2010 Vacation Part 1: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

I have finally caught up to a point in this blog to share with you the experiances of our vacation back in October 2010. We went on this vacation with our good friends Kyle and Valisa Craig and were also joined for a part of it by Kyles sister Emily and his friend Mike. Kyle and Valisa were celebrating there 5th Wedding Anniversary and asked if we wanted to go on a cruise with them for it. Of course we wouldn't miss the oppertunity to cruise again so we decided to go. We also decided to spend a few days in Orlando again so we could go back to the Universal Orlando resort and experiance the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The recap will follow a format similar to what I did with our vacation last year as it will be broken into sections and will consist of 6 parts.

To start off it only seems right that I start with the main reason behind our pre-vacation vacation. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Because we spent 3 days at the Universal Orlando Resort and since the majority of the time was spent in the Wizarding World all of the following pictures were taken over the span of those 3 days.

Our first day in Universals Islands of Adventure we made sure we were at the park gates once the park opened so that we could make the most out of our time in the park. We headed strait to the Wizarding World where we would end up spending over half of the day. I don't even know how to put into words how incredable the Wizarding World really is. Espcially to someone who is a big Harry Potter Fan. Here you step foot into the village of Hogsmeid. The town not far from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Upon entering the village you see the Hogwarts Express with the Conductor welcoming you to Hogsmeid. Many shops line the streets that are all authentic to the books and also there size. However not all the shops you see are real shops but many are fake fascades. But still doen't let this stop you from looking into each shop window as each window has a magical display weather its an actual shop or not.









The first shops you come across are Zonkos Joke shop. A place that sells many odds and end joke items and toys mentioned in the books/movies. Next to Zonkos is Honeydukes sweet shop selling an array of diffent Candys and treats. Here you can get your every flavor beans, Chocolate Frogs, Caldren Cakes, or pretty much any other treat you've heard of in the Harry Potter books and movies. Across the way you come across the Owl Post which sells staionary and other mail related type products. Here you can also get your postcards or letters postmarked with an authentic Hogsmead postmark to send home to your family and friends. Next to the Owl post is another shop called Dervish and Banges which sells items for the Triwizard Cup and items that represent the different Hogwarts houses.









There is another shop which is the first of the "Attractions" that is in the Wizarding World. Although not mentioned to be located in Hogsmead in the books this shop is Olivanders Wand Shop. This location to fit in with Harry Potter Cannon is supposedly an Annex version of the shop located in Diagon Alley in London. Here young Wizards and Witches can come and recieve there wand that actually "Chooses" them. The Wandkeeper chooses someone out of the crowded shop (only 25-30 are let in at a time) to come forward and find what Wand is right for them. As luck would have it Kyles sister Emily was the one who got picked in our group. The wandkeeper asks the person a few questions and takes some measurements before they start trying out wands. From here on its an experiance similar to what we see when Harry picks his wand in the First movie. The participant tries out a few different wands which all seem to make a spell go wrong causing things to break, wands to fly of the shelf, storms appearing outside, or bells ringing out of control. That is until the correct wand is chosen and there is burst of wind and bright light signifying the wand is correct. The show is really cute and in my opinion a must see at the Wizarding World. The line can get very long though so I recommend checking it out first thing in the morning so that you can at least wait in line when the line is still shaded.









The Main attraction in the Wizarding World is located within Hogwarts Castle. The ride was said to be ground breaking and state of the art. The most technilogically advanced ride in the world. And I must say that the ride is pretty amazing as it takes you on an adventure with Harry Potter and his friends and encountering many of the events from Harrys life. The ride is truely incredible and unlike anything else we've been on. To discribe it the only way I can think of is its kind of a combination between the Spiderman Ride and Sorin' over California. The ride is not only unique in the ride itself but even the line is amazingly detailed and could be an attraction in and of itself. You enter Hogwarts thru the dungions and as you make your way thru the castle you will pass thru the greenhouses, visit Dumbledors office where the headmaster actually speaks to you, visit the diffence against the dark arts classroom where we meet Harry, Ron, and Hermione. You will also see the portrait gallery with actual moving portraits, pass thru the Griffindor common room, and finally see the sorting hat before entering the room of requirenment before boarding the ride. The ride exits into a gift shop called Felch's Emporiam of Confiscated Goods which is supposed to be Felches storage room of students confiscated goods but sells many Wizarding World themed items. The whole experiance of the Forbidden Journey is truely amazing. I loved every second of the experiance. In so much that thanks to the single rider line and the option to view the castle without going on the ride we rode it 4 times during our time at the resort.









Across from Hogwarts Castle is Flight of the Hippogriff. This ride is a kiddie coaster that is themed to as if your flying with a hippogriff. It is set on the edge of the forbidden forest in front of Hagrids Hut. As the line goes around you will pass by the hut and see many of the large pumpkins Hagrid grows. You also get the taught how to approache a Hippogriff and how to bow to one. Once on the ride you will even pass buckbeak who will bow to you before you take your flight. Although nothing is extreme about the ride its diffenitly worth the ride if you have time. Not only are the views of the Wizarding World amazing from the top of this coaster but its the only way you can see Hagrids hut.









The final ride within the Wizarding World is called Dragons Challenge. This ride use to be called Dueling Dragons but it was rethemed for the Wizarding World. It is basically two inverted coasters that have 4 near misses with one another as there tracks intertwine with one another. The coasters are pretty intense though so keep that in mind. Because of that Dragon Challenge is easily my favorite inverted coaster (the blue track anyways). The ride is themed around the 1st task in the triwizrd tournament from the 4th book/movie. As you enter the que for the ride you make your way thru a small part of the forbidden forest that is lined with banners made by students cheering on the champions. You pass the Weaslys beat up Ford Angilina before entering the Champions tent where you see the Goblet of Fire. Next you pass thru a room that contains the Champions Cup and soon see the golden eggs that the champions get after the 1st challenge. After that its a very long walk thru the caves before you decided what dragon you want to challenge. You can choose ether the Hungarian Horntail (blue track) or the Chinese Fireball (red track). Although the ride experiance hasn't changed at all and its one of the best coasters out there I can't help but be dissapointed somewhat in the retheme. The old Dueling Dragons que was much better and more immersive. Unfortunatly you can totally tell where the money started running low in the Wizarding World project as the Dueling Dragons makeover really got the back end of the stick with its serious lack of themeing in the que (remember which use to be there) and the fact that the tracks weren't repainted (throwing the themeing of the Wizarding World somewhat off). Hopefully they will fix both these problems in the future.









There is one restaurant in the Wizarding World and that is the Three Broomsticks. At this counter service restaurant you can order the type of food that Harry and his friends would probably eat back in there native country of Great Britain. The food was very good and is very reasonably priced. You also get farely large portions. I chose the Rotisary Chicken and Kiera got the Ribs. Both were very, very good. If your one who is craving a Coke with your dinner though your gonna have to go somewhere else in the park. No normal sodas are sold in the Wizarding World. Just drinks specific to the Harry Potter books such as Pumpkin Juice, Butterbeer, Pumpkin Fizz, Apple Cider, Pear Cider, ect...... While eating keep your eyes open in the rafters as you might see the shadow of an owl flying in to delver the mail or see the house elves hard at work.









Next to the Three Broomsticks is the Hogs Head Pub. This place is designed to resemble an english pub and in addition to an array of Alcoholic drinks you can sneak past the Butterbeer cart lines and get your Butterbeer here. And what can I say about Butterbeer other then it is amazing and possibly one of the best taisting things i've ever drank. This non-alcoholic drink can best be discribed as a mix between cream soda and butterscotch. They serve it in liqued form or in a frozen version which Kiera and I agree is the best of the two. We loved butterbeer so much that over the course of our trip we probably had 8 mugs full. Its that good and it makes me crave it just writting about it. While waiting in line watch the Hogs Head on the wall as it will move and snort at you.









Theres small performances done every half hour as well by the Hogwarts frog choir and the triwizard tournament prep ralley. If you have time its worth a stop to watch as the performers are pretty good.




Overall we loved the Wizarding World and i'm itching to get back there all ready. I hope the rumors of an expansion are true and hope to get to visit again sooner rather then later. The Wizarding World is perfectly done. Other then the Dragons Challenge problems everything else is perfection. I don't even think Disney could have done a better job. It took us 3 days and we still didn't see all the cleverly hidden details that make the Wizarding World so special. One thing I highly recommend as well is to try and be in the Wizarding World after nightfall as the place really becomes magical seeing the town and more impressivly Hogwarts castle lit up at night. I can Honestly say the Wizarding World is one of the greatest things i've had the privlage of experiance and I have never felt more immeresed in a world then I did there.