Michael and I traveled to Universal Orlando and visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I must say, of all amusement parks we've visited, this was by far the coolest I've ever seen. We had to arrive at the park at 7am to see it, but it was well worth getting up early.
When you enter the gates, it seriously feels like you have jumped the pond to England. The snow covered roofs of Hogsmeade add to the illusion of another time and place.
Turn the corner, and rising above you is Hogwarts. It is truly a magnificent building. The park developers did an amazing job recreating the castle. It towers over you and is really as big as it looks in the picture.
After some time of ohhing and ahhing, we made our way to around the castle to board the ride we got up at 5:45am for.....Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The line was pretty long but very fast moving. Once inside the castle, you encounter several surprises. I don't want to give details but all were pretty cool. The creators wanted to make you feel like you were in the movie and it is obvious that lots of thought was put into it. As for the ride, it was THE.BEST.RIDE.EVER! Technology is a beautiful thing sometimes!! Again, I don't want to give anything away but you will seriously want to purchase your very own broomstick!
After exiting Hogwarts, we headed to the Dueling Dragon coaster. Here again, line was a little long but fast moving. (Michael informed me that this ride was here prior to Harry Potter but they changed it to go along with the theme). This is a roller coaster ride that you sit down and let you feet dangle. Somehow I managed to get the end seat and thought for sure I was going to be slung right out of my seat but managed to hang on. It was a really great ride as well. I'm pretty sure I screamed the entire time!
A few pictures, pumpkin juice and a churro later, we were ready to head out and venture on. I did swing by the ladies restroom and Myrtle, the ghost, was there to greet me. Nothing was overlooked when creating this area of the park. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was pretty awesome!! Although we didn't get a chance to try Butterbeer (although I'm thinking we might go back tomorrow so I can) or purchase a magic wand, I did manage to get a chocolate frog as a memento. All in all, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is fantastic!!
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