The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!
Guess where I went last Monday? My best friend Elizabeth and I flew to Orlando, Florida, and went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!! Yes, we did, we did!! We totally wore our Gryffindor ties and everything (in the 90 degree heat, no less). Mr Brat was nice enough to keep Baby Brat for me, so it was geeks girls only. We flew down Sunday, went to the park Monday, and flew back Tuesday. I wish all my fellow HP fan LJ buddies could have been there, too. I know you would have loved it. :)
Want to hear all about it? Okay, needless to say, SPOILERS AHEAD. Also, lots and lots of pictures. :D
(ETA: I've posted this entry a second time here because LJ messed up my date of posting, grrr.)
As we walked toward the park, there was a security checkpoint where they peeked into our purses to make sure we had no weapons. Our security officer was a skinny old dude with white hair who, when he saw our Gryffindor ties, raised his fist and shouted, "GO, SLYTHERIN!" He then expounded on why it's silly to be a goody-two-shoes, that the bad guys have all the fun. "Look at Las Vegas, for crying out loud." LOL.
Here's the entry and some exterior shots. It was hot as blue blazes when we were there, but don't the rooftops look magical? The sign says, "Please respect the spell limits" (you can click on all these images once or twice to see a larger version).
The Hogwarts Express. It doesn't go anywhere, but isn't it cool? :)
On the left is Honeydukes, and on the right is the Owlery. In the center is a butterbeer cart. ;)
The Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head were actually in the same building. Here are some shots of the Three Broomsticks. The sign says, "The Three Broomsticks - Fine Eating Establishment."
I love the way all the corridors and stairways overhead were asymmetrical. You can see a house elf's cleaning cart here.
Another shot of the house elf's cart.
I love this winding staircase. A cool thing that I was unable to capture was that occasionally a light would illuminate one of the walls and you'd see the moving shadow of a house elf cleaning, or an owl delivering a piece of mail. :D
I loved this sign in the Three Broomsticks! There was another sign (not photographed) which stated yesterday's specials, lol.
Here's a place to park your broomstick when you're coming in for a pint of butterbeer. It's one of the hallways that connects the Three Broomsticks (on the left) and the Hog's Head (to the right, which you can't see in this photo).
The Hog's Head. I was hoping it would be its own establishment with a rougher, tougher, snarkier staff, but oh, well; I guess they have to cater to the kids (though they DO serve beer). It was actually just a bar, and was connected to the Three Broomsticks. There was no Aberforth, and there were no goats (or goat smells). :( But we could hear "dishes" being thrown around and dropped "upstairs." A sign on the wall leading "upstairs" said "Guests of the inn only."
You can see the Three Broomsticks again through the open fireplace.
The hog's head on the wall would move and snort every once in a while! His blue eyes were actually pretty creepy. And the plaque on the wall next to the shrunken heads says that management is not responsible for your losing your head. ;) Note the doxy eggs in the bottle above. The attention to detail was pretty amazing.
For those of us who have written fanfic in which this stuff features prominently ;), here are photos of firewhiskey (lower left). Unfortunately, they don't/can't actually serve the stuff. Stupid fire code.
Yummy butterbeer is yummy. There's a creamy topping that is oh-so-buttery; the drink itself tastes like a cream soda. We kept our commemorative mugs.
Here's a photo of the Hog's Head beer, which was actually pretty tasty! We kept these mugs, too.
Past the Hog's Head were the "public conveniences." They didn't have a lot of ambience inside, but they did have Moaning Myrtle's voice piped through the speakers. You will forgive me for not taking a photo inside the bathroom. :)
Just past Zonko's (the red storefront) you can see Honeyduke's (in pink). Like the Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head, Zonko's and Honeyduke's are actually connected inside. Here are some photos of Zonko's Joke Shop.
"Please do not walk on the walls."
I was very tempted to buy some U-No-Poo. ;)
Extendable Ears, which they had hanging from the ceiling (forgot to photograph those).
I really wanted to buy this t-shirt because I thought it was really cute. The cheapest shirts are $22, even kids' sizes. I did cave and buy myself a Cornish pixies shirt, which you will see later. :)
On to Honeyduke's!
We ran out of time and didn't even get to taste any pumpkin juice!!! :( But here's a photo, anyhow.
I always wondered what Cauldron Cakes look like.
Here's Ollivander's, which was connected inside to the Owl Post's interior. We didn't stand in line for the show because the line was always too long, and as I mentioned it was 90 degrees outside. Apparently they have a show where one child is singled out and the wand "chooses" that child. Sounds fun!
The owlery outside, with animatronic owls. Note the owl dung, lol. The overhead fans were much appreciated.
I loved the clock innards (you can see the clock face in one of the exterior shots at the beginning of this post).
More animatronic owls (and dung) inside the Owl Post. There were lots of "birthday wands" for sale, along with the wands of all the characters ($29 each). And of course you could buy Hogwarts stationery.
We somehow missed the Toad Choir performance. :( But here are the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students about to perform. The girl in Gryffindor robes introduced them, citing a spirit of magical camaraderie and cooperation as the reason for holding the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Then the guys did martial arts, jumps and somersaults, and quarterstaff fighting, followed by the girls doing their wand and ribbon dance. It was cute to watch the Durmstrang boys watching the French girls dance; the guys were all pretending they didn't want to be interested in them, but they totally were. ;)
There was, of course, lots of cool merchandise. I really wanted this Marauder's Map, but it was $50. (I found out later you can get it in the Noble Collection for $35 - which is still a lot, but better than $50). They had one of the maps on display under glass, and they projected some little footprints and name labels floating around, which was a very cool effect.
These are all fake storefronts. Love the formal wizards' robes at Gladrags.
Scrivenshaft's had a quill that was "writing" in the left window (you cannot see in this photo).
Wiseacres Wizarding Supplies and Potages Cauldrons.
Hogwarts! Here is proof that we did indeed wear our Gryffindor ties. That's me on the right; my friend Elizabeth is on the left. We saw a couple of teenage girls with eyeliner drawn into lightening bolt scars on their foreheads, and a couple of girls in their twenties wearing grey school uniform skirts and school ties, but that was it; everyone else wore shorts and t-shirts. If there was a geek contest, I guess we would've won first or second prize. ;)
Here we are in front of Hogwarts (I'm on the left). Plz to be ignoring the thumb of the nice lady who took our picture.
As you can see, the wait time for this ride was 60 minutes. Part of the time is near the greenhouses, and part of it is through Hogwarts itself.
Before we actually entered Hogwarts, we had to put loose items into a locker (so they don't fall out on the ride). I wish I'd kept my camera, because I could have taken photos inside Hogwarts and then just stuffed the camera into my pocket for the ride, which was called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. (FYI, I didn't ride the other two roller coasters - Flight of the HIppogriff, and the Dragon Challenge. My friend has motion sickness, and I'd heard the other two rides weren't as great as the Hogwarts one. I think you can see these rides on YouTube.)
The inside of Hogwarts was VERY COOL. The portraits of the founding wizards/witches talked to each other. We went into Dumbledore's office, where he stood on a balcony and talked about doing what is right versus what is easy. Then we went into the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom, where Harry, Hermione, and Ron told us they'd sneak us out for some Quidditch. All the images of the characters were filmed and shown on a scrim with real objects behind them in the background, so the effect was quite 3-D and realistic. I was impressed! Oh, I forgot to mention that Ron made it snow in DADA class, and my friend caught some and said it was cold! (Must have been shaved ice. Or magic. ;))
The ride itself was great fun. There were huge screens that made you feel as though you were flying over the Quidditch pitch, or over the towers of Howarts, and there were animatronic creatures, too. We went into the Forbidden Forest and got terrorized by acromantulas and dementors, and a dragon chased us into a tower, and we landed in the Whomping Willow at one point. I don't want to give too much away, but I will tell you I screamed and laughed like a little girl! It was quite awesome. :D
Here's all the stuff I bought. That's me in our kitchen at home holding a puppet of Norbert hatching out of an egg, which I bought for Baby Brat. He absolutely LOVES this puppet. :)
I bought myself a Marauder's Map mug. It doesn't do anything cool when hot coffee is added, though I've seen some mugs online that show footprints or say "Mischief managed" when hot liquid is poured in.
My Cornish pixies shirt. :)
Baby Brat's Marauder's Map shirt. It's too big for him right now, but it'll fit him before I know it.
Here's a slinky that I bought Baby Brat from Zonko's.
I didn't get anything for Mr Brat because he is definitely not a fan of Harry Potter. But he tolerates my fangirlishness quite well. ;)
And FYT, some cuteness. Can you believe Baby Brat is 20 months old now?? (That's Mr Brat next to Baby Brat.) This was the first time ever that I've been away from my son overnight (TWO nights, no less!), and I won't lie - it was a little tough at first. But Mr Brat had some vacation, so there was good Daddy time while Mommy was gone. :)
If all these photos were not enough, you can go to my public Photobucket page and see a few short videos of the theme park that I posted, along with these photos. I hope this was enjoyable and made you feel as though you were there. I wish I could have taken all of you with me!! We would've had a blast. :D
Want to hear all about it? Okay, needless to say, SPOILERS AHEAD. Also, lots and lots of pictures. :D
(ETA: I've posted this entry a second time here because LJ messed up my date of posting, grrr.)
As we walked toward the park, there was a security checkpoint where they peeked into our purses to make sure we had no weapons. Our security officer was a skinny old dude with white hair who, when he saw our Gryffindor ties, raised his fist and shouted, "GO, SLYTHERIN!" He then expounded on why it's silly to be a goody-two-shoes, that the bad guys have all the fun. "Look at Las Vegas, for crying out loud." LOL.
Here's the entry and some exterior shots. It was hot as blue blazes when we were there, but don't the rooftops look magical? The sign says, "Please respect the spell limits" (you can click on all these images once or twice to see a larger version).
The Hogwarts Express. It doesn't go anywhere, but isn't it cool? :)
On the left is Honeydukes, and on the right is the Owlery. In the center is a butterbeer cart. ;)
The Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head were actually in the same building. Here are some shots of the Three Broomsticks. The sign says, "The Three Broomsticks - Fine Eating Establishment."
I love the way all the corridors and stairways overhead were asymmetrical. You can see a house elf's cleaning cart here.
Another shot of the house elf's cart.
I love this winding staircase. A cool thing that I was unable to capture was that occasionally a light would illuminate one of the walls and you'd see the moving shadow of a house elf cleaning, or an owl delivering a piece of mail. :D
I loved this sign in the Three Broomsticks! There was another sign (not photographed) which stated yesterday's specials, lol.
Here's a place to park your broomstick when you're coming in for a pint of butterbeer. It's one of the hallways that connects the Three Broomsticks (on the left) and the Hog's Head (to the right, which you can't see in this photo).
The Hog's Head. I was hoping it would be its own establishment with a rougher, tougher, snarkier staff, but oh, well; I guess they have to cater to the kids (though they DO serve beer). It was actually just a bar, and was connected to the Three Broomsticks. There was no Aberforth, and there were no goats (or goat smells). :( But we could hear "dishes" being thrown around and dropped "upstairs." A sign on the wall leading "upstairs" said "Guests of the inn only."
You can see the Three Broomsticks again through the open fireplace.
The hog's head on the wall would move and snort every once in a while! His blue eyes were actually pretty creepy. And the plaque on the wall next to the shrunken heads says that management is not responsible for your losing your head. ;) Note the doxy eggs in the bottle above. The attention to detail was pretty amazing.
For those of us who have written fanfic in which this stuff features prominently ;), here are photos of firewhiskey (lower left). Unfortunately, they don't/can't actually serve the stuff. Stupid fire code.
Yummy butterbeer is yummy. There's a creamy topping that is oh-so-buttery; the drink itself tastes like a cream soda. We kept our commemorative mugs.
Here's a photo of the Hog's Head beer, which was actually pretty tasty! We kept these mugs, too.
Past the Hog's Head were the "public conveniences." They didn't have a lot of ambience inside, but they did have Moaning Myrtle's voice piped through the speakers. You will forgive me for not taking a photo inside the bathroom. :)
Just past Zonko's (the red storefront) you can see Honeyduke's (in pink). Like the Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head, Zonko's and Honeyduke's are actually connected inside. Here are some photos of Zonko's Joke Shop.
"Please do not walk on the walls."
I was very tempted to buy some U-No-Poo. ;)
Extendable Ears, which they had hanging from the ceiling (forgot to photograph those).
I really wanted to buy this t-shirt because I thought it was really cute. The cheapest shirts are $22, even kids' sizes. I did cave and buy myself a Cornish pixies shirt, which you will see later. :)
On to Honeyduke's!
We ran out of time and didn't even get to taste any pumpkin juice!!! :( But here's a photo, anyhow.
I always wondered what Cauldron Cakes look like.
Here's Ollivander's, which was connected inside to the Owl Post's interior. We didn't stand in line for the show because the line was always too long, and as I mentioned it was 90 degrees outside. Apparently they have a show where one child is singled out and the wand "chooses" that child. Sounds fun!
The owlery outside, with animatronic owls. Note the owl dung, lol. The overhead fans were much appreciated.
I loved the clock innards (you can see the clock face in one of the exterior shots at the beginning of this post).
More animatronic owls (and dung) inside the Owl Post. There were lots of "birthday wands" for sale, along with the wands of all the characters ($29 each). And of course you could buy Hogwarts stationery.
We somehow missed the Toad Choir performance. :( But here are the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students about to perform. The girl in Gryffindor robes introduced them, citing a spirit of magical camaraderie and cooperation as the reason for holding the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Then the guys did martial arts, jumps and somersaults, and quarterstaff fighting, followed by the girls doing their wand and ribbon dance. It was cute to watch the Durmstrang boys watching the French girls dance; the guys were all pretending they didn't want to be interested in them, but they totally were. ;)
There was, of course, lots of cool merchandise. I really wanted this Marauder's Map, but it was $50. (I found out later you can get it in the Noble Collection for $35 - which is still a lot, but better than $50). They had one of the maps on display under glass, and they projected some little footprints and name labels floating around, which was a very cool effect.
These are all fake storefronts. Love the formal wizards' robes at Gladrags.
Scrivenshaft's had a quill that was "writing" in the left window (you cannot see in this photo).
Wiseacres Wizarding Supplies and Potages Cauldrons.
Hogwarts! Here is proof that we did indeed wear our Gryffindor ties. That's me on the right; my friend Elizabeth is on the left. We saw a couple of teenage girls with eyeliner drawn into lightening bolt scars on their foreheads, and a couple of girls in their twenties wearing grey school uniform skirts and school ties, but that was it; everyone else wore shorts and t-shirts. If there was a geek contest, I guess we would've won first or second prize. ;)
Here we are in front of Hogwarts (I'm on the left). Plz to be ignoring the thumb of the nice lady who took our picture.
As you can see, the wait time for this ride was 60 minutes. Part of the time is near the greenhouses, and part of it is through Hogwarts itself.
Before we actually entered Hogwarts, we had to put loose items into a locker (so they don't fall out on the ride). I wish I'd kept my camera, because I could have taken photos inside Hogwarts and then just stuffed the camera into my pocket for the ride, which was called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. (FYI, I didn't ride the other two roller coasters - Flight of the HIppogriff, and the Dragon Challenge. My friend has motion sickness, and I'd heard the other two rides weren't as great as the Hogwarts one. I think you can see these rides on YouTube.)
The inside of Hogwarts was VERY COOL. The portraits of the founding wizards/witches talked to each other. We went into Dumbledore's office, where he stood on a balcony and talked about doing what is right versus what is easy. Then we went into the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom, where Harry, Hermione, and Ron told us they'd sneak us out for some Quidditch. All the images of the characters were filmed and shown on a scrim with real objects behind them in the background, so the effect was quite 3-D and realistic. I was impressed! Oh, I forgot to mention that Ron made it snow in DADA class, and my friend caught some and said it was cold! (Must have been shaved ice. Or magic. ;))
The ride itself was great fun. There were huge screens that made you feel as though you were flying over the Quidditch pitch, or over the towers of Howarts, and there were animatronic creatures, too. We went into the Forbidden Forest and got terrorized by acromantulas and dementors, and a dragon chased us into a tower, and we landed in the Whomping Willow at one point. I don't want to give too much away, but I will tell you I screamed and laughed like a little girl! It was quite awesome. :D
Here's all the stuff I bought. That's me in our kitchen at home holding a puppet of Norbert hatching out of an egg, which I bought for Baby Brat. He absolutely LOVES this puppet. :)
I bought myself a Marauder's Map mug. It doesn't do anything cool when hot coffee is added, though I've seen some mugs online that show footprints or say "Mischief managed" when hot liquid is poured in.
My Cornish pixies shirt. :)
Baby Brat's Marauder's Map shirt. It's too big for him right now, but it'll fit him before I know it.
Here's a slinky that I bought Baby Brat from Zonko's.
I didn't get anything for Mr Brat because he is definitely not a fan of Harry Potter. But he tolerates my fangirlishness quite well. ;)
And FYT, some cuteness. Can you believe Baby Brat is 20 months old now?? (That's Mr Brat next to Baby Brat.) This was the first time ever that I've been away from my son overnight (TWO nights, no less!), and I won't lie - it was a little tough at first. But Mr Brat had some vacation, so there was good Daddy time while Mommy was gone. :)
If all these photos were not enough, you can go to my public Photobucket page and see a few short videos of the theme park that I posted, along with these photos. I hope this was enjoyable and made you feel as though you were there. I wish I could have taken all of you with me!! We would've had a blast. :D