US Dollsrs I didn’t list prices next to the dishes.

    In all seriousness: Can the Linen Mill Studios be reconfigured for tour groups of GoT fans with a restaurant that does NOT have kidney pie? And Wolf Bread?

    I’d pay good money to eat customized GoT dishes if I were already investing the time and expense to tour the Studio. I wouldn’t want to travel all the way to N. Ireland only to eat crappy hamburgers or microwaved frozen pizza.
    Finally, I would think real fans would want to take home wolf bread as souvenirs.

    ——
    Completely Ridiculous and Unrelated Questions:

    • 1. Every one else got a seat at the Dragon Pit in thx last episode, including folks who weren’t “lords” like Sam and Tyron, a prisoner.

    Why not have Hot Pie there? And why shouldn’t he have been on the Small Council

    • 2. What was the deal with “Gendry Baratheon. Lord of Storm’s End” at the Dragon Pit? He didn’t look at Arya once. Was he sulking? He should’ve been chatting her up if he really loved her. She only turned down his marriage proposal. I didn’t hear her say they couldn’t continue spending quality time together. (For god’s sake! She got on top and did all the work! C’mon Gendry. Don’t let your stupid pride get in the way.)

    • 3. I know this has probably been discussed. I did not hear a satisfactory answer:
    Tell me: Why did Bran the Broken have the best story?

  8. Tron79: What about lemon cakes?

    Hot Pie’s could be the new Emeril
    My guess is he would be glad to be celebrity chef in residence with a big HP instead of Emeril’s E. This isn’t hot pie but you can see Maisie making some wolf bread.

    One of my favorite things to do when GoT was still airing was cooking a GoT themed dinner on Sunday nights before the episode aired. My wife made direwolf bread for the series finale and it was delicious! Haven’t tried lemon cakes though. I’m not really a lemon fan. I fully support lemon cakes for the cafe though!

  9. Ten Bears,

    Beverages…..

    Got any Ale! (Sandor)
    WINE!! (King Robert)
    The Imp’s delight! (Tyrion)
    Whatever that milky looking ‘proper Northern drink’ was. (Mance)

  10. Make the bad man fly!:
    Ten Bears,

    Beverages…..

    Got any Ale! (Sandor)
    WINE!! (King Robert)
    The Imp’s delight! (Tyrion)
    Whatever that milky looking ‘proper Northern drink’ was. (Mance)

    Right. I was going to add Water. But the Menu would read…

    “Water? F*ck water, bring me Wine!”

  11. Ten Bears,

    It is a lot of people, but keep in mind 194 people employed doesn’t mean they will be working all at the same time most of the time.

  12. I’m always in for GoT tourism 🙂 Looking forward to seeing this when I finally make it to Belfast one of these years!

  13. Northern Ireland is only an hours flight from me so this is something I can realistically visit. Would be interesting if any of the Watchers writers visit and they could write an article to share their experience.

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