Islands of Adventure
Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Part 2
Please note that I am not going to post pictures from the inside of the buildings/shops...some things are better left to experiencing for your self!
When you emerge from theTriwizard Challenge/Dueling Dragons ride you are thrust right into the middle of
Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Let me warn you the shops are SMALL...just the way that JK wanted them, so be prepared to wait in line just to get into the shops (or best bet wait until almost closing time).
Important Touring Tip: Make sure you take time exploring each shop window in Hogsmeade. Each window are contain detailed dressings and animated illustions. There are hidden touches in each one of them. Spend some time looking at them...they are amazing!
First on the left hand side is
Zonko's Joke Shop & Honeydukes Sweet Shop
Zonko's Joke Shop was a favourite place for Hogwart's students to shop on trips into Hogsmeade as it carried "jokes and tricks to fulfill even to please the Weasley boy's...and this place at IOA does not disappoint...but don't expect to find Toys R Us toys or or souivner type items. Everything sold in Zonko's has been designed and packaged to look like it would have been something Hogwart students would have bought.
Honeydukes is one of the famous attractions in Hogsmeade. It is a sweet shop famous for its chocolate and many wonderfully wild sweets. It also houses the entrance to a secret passageway to Hogwarts, I wonder if this has been built into the store at IOA? Last year I brought home the kids chocolate wands, chocolate frogs and the ever famous Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans...yep, the are as gross as experienced in the Harry Potter books/movies. I am really looking forward to getting a chocolate caldron, maybe a pumpkin pasty and tenacle treat...I found on another thread that they make all these things...how did I miss this stuff?
Continuing on the left side (assuming you enter from Lost Continent)...
Three Broomsticks...this is the place where Harry and classmates unwind after a hard day of wizarding. A bit of trivia for this structure is that the restaurant at IOA actually insprired the look of the film set, and not the other way around. Watch the walls and rafters...from time to time you will see shadows of house elves and owls busy at work while you dine. Here you can grab a bite to eat...a restaurant somewhere between a counter service and a sit down meal. The menu has both British style food as well as American favorites. If the weather allows, there is additional seating outside on the back patio...with awesome views of Hogwarts!
Adjoining Three Broomsticks is
Hog's Head Pub. If the butterbeer cart is too busy, head inside and get a frozen butterbeer (and if you must a real beer). You can also get pumpkin juice on tap. If you want to see the pubs namesake in action behind the bar slip the barkeep a tip!
Butterbeer cart...IOA has brought to life 2 beverages that have had readers wondering for years what they actually taste like. Again, JK had her hand in designing butterbeer and pumpkin juice...and once again she does not disappoint. It is everybit as good as I ever dreamed of and then some. You can get it two ways...cold or frozen. I like them both and plan on drinking my share once again. Just beyond the butterbeer cart, is another cart with pumpkin juice...think apple juice with pumpkin pie spices. My advice if you must try, split a bottle with several people...way too sweet! But just don't ask to share my butterbeer!
Bathrooms...yes I want you to check out the bathrooms just next to the pub or directly across from Olivander's...listen for moaning Myrtle sighing and weeping....even in the men's room.
On the righthand side right after the entrance to Dueling Dragons you will find
Diagon Alley and a back entrance into
Dervish and Banges which specializes in Hogwart's
school supplies (uniforms, robes, brooms). I really never got to go in and look around...too crowded!
Before you enter Diagon Alley...you will come across the
Owlery, which is a great place to seek refuge from the sun. It is a shaded area beneath the clock tower. Look up into the rafter and see the owls! There is also a cart that leads to the side entrance of Dervish and Banges. This cart is where you can get the famous Hogwart's postcards, stamps, and postmark to send home to HP fans!
After Dervish and Banges is the
Owl Post, which is also the exit from Olivander's. Here you can purchase your wands and get postcards/stamps/postmarks. Make sure you take a look in the window and find the Howler!
After the Owl Post is
Olivanders. Yes, I know that D iagon Alley and Olivanders are not part ot Hogsmeade...but so needed to complete the experience of HP!
Olivander's is a small scale show that lasts about 5 minutes where someone out of the audience is choosen for a wand picking, much like what happens in the books. There are lots of theories of how to get picked to be the choosen one, I am just going to up our odds by trying going each morning first thing to the show. JK would not allow for any named characters to be actualy characters roaming around WWofHP so the person just plays the part of an employee of Olivanders, and not Olivander himself. The lines to the show are as long, if not longer for the ride attractions. Be warned!