There is something so precious in the act of visiting a place you have read and dreamed about. Some people it may be Venice, for others it could be the Light Houses of Cape Cod. But for me, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida took the cake.
In the weeks leading up to our 3 day getaway, I had Fran prepare by watching all 7 films in the appropriate order. He quickly fell in love, obviously.
Upon entering the parks at Universal Studios, our first stop: Hogsmeade.
The hostess of the Three Broomsticks (who was perfectly in character) kindly took a photo of us in front of the entrance.
Be able to see all of potential magic and topsy-turvy wooden homes lite a certain fire in my gut. The snow felt so real, despite the 80 degree weather in the middle of February.
Not to mention the perfect instrumental hum of all the HP theme music throughout the park. We first found Olivanders, and made the obvious decision to go inside. Standing the small, dark, and magical room stood THE(ish) Olivander, surrounded by wands up to 3 stories high. He chose some unbelievably lucky little girl to play a part in the wand choosing experience. She tried a few "absolutely not" wands, which resulted in moving drawers and flashing lights. But cue the spotlight, hair-blowing wind, and success music when she found the right wand. We did not hesitate to snag a picture with the greatest wand maker of all time before heading out to the next adventure.
Next stop was the roller coaster of Hogwarts. It was no-doubt unbelievable. We decided to avoid the long wait lines after taking 15 minites to find an empty locker, and take the single-riders route. We were some-how lucky enough to still sit next to each other after cheating the 1 hour wait-line with a 10-minute wait. The ride exceeded our expectations. The 3-D virtual roller coaster had scenes that the characters had filmed. We flew through a quiddich match that involved death eaters and heard from Harry, Ron, and Hermione themselves.
Lunch at the Three Broomstcks deemed appropriate then. After another unfortunate and unavoidable wait, we ordered our food and say amidst the mismatched chairs and table under the glow of candle lights. This was also when I had my first experience with Butter Beer. Thoughts: love.
We wandered through the streets of Hogsmeade and enjoyed all of cluttered shops and sights.
Up next: The Hogwarts Express
Stupid coll experience guys. Another wait was in order, but it was well worth it.
Technically going from Hogsmeade to London is all backwards, but still perfect. The set you in a train cart signaler to the movies. The "window" shows scenes of leaving the castle, passing Hagrids home, and the mystical Forest. There is also shadows and voices of Harry, Ron, and Hermione passing by the door. The experience was unbelievable. The train halts to a stop and we are (un)officially in London.
Once leaving the station we immediately see the bus for lost wizards. The talking head and bus-boy both spoke to us and both were hilarious.
We saw the house of Serious Black and Kreature peaking through the window before heading through the secreat entry to Diagonal Alley.
We admired the sights, bought wands, and drank the infamous Pumpkin Juice. At this point the jet-lag and sore feet kicked in. We decided to walk around the rest of universal for some simple sightseeing. We enjoyed an A cappella group competition. Fran drank a duff energy drink from The Simpsons park. before deciding to purchase matching HP sweatshirts for the next day's events. We called an uber back to the hotel and took a nap before having a quick dinner behind the hotel at Wendy's to rest up for another full day tomorrow.
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