The day we visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
*So excited!*
Yes, I am a Harry Potter nerd. I love the Harry Potter books. I love the story. I love the excitement. I love the adventure. I love everything about it. I cry when I read the book and again when I see the movies. I grew up with Harry. I started reading these books when I was 11, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were 11. I'm kind of sad that it's almost over. I don't want it to be over.
Ok, enough of that.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is just a section inside of Universal Studios - Islands of Adventure. If you have ever been to DisneyLand or Magic Kingdom, they are separated into sections: Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, etc. It's like that. So it's not very big, and since it's new, it's extremely crowded. Therefore, we took our time getting over to that section of the park.
So I lied. The entire park was crowded. Blegh.
The first area we went to was Dr. Suess. It was cute, had lots of kid rides. We rode a couple. One was very spinny. Spin spin, spinny, spin spin. And yes, it made me sick, for most of the day.
The other was a train ride, which was cute. Kind of scary, considering that I'm afraid of heights, and if you put your foot out of the cart it won't touch anything. The track was thinner than the train.
Then we went to an incredibly cheesy show called The Adventures of Sindbad. It was so cheesy that you could lick the cheese off the stage.
But, it had fireworks and explosions and splashes of water, so it wasn't too bad.
We did some other stuff, but y'know, I'll just get to the good stuff.
Harry Potter!!
Walking into Hogsmeade.
Hogsmeade wasn't that crowded in the movies.
Platform 9 3/4. The conductor is talking to that little girl.
Filled with candy. Expensive candy!
The Three Broomsticks. This is where we had lunch. And....
Butterbeer.
My friend Sierra and her family have a Harry Potter party every year. At this party they make Butterbeer. Their Butterbeer is better than the Butterbeer at Universal Studios. This tasted like plain cream soda, but they put a butterscotch "cream" on top. It's good! Don't get me wrong. It is very good. I think I had four. Just, Sierra's is better.
We took a lot of pictures of the line of the Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey ride, but a lot are super dark and it's hard to tell what you're looking at. But this ride is super cool! You go inside the castle, through the greenhouse, into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where Harry, Ron and Hermione appear from underneath the invisibility cloak and talk to you, past some talking and moving portraits, through Dumbledore's office, where Dumbledoor talks to you, past more talking portraits and then past the sorting hat where finally you get on the ride.
So here two pictures that DID turn out, somewhat:
The Phoenix outside of Dumbledore's office
The sorting hat
The line is entertaining, but the ride is awesome. It is a motion simulation ride. So, you're strapped in really well, and Hermione does a spell that makes you fly. You go up and out the chimney, and you meet Harry and you follow him through the Hogwarts grounds. It's really fun! Then a dragon chases you, but you get away. Then you're in a Quidditch match for a bit. If you get motion sickness easily it's probably not for you.
Lance and I only waited in the long line once. It is a must do, just to see all of the cool stuff. The other four times we went on the ride we did single rider. 20 minute wait or 5 minute wait? I dunno, tough call.
There are two other Harry Potter rides. One is Flight of the Hippogriff. It's a children's roller coaster. Pretty tame. The other ride is the Dragon Challenge. Now that's a sweet ride.
Two rollercoasters go at the same time. It's designed to make you feel like you are going to collide with the other roller coaster. Riding in the front is a must do. I loved it, especially at this part:
Oh yeah, and in the line for the Dragon Challenge is Hagrid's Hut, and the flying car.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was awesome. Definitely worth it.
The rest of Islands of Adventure was really fun.
This is a ride similar to Splash Mountain, except, I like this ride better. I got SOAKED!
Instead of falling down a slope, it SHOOTS you down the slope.
The Hulk
The Hulk is a fun ride, but again super spinny. You know how most roller coasters slowly take you up to the peak, then drop you and let the thrills begin? Well, the Hulk decided to switch it up. It starts taking you up slowly, then outta nowhere it rocket launches you, before you even reach the peak at the beginning! Way surprising. I enjoyed it very much.
It was a great day, and I hope I have the opportunity to go again some day.
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