Why Can't We Live in Hogsmeade? A Potter Trip Report COMPLETE

[fairyprincess88]

Sadly, I'm home from a wonderful weekend trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Sure, we visited the rest of Universal/IOA but out of two full park days, I'd wager we spent 92% in just the WWoHP. This is my first time ever doing a trip report, but figured I'd give it a shot. We'll see how it goes.

Cast of Characters for this trip(lacking personal pics for privacy sakes).

Me-For this we'll just refer to me as C. I'm a self-confessed and very proud of it Potter Nerd. I'm the kind of Potter nerd who waited in every midnight book release line, has read all 7 more times than can be counted without a calculator and can possibly answer a trivia question faster than JKR herself. I also have a merch collection that is so large it needs it's own display room in my house. Yeah, I'm the Potter version of a Trekie who has had their ears surgically altered to look like a Klingon. Although I don't wear robes in public or carry a wand to AK anyone who ticks me off(I do like this place called reality too).

Fellow Potter Nerd Friend-Who for this we will refer to as K. Also someone who can recite the books from heart, and who could also give a Trekie a run for their nerd money(also a fan of reality as well though). This was her first trip to Hogsmeade, and needless to say, it won't be her last.

Trip- 2/4-2/8 on the Harry Potter Package, offsite at Partner Hotel Holiday Inn and Suites at the Entrance to Universal.

Day 1(2/4/11)-Arrival day. Had an afternoon flight so got to Orlando around 4. No parks this day since they closed at 7. We checked into the Holiday Inn and really, LOVED this hotel. It was clean, the staff was wonderful, and the room was large and beautful. I honestly wished I had one of the shrink rays from Dispiciable Me so I could somehow take the bed home with me in my luggage. It was right across the street from the parks with free shuttle service or a cheap $4 cab ride. At less than half the price of the onsite hotels, plus on the Potter Package so we got early admission, we were more than pleased with our hotel choice.

After checking in, getting situated and all that fun stuff, we headed over to City Walk for K's first trip to Margaritaville. Of course first we had to stop for about 10 minutes while she froze and stared when the first turrent of Hogwarts came into her line of sight. There may or may not have been a happy dance involved, which more or less looked like the pee-pee dance only with accompained pointing and yelling of "HOGWARTS! I SEE HOGWARTS!". Thankfully, all the people walking around with margaritas in their hands, were feeling the buzz too much to pay her any mind. K loved Margaritaville as I had expected, and was full of childlike giddy to get a balloon hat while yelling, "SALT, SALT!" It's the little things in life folks.

After dinner, we did some City Walk wandering, and stopped while K took a picture of every Potter sign she saw. Newbie's what can you do? After a short cab ride back to the hotel, it was time to crash out and get ready for early entry to Potter the next morning.

Next post.....The excitement begins(AKA-two Potter nerds get nerdier).

 

[fairyprincess88]

Day Two- Welcome to Hogsmeade

We woke up at 6, which for us is usually bed time, but we were happy to bolt out of bed and get ready for the rush to the park. I'm kind of bi-polar when it comes to my Hogwarts houses. While I'm far more attached to my Gryffindor side, I also have a strange love for Draco Malfoy. So a choice to be made that morning was which house would I be wearing. To make it easier on myself I just reached into the suitcase blindly and out came the green, so Slytherin it was today. K went with a regular muggle outfit as she, unlike me, does not own a t-shirt collection worthy of opening a merch store(at least at that time, she does now). We decided to save our enegy and took a cab up the street and we were only 15 people back at the turnstyles for early entry.

Once through the gate, the herd started the march back through Suess, Once we reached Green Eggs and Ham, I made the left and K flipped saying, "wrong way, the people are going that way". I replied, "trust me, Young Padwan" and as we came out in front of the crowd that we were behind, she gave me a high five. We came upon the gates of Hogsmeade and K stopped dead and started to cry and while I wanted her to have her moment, I also wanted to avoid a line. I grabbed her arm, said, "Cry on the way" and drug her to:

We were first in line for the second show(we got delayed with K's crying moment). Now I've been to Ollivanders 4 previous times and was picked once, however, that moment was ruined by a surly mother who decided I should be shamed from stealing it from her precious 4 year old. She complained loudly through the whole thing and I only got to do one "wrong spell" due to her upsetting the crowd and the whole thing was shortened. I was ok with it though, as I at least got the chance, no matter how sad it was for me in some ways. I didn't buy the wand that time because it just didn't feel like me or look like me for that matter with it's giant skull.

~End Backstory~.

We head in and the wand keeper was already there standing by the counter, I aim my camera to take pictures when he suddenly stares at me and comes over, "You. You're here for your first wand yes?" Part of me was confounded, I was chosen once before, should I try to push my friend forward instead, but when I look back at K, she is smiling and mouthing, "I'll get it on video. Go!" So the wandkeeper leads me over to the counter, and this time, no one took offense that an adult in a Sytherin shirt was chosen. This experience was so much more magical than the first. I was in tears and not ashamed to admit it. First he had me accio the ladder, but that turned out bad. Then ring the bell, which also turned out bad, then finally, Holly, 7 inches, unicorn hair core and the room glowed and the wind blew and I practically cried like a toddler meeting Mickey Mouse. My wand is beautiful and I bought it proudly. Thank you for the amazing experience Mr. Wandkeeper. I will remember it fondly forever.

After Ollivanders we went over to FJ. K couldn't ride due to a back injury, but she walked through the line with me, taking pictures of everything she could. She had tears in her eyes throughout the whole castle. I really wonder if the creators of this park understand just how many dreams of children who grew up wishing they could step into Hogwarts, they made come true. I still get chills everytime I walk into the gates with those winged boars standly proudly and see this:

After I rode and K shopped in Flich's, we headed over for our breakfast reservation at the Three Broomsticks. Traditional English platters for both, as I grew up in England, and K has adapted my taste for food. I love that you can get real British bacon here. The strange crispy stripped American version of bacon is just something that mind boggles me. I still find it strange they give you a crossant with the English platter though, but the bacon is really what I go for.

Next post-more Potter nerdiness abounds.

 

[Tink2Day]

Keep up the great report!

Even though I was already 'grown' I enjoyed reading the books with the kids, watching the movies and now enjoy it with the grands. (One who looks like Harry and the other who is a DEAD RINGER for Ron (Rupert) Weasley. I mean this red haired boy could have been his double in the first movie, or could be used for a flashback now!)
I felt much the same way as you two did when I saw it for the first time.

p.s. what does a 4 year old really understand about HP and all of the nuances?

 

[carolynob]

we're going to WWOHP next Wednesday. I was interested to know what time you got to the gate and regarding the "Left at Green eggs & ham", I haven't read anything about that. It must obviosly be a shortcut around to HP, but where do you cut over exactly? I can't really tell by looking at the map. My daughter had all the HP books memorized as well as lines from the movies and can't wait to get to Ollivander's. Any tips would be appreciated. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Magpie]

Wonderful report! I got all sniffly reading your Ollivanders' moment - I'm very happy for you!

I know lots of people say Ollivanders isn't that great (and I sure wouldn't want to wait more than 20 minutes in line for it), but I loved it every time I saw it. I don't think I'll get tired of watching him interact with the crowd.

 

[fairyprincess88]

Day 2 Continued:

So after breakfast it was time to take in the sights and sounds of Hogsmeade. In other words, wander around in circles while taking pictures of everything and anything. Since this was K's first trip and I had been there several times before, I got to play tour guide which was fun. I turned on my British accent for cannon sake, hey if you're going to do something, do it up right and exploring we went. K was just mindblown at all the window displays and signs and well, pretty much everything. We walked through the Dragon's Challange line and took pictures of every thing(yes each cheesy Cedric, Potter, Krum ect sign) and our phrase of the day seemed to be, "Go around us, we don't care about the ride". It was kind of funny to see the strange reactions we got to that, but hey, some people want to ride a roller coaster and some want to take the perfect picture of a fake gold egg in a plastic case. To each is own people, don't judge.

After some exploring it was time for K to have the pinnacle of all Hogsmeade experiences:

A frozen for me and a regular for her. At this point, I had yet to try the regular as I got addicted to the frozen at first sip, I do however give the regular a go later in the trip. Now, up until this point K had all the normal Potter nerd reactions to all the offerings of the WWoHP, but with her first sip of Butterbeer declares, "I don't like the foam" say what now? I refrained from reaching across the table to check for a fever, I mean this is crazy talk, had she been hit with a wayward spell at some point that I missed? Thankfully, after about 3 sips later she says, "No wait, the foam is awesome." Turns out she was just thrown off by it at first. Whew, all is well in the world afterall. In fact, she later would complain if her butterbeer didn't have enough foam throughout the rest of our trip.

With butterbeer buzz in full effect we then do some more wandering and meet up with the Hogwarts train conductor. Always a highlight, he had us cracking up. And really, no matter how many times I am blessed to see this sight, it still give me chills each and every time.

Lunch time. I had suggested Mythos but K was deadset against eating anywhere besides the Three Broomsticks so off we went for our second meal of the day there. Two platters of fish and chips and pear cider please. I pointed out the House Elf shadows on the walls to K and thankfully she didn't choke on a chip in her excitement of it. After lunch we walked over to see the Frog Choir. Having K with me to sing along with Something Wicked was awesome. We waited around for the Tri-Wizard dancers and I'm pretty sure K took pictures of every step they took. Afterwards, we stood around watching as they met and took pictures with the crowd. The Hogwarts student with them was hysterical with her commentary. My favorite of which had to be, "All this muggle clothing makes me giggle. Old Navy. That's all it says. Like shouldn't it say Old Navy is my favorite color or something more descriptive?" I love how in character they all are.

Finally it was time to shop. Honeydukes, Zonko's, Dervish and Banges...all saw my credit card many times. K did a little damage herself, but not like me, of course I'm well aware of my sickness and came prepared with enough plastic to put Joan River's face to shame. It was in D&B though that I discovered a new little room they recently added to which was described to me as the "collector's room". Oh no, Houston we have a serious problem. Behind the counter were all kinds of new, shiny and very expensive pieces. A pure silver Goblet of Fire with a real crystal goblet($240), and a 14k gold Time Turner($95), a full collector's set of all the wands from Dumbledore's Army($200), a $400 Hogwarts chess set. The list went on and on and I suddenly turned into one of the seagulls from Finding Nemo, "mine, mine, mine". Those were some smiling witches when they scanned my credit card I can tell you that much.

Finally, I was able to drag K out of the WWoHP, reminding her we would be back tomorrow. She insisted she didn't want to see anything else in the park, but there was no way I was letting a IOA newbie not experience Spider Man. She was thankful I did as she loved it(naturally) and we took a spin on Cat in the Hat and then stopped back into Hogsmeade for a butterbeer for the ride back to the hotel.

Next up-A rainy morning in Universal Studios and more Potter magic.

 

[AJA]

Awesome report! I can't wait to read more.

 

[fairyprincess88]

Day 3-Rainy Sunday

So we woke up to rain, but considering at home it would've been yet another foot of snow, we had no real complaints. Originally we had planned to do early admission to Potter again, but instead decided to sleep in a bit, do the Studios for the first part of the day, then finish the day in Potter.

We made it over to City Walk around 9 and as soon as we stepped out of the covered walkway, it began to downpour. So we did what we thought was the best way to deal with the situation and headed into the Cinnabon for a healthy breakfast of sugar and fat. The rain let up a little but not much while we ate, and after putting on the always flattering ponchos, we headed off towards the Studios. First up was Shrek. It was close, it was raining, and well, who doesn't love a talking Donkey. K thought the whole thing was hysterical which was great considering I had to really push to go to the Studios at all, even though we had P2P passes. All she wanted was more Potter. After Shrek, we came to the Mummy....wait does that say 5 minute wait? Off to the lockers than through an empty line and butts in seats in under 4 minutes. Heck yeah! I love this ride, and so did K, so considering we had 25 minutes free on the locker, off we got and back in line we went. Managed 4 rides before we even got close to the locker time limit. It was awesome.

After the Mummy ride-a-thon of 2011, we came up to Jaws. I was under the impression it would be closed for our trip, but open it was, and since K had never been before, Jaws is a must. Sure, it was cheesy as always, and yes, it's only scary if you're 4, but you just can't help but love it for all it's 80's glory. After Jaws it was onto Men in Black, which I got my highest score yet, which still sucks by most standards but I was happy. Then it was off to Krustyland. By this point, K was starting to whine about not being in Hogsmeade(one track mind that one) so I said, "fine let's head over to IOA." As we are leaving we pass the Monster Make Up Show. This peaked K's interest, and I love that show, and since it was just about to start, in we went. Hilarious as always and K was glad she gave it a shot. After we came out though, K was heading directly for the park exit. Yep, on our way back to Potter.

Next post-6 hours in Hogsmeade? Yep and magic happens again.

 

[LUVIOA]

loving this!

 

[Trowe]

Cant wait to hear about the rest of trip. We leave on March 2! I cant wait. I loked at map on the Universal app and I think I see a path behind green eggs and ham???? then where do you go after you cross the little bridge?

 

[LUVIOA]

Be careful using a shortcut. When we went in the summer we got to the gates before 7:30 and waited in line at the beginning of SuessLand. We were all waiting in a line and when it started moving, we all maintained order and walked in as a line. If you use the shortcut it's fine as long as the line doesn't go past that point. Some kids cut through there and got read the riot act by some people that were waiting. It is like cutting the line.

 

[Trowe]

Thanks for advice! I dont want to be a line cutter! We are staying at Hard Rock and will get to go in an hour earlier so doubtful the lines will be too bad March 2 but ill check it out. I was thinking of saving a few steps instead of getting ahead????? Any other suggestions?

 

[fairyprincess88]

Be careful using a shortcut. When we went in the summer we got to the gates before 7:30 and waited in line at the beginning of SuessLand. We were all waiting in a line and when it started moving, we all maintained order and walked in as a line. If you use the shortcut it's fine as long as the line doesn't go past that point. Some kids cut through there and got read the riot act by some people that were waiting. It is like cutting the line.

I disagree that it is line cutting. If you have knowledge of the park, you have knowledge of the park. Now, there was no line in Suess whenever I've been, just they open the park gates, tickets scanned/finger scan and in you go from there. All the line ups were done outside the park gates where room keys were checked for early entry and the line ups took place at the various turnstyles. Once the gates were opened, it was all up to the fates of the turnstyle gods on how fast you got in (I always seem to get stuck behind the family who's fingers never scan right). Once through the turnstyles, it has always been straight back to Potter in an organized chaotic manner. Meaning, no one was running or shoving, but the fastest got there first.

If you're there at a time when there is no line up, then use the shortcut behind GE&H. It doesn't get you more than a 20 second headway, but it's far less crowded and easier to navigate.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

keep the info coming...great report

 

[twinkleman]

I got a little teary reading about K's reactions. I felt that way too when I saw Hogwarts the first time. My kids think I'm embarrassing.

 

[LUVIOA]

I disagree that it is line cutting. If you have knowledge of the park, you have knowledge of the park. Now, there was no line in Suess whenever I've been, just they open the park gates, tickets scanned/finger scan and in you go from there.

Sure, it's not line cutting if there is no line and people are just funneling in and whoever gets there first gets there first. But when we were there the line went all the way back to the beginning of Suess and stopped. We stood in "line" for over 20 minutes. If you cut through when the line is like that, it's line cutting. This would only be the case when it is super crowded.

 

[fairyprincess88]

Sorry for the delay in updating the TR folks. The people that pay me have demanded a lot of attention since I've gotten back, go figure. So where were we? Oh right, on our way back to the WWoHP.

Day 3 contiued:

After the short walk over from the Studios, we get in line to get into IOA. It is then that we notice at the turnstyle beside us, there is a man and his family arguing with the TM that they should be allowed in the park, even though they each kept getting a "denined" on the finger scan. We reconignized the man as the same one who pushed us physically out of his way to cut ahead of us in line for the Simpsons. Turns out, his family does not have park hoppers so they were not being allowed into IOA, no matter how many times they kept scanning their fingers. Not going to lie, it was kind of fun to hear the TM tell them that could stand there and scan their fingers all day if they wanted, but to get in they'd have to go pay to upgrade their tickets. I had to refrain from pointing at him and saying, "Ha, that's what you get butthead." Petty I know, but I did say I was part Slytherin.

As we are walking back to WWoHP, I comment to K that I need lunch as a Cinnabon can only maintain the sugar high for so long and tried to lead her over to Mythos to see if they had an open table. This did not go well at all as I was immediately reminded that, "The Three Broomsticks serves lunch." Now, I'm British American,and I prefer British food to most American foods but 3 meals of counter service Americanized Brit food is a bit much. I tried to argue that we had already ate 2 meals there. It was then I got shot with a glare that could cause even Voldemort to flinch. That, along with the accompained, "What kind of Potter fan are you?" remark made it quite certain I'd be sitting in the 3B eating my sheppard's pie with a smile on my face regardless of any of my arguements. So off we went to the Three Broomsticks...again. Oh well, at least I got more pear cider.

Following lunch we literally spent hours just wandering around Hogsmeade. I rode FJ a few times(10 minute wait in the regular line-zero wait in single rider) while K went about taking pictures of everything from every angle. We saw the Frog Choir and Tri-wizard dancers again and basically just spent a lot of time bumming around Hogsmeade. It was such a low crowd day that the main street was extremely managable and the only real line to be found was at Ollivanders. The rain had also stopped and the sun peaked out from behind the clouds. It was just a wonderful day to really soak in the ambiance of Hogsmeade.

Once it began to get dark, the crowds thinned even more, and really as beautiful as the WWoHP is during the day, it is even moreso at night. I love watching the lights come on in the castle, one by one, all way up to the highest turrent of the Headmaster's office. We decided to do the castle tour, which was completely empty and spent a good hour photographing every little thing. I even got stand around for a couple run throughs of the Trio's bit in the DADA room and hear my favorite, "they're muggles Ron, not morons" a few times. I love that line.

After we left Hogwarts we see there is just a tiny line for Ollivanders and figured, "Hey why not." We were waiting for the next show when we got into a conversation with the witch working the line. Lovely young lady who kept us well entertained. She taught us how to say, "This is a presentation of magical wands and their properties" in both Spanish and Portuguese and explained that in order to get her job for Ollivanders she had to pass her NEWTS. Never once did she break character and even engaged us in some NEWT level trivia, declaring we must be Squibs to know as much as we do. Wonderful way to pass the brief wait. She also commented on K's shirt that she had bought the day before at Zonkos that was all about Felix Felicis, asking if K had brought any for her. When K declared that sadly she had none even for herself, the witch remarked, "no one ever does. Professor Slughorn only gives out one bottle a term. Sad really." A+ for her character skills. Amazing girl, we made sure to stop by Guest Relations to give her some props.

Once we got into Ollivander's, I moved to the back to allow others upfront as I had already experienced it both as a participate and a spectator. K was standing by the stairs when the Wandkeeper set his eyes on her. Could it be, could it happen? Yes it did. K was chosen to have a wand pick her. She was tears through the entire event and so was I watching her. Here is the real amazing part though. She had already purchased a wand the day before, but it was not her birthday wand as she didn't care for the design of it. The wizard in the Owl Post had her go through a list of special dates until they found one she considered perfect for her. Guess which wand chose her in Ollivanders the next night? Yep, the wand she had spent 20 minutes finding the day before in the Owl Post. So now there was no doubt whatsoever that the wand does indeed choose the wizard, or witch in this case. As we exited Ollivanders into the Owl Post, K was in full on tears mode as she explained it to the wandkeepers assistant. He too never broke character as he explained, "Well of course, your wand will always find you somehow, someway. And now, you know the core." He also gave her a hug and said, "It's such an amazing moment isn't it." One thing I have come to find in my trips to the WWoHP is that staff they have hired is first and foremost fans, and speaking to many of them it is wonderful to see that they truly love what they do and where they do it and openly embrace the feeling of living out their childhood dreams. It part of what makes the place so truly magical.

By time we left the Owl Post, did a bit more shopping, and stopped by for a butterbeer the park was closing. So off we headed for the hotel, with one more day planned in Hogsmeade the next morning. Oh and for those wondering, K's wand is birch, unicorn hair core and beautiful.

Up next-The nerds set loose on Hogsmeade one last time.

 

[Patti B]

Awesome trip report! We don't go until July and I can't wait! My DS is huge Potter fan. He dressed up as a Hogwort's student for Halloween in Griffindor colors of course! I can't wait to experience it with him like you did with K!

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[kittylady1972]

What a great TR. Can't wait to read more. We are doing HP in June and it's so nice to hear what we can look forward to there!

 

[fairyprincess88]

Ok, finally going to finish off this trip report. Thank you President's Day weekend.

Day 4-Goodbye Hogsmeade

As it was our last day in the parks and we didn't have a full day to play with since we were meeting up with some family for dinner at Disney, we decided to do early entry for Potter again. Got to the gates about 7:30 and there were not many people there at all. It was a quick easy walk back to the WWoHP with everyone just wandering along. Relaxing way to start the day. Since we had both already been picked at Ollivanders, we skipped it and headed over to the castle. We took our time wandering the queue again, lettting people pass as we took more pictures and listened to the Founders fight back and forth. Always entertaining. I rode again, K didn't again and we met up down in the gift shop.

Since it was my last day, I had made it known to K that this would be my shopping day. She kind of looked at me like this considering I had already spent over $1k. Like I said, I have a sickness and while I'm sure there is a 12 step program somewhere, I really don't want a cure at this time. So since we were already in Flich's, why not start there. I had already purchased the more expensive collector pieces I wanted so today's shopping spree was more centered on basic things like mugs, t-shirts ect. 20 minutes in and I feel a tap on the shoulder and one of the witches working looked at the massive pile in my arms and says, "Are you purchasing all that?" I shrugged and said, "Yes why?" and she laughed and said, "I can put that behind the counter so you can move your arms if you'd like?" Oh, yes please. Arm movement makes shopping easier. So pile one goes behind the counter and I move on to pile two. By this point K is staring at me like I've lost my last available brain cell. I couldn't understand why exactly considering she has seen my house, did she think the Potter stuff everywhere just magically appeared? Pile two and three is combined with pile number one and $350 later I leave Filch's with my slip to pick up my purchases at the front of the park. Again, I stress I am aware of my Potter spending sickness and I now embrace it. It's just one of those things in life I've had to learn to accept.

After Filch's we wander around and take more pictures, visited Buckbeak and took a ride on a training Hippogryff and then headed over for an early morning butterbeer. I decided it was time for me to take a break from the frozen and at least give the regular bb a try so with a bit of apprehension I hand over my mug at the Hogshead and order a regular butterbeer. Hmmm, not bad at all. I still prefer the frozen but the foam top on the regular is really awesome as it expands more than it does on the frozen version.

After the sugar rush from the butterbeer we head over to D&B to browse the shelves and as I'm scanning through the t-shirts I hear one of the employees say they had just got a shipment of brooms in. K looks at me as my head shoots up in the direction of the counter and before she can utter a single word I am over to the witch who mentioned the brooms and ask if they got a Nimbus 2000 in? I have all the other brooms but the Nimbus I have never been able to find in stock. She says she will go check and goes in the back and K starts trying to intervene. I got the whole "It's over $300, do you really need it...blah blah blah" speech to which I just replied, "Yep I do. Shut up". The witch comes out of the back and what is she carrying? Could it be? Is it? Yes it's a Nimbus 2000 racing broom. Oh be still my beating heart. She brings it over to me and before she even opens her mouth I say, "Yes I'll take it." She just laughs and says, "Yes, I know you and figured as much" and goes to put it behind the counter for me. Her comment surpised me, but it was then I recognized her as the same witch who the day before rang up the Hogwarts chess set for me as well a full collector wand set. We had a long conversation about my collection so at least it was that, and not that I had gained an infamous reputation in the WWoHP. I pay for the broom and take care of the shipping details and K drags me out of the store before I can go back to looking at the shelves. I was begining to feel an intervention coming on.

Next stop was Honeydukes. A lot of the candies and such I collect just for the boxes or as display pieces so I already have the Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts beans and the pumpkin juice bottle ect so this time I actually looked for sweets I'd actually eat. I had never tried anything out of the display case before so K and I got a few things to share including a Culdron Cake, rock cake and a pumpkin tart. I gotta give two to the culdron cake...dear lord those are sinful.

After Honeydukes it was time for one last lunch in the Three Broomsticks and then a bit more wandering and pictures. When it was time to leave, we both kind of stood there by the Hogwarts Express and sighed. It really is hard to leave that place for a couple of nerds like us. We took a few farewell pictures and then forced ourselves toward the park exit. Off to the hotel to pack and then to meet up with family.

It was a wonderful trip, especially doing it with such a good friend and fellow Potter freak. Up until the WWoHP was built I was always more of a WDW girl, although I did enjoy the occassional day trip over to Universal while on the annual Orlando vacation. My previous visits to the WWoHP have all been while in Orlando for Disney. This was my first Universal only trip and it will not be my last(have another one booked for this summer as it is). What Universal has created for the Potter fans is beyond anything we could've ever hoped for and I'm so very grateful for all the hard work and creativity and love they put into the WWoHP. I honestly don't think any other company could've done it the justice that Universal has. No matter how many times I visit, it never stops being just as amazing as it was the first time I saw it.

It was an amazing trip and I truly can't wait to do it again.

I'll post some pictures once I get them all uploaded to photobucket as I took...well....a lot!