ruthies12
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2011
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This is my idea of a perfect day in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal. After several trips I've learned it is impossible to take in all the details at once, there are just too many. I hope others will post in this thread with details they have noticed and suggestions or ideas for things to do in the Wizarding World.
One other piece of advice, that is not in the list below, is to wear Hogwart's robes of your house colors if you can. The Team Members at Universal are themselves a wonderful detail and part of the Wizarding World and the interactions with them can be extremely fun when you are wearing a robe, whether you are an adult or a child.
A Perfect Day in the Wizarding World
Start by being at the gates to the park at least a half hour before opening, they frequently allow regular day guests in early.
Start on the Universal Studios side.
Proceed directly to Diagon Alley and enter through the brick wall. Walk in through the wall slowly and listen carefully as you do.
Go straight to Escape from Gringott’s and ride it.
When you exit the ride, go into the Gringott’s Money Exchange next door. Converse with the goblin working there while you exchange some muggle money for wizard money.
Go to Olivander’s, watch the wand choosing ceremony, then purchase an interactive wand, use your wizard money to pay for it.
Go to the Leaky Cauldron and eat breakfast (get there before they stop serving breakfast at 1030)
- Try an Otter’s Fizzy Orange Juice, a Tongue Tying Lemon Squash, or Pumpkin Juice with breakfast
Walk around Diagon Alley casting spells, looking through the shops, and reading all the advertisements on the walls. Be sure to look up at the ceilings and walls inside the shops, there are a lot of details there.
Special Effects list:
- Go in Madame Malkins and stand in front of the mirror
- Knock on the door of the Daily Prophet and listen
- Stand on the corner between the restrooms and Gringott’s and listen for the wizarding wireless network
- Go in Borgin and Burkes and stand in front of the vanishing cabinet and listen
- While in Borgin and Burkes, look for Mad-Eye Moody’s chest by the side door and watch it, also look for the Hand of Glory in the corner cabinet and walk very closely to the front of the cabinet (the hand is motion sensored)
- Open your wand map while in Knockturn Alley under the black lights
- In Knockturn Alley look for the wrought iron gate blocking the steps and watch the wanted poster on the wall of Fenrir Greyback and listen closely
- Stand under the sign for the Leaky Cauldron, it actually leaks and drips water
Be sure to hit all the spell spots that are listed on the map, there are two that are not listed that are “secret” spell spots- look for the piece of blank parchment paper in the window of Scribbulus’s Writing Shop (window right next to Pram Parking) and wave your wand at it (several different messages appear) and look for the brown barrel in the window of the Slug & Jigger’s Apothecary’s shop and wave your wand at it (the brown stuff on top will rise up).
Go into Shutterbutton’s and do the acting in front of the green screens, then purchase the DVD.
Have someone take your picture sitting on Hagrid’s flying motorbike with the sidecar next to Gringott’s.
Stop at Eternelle’s Elixirs and pick up some potions to take home (you can skip the “gillywater”, it is just overpriced bottled water with a label, it is cheaper to take the potions home and mix them with regular water)(these are under 3 ounces and I have personally taken them in carry-on on a plane but your results may vary with TSA allowing them).
Stop by the Hopping Pot OR the Fountain of Faire Fortune and get a Fishy Green Ale (just get one and ask for more straws if you have more than one person, it is not to everyone's taste). The over-21’s can also try a firewhiskey.
Try to catch some of the shows on the stage next to the Hopping Pot- Celestina Warbeck and the Tales of Beedle the Bard are both very good.
Exit Diagon Alley to the London Waterfront.
In the London Waterfront:
-Stand in front of number twelve Grimmauld Place and look at the second story windows for several minutes.
-Go in the phone booth and dial the number to the Ministry visitor’s entrance (it’s written on the phone).
- Go into the back of the Knight bus and look inside. If a conductor is out front, talk and take pictures with him and the talking head.
Enter the train station and ride the Hogwart’s Express to Hogesmeade. When you see the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10, be sure to stand back behind the glass and watch as people walk through, it is an optical illusion that can only be seen from behind the glass partition between the suitcases.
Enter Hogwart’s and ride Forbidden Journey. If you have express passes, use the regular line at least once to see all the details.
Ride Flight of the Hippogriff and look for Hagrid’s hut.
Go in the Owl Post and mail a letter to yourself, it is a working post office with a special Hogsmeade postmark. You can buy stamps and paper at the shop or bring your own.
Go in Dervish and Banges and look for the monster book. Stand out front of the store and listen to all the different howler messages in the outside window.
Go in the bathroom in Hogsmeade and listen for a familiar voice.
Do all the spell spots in Hogsmeade.
Eat a late lunch/early dinner in the Three Broomsticks.
Go in the Hog’s Head and get Butterbeer (for real beer – they have dragonscale and wizard’s brew and also a quite delicious Hog's Head Brew), then go outside and up the street towards Hogwart's castle to the stage and listen to the frog choir or the Triwizard spirit rally.
Go in Honeydukes and get some sweets to take home (in the bakery case in the store they have cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties). Most of the sweets are themed from the books and movies like chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans.
Ride the Hogwart’s Express back to Diagon Alley (the ride is different each way).
Go to Florean Fortescue’s for an ice cream to finish off the night.
Be sure to stay in Diagon Alley (or Hogsmeade) until after closing, the rides and shops close but you can still walk around and look in all the lit-up windows and it is very beautiful at night!
One other piece of advice, that is not in the list below, is to wear Hogwart's robes of your house colors if you can. The Team Members at Universal are themselves a wonderful detail and part of the Wizarding World and the interactions with them can be extremely fun when you are wearing a robe, whether you are an adult or a child.
A Perfect Day in the Wizarding World
Start by being at the gates to the park at least a half hour before opening, they frequently allow regular day guests in early.
Start on the Universal Studios side.
Proceed directly to Diagon Alley and enter through the brick wall. Walk in through the wall slowly and listen carefully as you do.
Go straight to Escape from Gringott’s and ride it.
When you exit the ride, go into the Gringott’s Money Exchange next door. Converse with the goblin working there while you exchange some muggle money for wizard money.
Go to Olivander’s, watch the wand choosing ceremony, then purchase an interactive wand, use your wizard money to pay for it.
Go to the Leaky Cauldron and eat breakfast (get there before they stop serving breakfast at 1030)
- Try an Otter’s Fizzy Orange Juice, a Tongue Tying Lemon Squash, or Pumpkin Juice with breakfast
Walk around Diagon Alley casting spells, looking through the shops, and reading all the advertisements on the walls. Be sure to look up at the ceilings and walls inside the shops, there are a lot of details there.
Special Effects list:
- Go in Madame Malkins and stand in front of the mirror
- Knock on the door of the Daily Prophet and listen
- Stand on the corner between the restrooms and Gringott’s and listen for the wizarding wireless network
- Go in Borgin and Burkes and stand in front of the vanishing cabinet and listen
- While in Borgin and Burkes, look for Mad-Eye Moody’s chest by the side door and watch it, also look for the Hand of Glory in the corner cabinet and walk very closely to the front of the cabinet (the hand is motion sensored)
- Open your wand map while in Knockturn Alley under the black lights
- In Knockturn Alley look for the wrought iron gate blocking the steps and watch the wanted poster on the wall of Fenrir Greyback and listen closely
- Stand under the sign for the Leaky Cauldron, it actually leaks and drips water
Be sure to hit all the spell spots that are listed on the map, there are two that are not listed that are “secret” spell spots- look for the piece of blank parchment paper in the window of Scribbulus’s Writing Shop (window right next to Pram Parking) and wave your wand at it (several different messages appear) and look for the brown barrel in the window of the Slug & Jigger’s Apothecary’s shop and wave your wand at it (the brown stuff on top will rise up).
Go into Shutterbutton’s and do the acting in front of the green screens, then purchase the DVD.
Have someone take your picture sitting on Hagrid’s flying motorbike with the sidecar next to Gringott’s.
Stop at Eternelle’s Elixirs and pick up some potions to take home (you can skip the “gillywater”, it is just overpriced bottled water with a label, it is cheaper to take the potions home and mix them with regular water)(these are under 3 ounces and I have personally taken them in carry-on on a plane but your results may vary with TSA allowing them).
Stop by the Hopping Pot OR the Fountain of Faire Fortune and get a Fishy Green Ale (just get one and ask for more straws if you have more than one person, it is not to everyone's taste). The over-21’s can also try a firewhiskey.
Try to catch some of the shows on the stage next to the Hopping Pot- Celestina Warbeck and the Tales of Beedle the Bard are both very good.
Exit Diagon Alley to the London Waterfront.
In the London Waterfront:
-Stand in front of number twelve Grimmauld Place and look at the second story windows for several minutes.
-Go in the phone booth and dial the number to the Ministry visitor’s entrance (it’s written on the phone).
- Go into the back of the Knight bus and look inside. If a conductor is out front, talk and take pictures with him and the talking head.
Enter the train station and ride the Hogwart’s Express to Hogesmeade. When you see the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10, be sure to stand back behind the glass and watch as people walk through, it is an optical illusion that can only be seen from behind the glass partition between the suitcases.
Enter Hogwart’s and ride Forbidden Journey. If you have express passes, use the regular line at least once to see all the details.
Ride Flight of the Hippogriff and look for Hagrid’s hut.
Go in the Owl Post and mail a letter to yourself, it is a working post office with a special Hogsmeade postmark. You can buy stamps and paper at the shop or bring your own.
Go in Dervish and Banges and look for the monster book. Stand out front of the store and listen to all the different howler messages in the outside window.
Go in the bathroom in Hogsmeade and listen for a familiar voice.
Do all the spell spots in Hogsmeade.
Eat a late lunch/early dinner in the Three Broomsticks.
Go in the Hog’s Head and get Butterbeer (for real beer – they have dragonscale and wizard’s brew and also a quite delicious Hog's Head Brew), then go outside and up the street towards Hogwart's castle to the stage and listen to the frog choir or the Triwizard spirit rally.
Go in Honeydukes and get some sweets to take home (in the bakery case in the store they have cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties). Most of the sweets are themed from the books and movies like chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans.
Ride the Hogwart’s Express back to Diagon Alley (the ride is different each way).
Go to Florean Fortescue’s for an ice cream to finish off the night.
Be sure to stay in Diagon Alley (or Hogsmeade) until after closing, the rides and shops close but you can still walk around and look in all the lit-up windows and it is very beautiful at night!
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