Wizarding World of Harry Potter & Beyond

Dustin and I first went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter back in December 2010. It was one of my favorite experiences. Ever. We spent most of the day in Hogsmeade, riding the rides, buying wands and chocolate frogs, drinking butterbeer, and sending postcards out via Owl Post. The best! Photos from 2010.

Dustin and I try to go to at least one theme park a year. Last December we went to Epcot. Total blast. But we both really wanted to go back to Harry Potter. I personally, have been dying to come back. Sam and I have always brought it up here and there but about 6 months ago (when Pat came back) we got really serious about it. Dustin and I prefer going to theme parks in the 'winter' months. It's usually very nice weather - 70s! How people go to all the parks from May- September is beyond me. It's so miserable.

Sam and Pat met us at our house around 8AM and we all jumped in my car and were on our way. The I-4 Friday morning traffic was a nightmare. It was stop and go most of the way there. As we paid for parking the guy asked "Preferred or Regular parking?" and I responded "Reg" which made him and everyone else laugh at me. Ha! Whatever! We parked in 'Jurassic Park' and made our way into Universal.

We bypassed everything in City Walk and headed straight to Islands of Adventure. We bought our tickets and I had a mini rant about the price. They don't have great Florida resident deals anymore which pisses me off. Last time we went it was $70ish and now it's $88. They have decent deals on annual passes or 2-3 day tickets but we don't go enough to really make it worth it. End rant. 

Dustin and Pat hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so we stopped at this little cafe at the entrance. I couldn't believe how awesome their prices were. I mean only $4ish for a breakfast sandwich. That's unusual! They enjoyed their breakfast and then we booked it over to the Wizarding World of HP. Pat was the only one of our group that hadn't been, so all eyes were on his reaction. I got butterflies the minute I saw the gate.

We decided to go straight on the 'Forbidden Journey' because the wait time was about 5 min. It took a little longer than that, but it didn't feel too long because there is so much to look at while walking through Hogwarts. Moving photos, Dumbledore's office, House Points, etc. I wasn't nervous to go on the ride at all. It is the best theme park ride EVER. I'm not saying that just because it's HP related but it is part of it. The ride is so smooth and realistic! We stepped onto the moving floor to get all locked in to our seats. My left hand held the bar on my harness and I held Dustin's hand with my right. I told him "remind me to keep my eyes open". And we were off! Soaring over Hogwarts, the Black Lake and Forbidden Forrest. We ran into some angry dragons and spiders before flying with Harry over the Quidditch field. I kept my eyes open for most of it. It was definitely the most fun I've had on a ride EVER. I mean, it was just so much fun to have Dustin, Pat and Sam next to me. I felt alive in the best way. Infinite even.

Afterward we all bought some butterbeer. Last time we were here, Dustin and I tried the cold butterbeer but this time around we went with the frozen version, thanks to Sam's recommendation. And OMG! So incredibly good. I will only ever get the frozen from now on. 

We walked through all the stores. First stop was the Owl Post. I bought some postcards and mailed a couple out. We went across the street to Honeydukes where Dustin and I got more chocolate frogs. (Side Note:  A card comes with each frog, just like in the books/movies, and this time Dustin got Dumbledore and I got Rowena Ravenclaw. They are on our fridge.) Then we enjoyed all the funny stuff at Zonko's.

We waited in line to get our photo taken with the Hogwarts Express AND the conductor. He was a fun guy.

Conductor: Where are you from?

Dustin: Here.

Me: Orlando.

Conductor: Ohh, so across the pond?

Me/Dustin: Haha yeah.

Conductor: You poor things have to deal with the darkest magic of all - tourists.

Me/Dustin: Hahaha Exactly!

The Dueling Dragons Dragon Challenge was closed for some reason, so we headed to Jurassic Park. We were all debating going on the ride but none of us really wanted to get wet. Dustin loves dinosaur anything but especially Jurassic Park. He had been talking about this ride for months so I knew he really wanted to go on it. (Of course he'd been on it tons of times before...) I was prepared to go on it with him (even though I'm not a fan of drops or getting wet at theme parks unless it's a water park). I had brought ziplock bags (to protect our phones) and a plastic Publix bag (to protect my bag). Sam said "You are the best mom that doesn't have any kids. You're always so prepared." This made me laugh. She is right. I've got that lovely organized, anal, prepared personality that either annoys the shit out of people or impresses them. It's a very fine line. In the end, the boys ended up going together, while Sam and I waited to watch them drop. I must have taken video of 5 different boats before they actually came down. Turns out, they barely got wet at all.

And when we met up with them in the gift shop, I took a photo of them on the ride. The lady behind the counter yelled at me and quickly removed the photo. I get it but I don't. Technology is taking over, just deal with it. Also, we just paid $90 to get in this damn place. Cut us some slack! Geeez.

We walked through the rest of Jurassic Park. Then into Toon Town and finally made it to all the Marvel comic superheroes. We went on the 'updated' Spiderman ride. Um, I think the only update that was made was a little paint. We didn't really notice any big difference.

After Spiderman, I was feeling dizzy and hungry. But everyone else didn't want to eat until the rode 'The Hulk'. It was only a 5 min wait so I held everyone's stuff and took a seat on the concrete, right under the roller coaster. Again, I took about 5 different photos until I got them! They all came out so excited. I'm glad they had a good time on it! I was very happy to stay on the ground.

(Third row back!)

We went back to Jurassic Park to eat lunch at the Burger Digs. I got a burger and everyone else went with the Chicken Strips. I liked that they gave me a plain burger and then I was able to add any kind of condiment/veggie myself. I was impressed with their fries. Not too shabby.

We walked back through Harry Potter and into 'The Lost Continent' to watch the Sinbad Stunt Show. It was interesting. Pretty cheesy. The best parts were when the actors were swinging on ropes, diving into the water, and running around on fire.

We had plans to go to 'Poseidon's Fury' but it was closed for seasonal maintenance. It was kind of a bummer because I had never experienced it. Oh well, there's always next time. 

It was off to Seuss Land. They have this little kid 'roller coaster' that I wanted to try out. We waited 45 min. It was the longest wait of the day. Every other ride we went on was no more than 15 min. It was a cute little ride. It was right up my alley because it went nice and slow! It was cool to be able to see the park from that perspective though. I know Pat, most definitely would be able to sleep just fine at night if we had never gone on it. But at least we can say we did it, right?! Poor Pat. I think he'll resent me forever for that one.

Next up, was 'The Cat and the Hat' ride. Sam talked very highly of it so we were all game. We walked right in and were the only people on the ride! We jumped right on the couch and zoomed away. It's one of those slower rides but has lots of spins. The spins were a little scary but made me want to vomit more than anything. I still had a good time.

We walked around some more. Walked into shops. Dealt with annoying tourists. Took funny pictures! But we were all moving slower and slower and it was starting to get pretty hot outside. We made our way back to the car and called it a day.

We were all exhausted but I think I can speak for everyone by saying we had the greatest time. I can't wait to do it again. In like a year. Ha!