Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

It was a dreary and rainy day in Hogwarts but we didn't care.  It only made us believe more that we were in England and were about to meet our three best friends.  It also helped that half of the UK was on vacation with us so english accents were everywhere.  

We had to pinch ourselves to prove that we were not dreaming!


We hightailed it to the castle and it seemed to take forever!  It's at the far end so you have to walk quite a ways.  Ever so often you catch a glimpse of the castle and get so very excited!

We made our way to the Forbidden Journey ride.  Mallory wasn't tall enough to ride it but there is so much to see as you are waiting in line.  The tour of the castle was much too short because I really want to take more time but you have to keep moving.  Lines are shorter in November.

Universal Orlando has a brillant program called Child Swap!  This works great if you have a kid that isn't tall enough or family members that can't handle the ride.  They provide a little room just off from the line for the you to wait for your party to return from riding and then you can jump in to the line.

I had to ride alone because Alex was too scared to ride it again.  Be advised....it is a little scary and the fast moving.

Next was the Flight of the Hippogrift, a fun roller coaster that the entire family enjoyed!

Our final stop was Ollivander's Wand Shop.  This was the longest line we were in the entire week and it was well worth it.  


We passed the time by eavesdropping on our fellow line standers and trying to guess what country they were from.  I think the couple behind me were on their honeymoon and trying to make a little Harry while on line.  

The wand ceremony is really fun and if you're lucky a wand will pick your kid.  If you want to increase your odds....have them wear full Harry Potter regalia.  After the show....you get to enter a wand shop and let a wand pick you.  They have specially trained wand picker outter helpers that can assist you in finding YOUR wand based on your favorite numbers. 

The wands run around $36 each. 

Be advised that when you're five year old gets back to the hotel and tries to make her brother levitate and then discovers that the wand doesn't have any REAL magic and that she's not really a wizard, that she will cry and throw her wand across the room. 

Bygones.

All in all....THE best three and a half hours of our trip!


 


7 comments:

  1. I have to say that I kind of agree with her. That's kind of a bum wrap. ;)

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  2. Love your comment about the Honeymoon couple. That castle shot is awesome and yes with the dark skies it does look more real! Nice they have the family swap area.

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  3. When you said "family swap," I envisioned something totally different....so glad you explained it.

    Your kids will remember this trip for the rest of their lives :) Well done!!

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  4. I love the Harry Potter park and the ride was so good though my son is terrified of it i ride alone every time. So happy you had fun and the kids did to. I have to say ilike the butter beer frozen better. Oh and what did the kids think of the candy shop

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  5. I can't wait until we can do a big trip like that. Love reading all about it.

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  6. Too funny! I wanted a wand, but I didn't realize it wasn't real magic. nevermind.

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  7. I'm so super jealous. I wanna go to Harry!

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I love you. You are my best friend! Your hair looks fantastic today!