Gettin Back to Hogwarts! A May 2011 TR

[katt789]

It may have been a long time since our trip over to magical lands, but I figured that I would post in this board the day that we ventured off Disney property to visit the friendly Wizarding World & meander through Universals Islands Of Adventure.

Our trip took place on Friday May 6th/2011. We had been staying on site at Disney, so we got up nice & early around 7, ate a quick small snack in the hotel room & then grabbed a cab over to Universal.

I had heard lots of things about the WWOHP being suuuuper crowded right from the start & all through the day, so I planned to get there before 9 am & be among the first in line to get in on the action. However....

there had been an early 8am opening....that ended up not affecting us at all!!

So, with nothing holding us back, we ventured on into Hogsmeade and began the adventure.

Now, being the planner that I am, I knew we had to hit up the Forbidden Journey first, but along the way, we made sure to stop & check out all the sights & take some pictures.

Wow, let me tell you, wow. I'm a HUUUUUGGGEEEE Harry Potter fan, books, movies, merchandise, everything, its amazing. And so is this park, you feel like you're in a completely different world, you feel like you are actually walking through the streets of Hogsmeade & up to Hogwarts.

The pics are a liiiiittle out of order, but you still get the gist of where we were going and what's happening haha.

The Forbidden Journey was one of the TOP highlights of my trip to Orlando, if not THE best thing of the trip. So, if you are planning on visiting, it's a MUST DO. Absolutely amazing ride, I've been told it's much like Soarin over at Epcot (though I managed to miss that one) combined with other aspects.

I'll try not to give too much away, but basically, Hermione casts a charm that makes you able to fly after them, and you follow the trio through their adventures through the various books/movies. There's some "screen" stuff you fly after, and some animatronic things that jump out at you. Absolutely amazing.
Nick however, did have some motion sickness afterwards, so, if you're of the tender stomachs, you may want to be careful.

 

[Fantasmic23]

I'm in! I am loving your Trip Report and the pictures, too!

 

[katt789]

We finished up at the Forbidden Journey, collected our things from the lockers, and moved on to the Flight of the Hippogriff. I walked through the cue for this one, and opted not to go on. I'm really not one for coasters, even though this one's relatively tame

We stopped into the Hogs Head to grab some breakfast food & decided to check everything out (like the various drinks they have)

I can't remember the name of the breakfast plate I got, but with all fruit & some breads, it was def the way to go for me! I got pumpkin juice to drink, a little too sweet for my taste, but still good!

Nick got the traditional platter, eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, etc. Victoria used the time while we ate to show off some of the things she had bought.

After we finished our breakfasts, the group of 4 of us split up, Victoria & Emily wanted to take on the Dragon Challenge. With Nick still not feeling 100% thanks to the Forbidden Journey, and myself not being the coaster type, we opted out, deciding to shop while they braved the dragons.

Chocolate frogs!! After it was all over, I was sad I hadn't bought any of these, but while we were there, I just couldn't justify spending $10.00 on a chocolate. I dunno.

The shops were pretty good, I don't think they had too much that you can't get at the airport store, or online, but while you're they're its pretty awesome. All of the shops that are on the same side of the street are all connected, which was nice, easy-ish to get through. I kept looking at things in Honeydukes, and couldn't find prices on most things, which, I think, caused me to not buy anything, rather than if I had known how much things were.

I got
-2 wands (Voldemorts for my cousin, and Snape's for myself)
$30.00 each
-A Snitch for my mom,
Not sure how much it was, I think around $25.00. It did dissappoint me that it was made of plastic, but thats still alllll good.
-A keychain for a friend, around $5.00
-A set of plastic cups, 1 for each House.

It is really cool to shop in the shops, and be completely immersed into such a world that previously you could only imagine. I really, really, did love it!!

 

[katt789]

Nick & I wandered a bit more as we had lost Victoria & Emily in the mess of people as the crowds picked up (around 11am at this point)

We grabbed some butterbeer, 1 frozen and 1 normal, to try them both. Both were really good, I *think* it was the frozen one I liked better, but I could be wrong.

After FINALLY finding our friends, we decided we were done with the magic, and headed out to our next destination, which the other 3 had been so incredibly excited to ride since they discovered it was in the same park.

I, once again, decided to be the "bag holder" for this ride, hey, someone needed to, right?!

Emily before:

aaaannnd after:

Here's why:

At this point, it started to rain pretty bad, and as we had finished everything we wanted to do in the Islands of Adventure, we began the wet walk back to the entrance to grab a cab back to Disney property.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip, and we all had an awesome time!!

Things I would keep in mind:

-Get there early! (As can be said with any park), and be prepared for not a lot of space in the tiny shops.

-Definitely take a ride on the Forbidden Journey (I wish we had gone more than once)

-Take a lot of time to explore the shops & intricate details from the books/movies that they've put into the park.

I am hoping that they will add more into the park as the time goes on, and some more ideas come to the people in charge. I would love to see a coaster of Gringotts (especially after seeing the last move in 3d) and just some more expansions. So hopefully, in the next 10 years we can see some more stuff to make the adventures even more awesome!!

 

[Fantasmic23]

That was great!!

I believe you ordered The Continental Breakfast at Three Broomsticks. I usually get The American Breakfast, but I might have to try something new the next time around.

Like you, I am wishing I had splurged and bought a Chocolate Frog. I couldn't justify the $10.00 price tag, either (But spent $14.00 or so on a plastic Goblet of Fire, go figure). I love that you selected Snape's wand.

I'm not one for coasters either, but The Flight of the Hippogriff lasts all of thirty seconds. Seriously. I am a BIG Ride Baby and spent weeks before our first trip researching this ride for any dreaded drops.

Thanks for a great report!

 

[natebenma]

Really great report and FANTASTIC pictures!!!

You got some super shots of the shop windows. None of mine came out very well, too much glare in the July sun.

I'm one of the suckers who purchased a chocolate frog. It IS a lot of chocolate, a really big solid frog (not $10 worth, mind you, my cheapskate heart stopped for a few seconds as I made the purchase).

But as Ron says "It's the card you want". We got Helga Hufflepuff- probably the one we wanted the least.

 

[Metro West]

Great report! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Glendamax]

Loved your report! Thanks for all of your tips.

Like you, there were things I passed up on because of the prices. I wanted a wand, but couldn't see spending $30 on a piece of plastic. And I don't regret it. The chocolate frogs are waaaaay too high. They should be about $2!

Glad you had a good time! I'm sooo looking forward to going a week from today! WOO HOO!

 

[katt789]

A week from today?! Us too!! (though we're not going to Universal this time)
I'm glad everyone enjoyed the trip report!!