Harry Potter World! (026/365)

Day 026 Happy: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (again!)

Redundancy!

Marc and I went back to Harry Potter World (which I call it, as it is easier to say than "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter"... such a mouthful!). This time, he let me use his camera the whole time so that I could get some fun pictures of the theme park. It was awesome to be behind the camera instead of sitting around waiting for Marc to take all the pictures!



It was way less crowded than the last time we went (on opening day) and we actually got to go into all of the shops, eat at the Three Broomsticks, and ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The ride was awesome, one of those simulated ones. And, it was exactly the perfect length... I'm afraid if it would have gone on any longer, I would have vomited! I tend to have a very sensitive tummy when it comes to that sort of ride, you see.

At the Three Broomsticks, Marc had shepherd's pie (which he claimed wasn't nearly as good as mine) with a salad, and I had a kids meal with mac n' cheese, potato wedges and grapes, since they had next to no vegetarian options. We finally got to try Pumpkin Fizz (like Pumpkin Juice, but carbonated) and Butterbeer, which tastes a lot like cream soda, with thick, foamy whipped cream on top.

I'm exhausted, so I'll leave you with some of the pictures that I took from the day.























For more info (and more pictures!), go to my flickr page: www.flickr.com/kelsieelaine

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (019/365)

Day 19 Happy: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Hogwarts Castle

To me, it rivals Cinderella's castle for "awe" factor.

Being the impulsive, spontaneous (and crazy) people that we are, Marc and I managed to take a trip to Orlando's outlet mall and turn it into a trip to the grand opening of Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Originally, we had left the outlets on the pretense of visiting City Walk to take in the Harry Potter chaos and see if there was any merchandise for sale outside of the park. After talking to a very nice man who informed us of our awesome Florida resident discount rate (the best part about living in Florida), and realizing that Marc earned enough overtime on his last paycheck to cover both of our admissions, we decided to go in.

It was madness, totally crazy and absolutely wonderful. We had to wait in line for over 2 hours in line once we got into Islands of Adventure just to get into the Harry Potter section. I was so impressed with the castle and with Hogsmeade. It was bigger and more beautiful and realistic than I had imagined! There was a ridiculous amount of people there (of course, since it was the opening day). We didn't get to ride any rides, but we will be able to go back with our year passes. There was a line over an hour long to try the Butterbear and Pumpkin Juice, so I guess we will be getting some of that next time. We waited in line to go into two of the stores, Durvish and Banges and Flich's Emporium of Confisgated goods. I wanted to do some shopping and get awesome Harry Potter gear (especially a Gryffindor scarf, which I have wanted for years), but most of the stuff was already sold out. I ended up with a Gryffindor key chain instead.

It was awesome to go on opening day and be part of the chaos and be some of the first, but we didn't get to see most of the park and will definitely need to go back to get the whole experience.

Pumpkin Juice and Butterbeer

We haven't gotten to try either of them, but we looked at the bottle and it has a small amount of pumpkin puree, and lots of different juices, like peach and apple. The people in line in front of us said it was delicious. The butterbeer is supposed to taste like cream soda and has a little dollop of cream on top. It costs like $10, but you get to keep the mug it came in as a souvenir.

Honeydukes.

We didn't get to go in, because the lines were too long, but they have an awesome assortment of candy and it is connected to Zonkos joke shop. We will definitely have to go next time!

Another view of Hogwarts, and some Remembralls and

Sneakoscopes that were for sale at Dervish and Banges.

The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade

(All photos courtesy of Marc Vosburgh)

We had a blast, and can't wait to go back.

When are you going to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter? What are you most excited to see and do? Leave your answers in the comments!