harry potter world

I love to read. My favorite books to read and re-read are the Harry Potter books. I don't know how many times I've read through the series, but every time I read them, I enjoy them that much more. You can call me a nerd, I'm really ok with it.

Alex and I were up late one evening two weeks before Christmas talking about what our plans for the next few weeks were. Right now with the office, Alex has a bit more free time than normal and we started daydreaming about taking a quick trip somewhere before Christmas, before Alex's free time runs out.

We talked about going skiing but with a broken foot that didn't seem prudent. Then we talked about going to DC or New York, but that seemed cold and super crowded. We finally started looking to see where Allegiant flew since they fly out of Belleville and Orlando came up. As soon as I saw Orlando I immediately thought of Harry Potter World.

I have been wanting to go for ages and it finally seemed like the right time, so we booked our flight, rental car, hotel and got our park tickets. We did all of this on Monday night, our flight left Thursday morning, to say it was a last minute trip is probably an understatement.

We planned to take Margo with us until my Mom called to see if she and my dad could keep her so Alex and I could enjoy Harry Potter World without a stroller. We were a little torn because we knew she'd have fun and it'd be fun to see her reaction to everything, but ultimately knew that it'd be easier just the two of us. So she got a vacation with Grandma and Pop and we got a trip to sunny Florida.

When we got to Orlando we went to Universal Studios and straight to Diagon Alley. I was so excited that I was shaking. As soon as we walked through the brick wall (behind The Leaky Cauldren) the soundtrack from the movies was tinkling in our ears. I may or may not have teared up. Everything was absolutely perfect and just as it should have been. Our first stop was Ollivanders to get my wand. You can't be in the wizarding world without one.

The shops had brilliant displays, the dragon breathed real fire, the goblins were cranky and the wands really worked. The Butter Beer was just as I'd imagined and I was about as excited as I'd ever been.

The first ride we rode was Escape from Gringotts and it was awesome! It was a 3D/4D ride and it was really smooth and fun. After that we wandered through Diagon Alley some more and then decided to ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. After waiting in a much longer line than expected, we caught the last train out of Kings Cross. The ride was fun and interactive but not necessarily as long as I thought it'd be.

When we got to Hogsmeade it was just about closing time for the park but it was so cool to see everything in the dark. It just so happened that we got to Hogwarts just in time for the Christmas lights show. It was really well done and ended in fireworks over the castle.

The next morning we woke up early to get the park as soon as we could to keep exploring. When we got there we went to Islands of Adventure and rode the Hulk (not HP themed at all...) but it was a really fun roller coaster. After that we wound through the park to Hogsmeade to ride The Forbidden Journey in Hogwarts. The line to get to the actual ride was really fun and interactive. The portraits talked, we went through classrooms with talking ghosts, through Dumbledore's office, we saw the Mirror of Erised, the portrait of the Fat Lady (the entrance to Gryffindor), the Sorting Hat and the bewitched ceiling in the Great Hall.  The ride itself was good, but really jerky so we were both a bit queasy afterward.

After that we wandered through Hogsmeade, ate lunch at the Three Broomsticks, practiced using my wand, got sweets from Honeydukes and of course more Butter Beer. We went back to Diagon Alley (by foot since the train line was so long) and continued wandering around, practicing spells and soaking it all up. We also got to see Celestina Warbeck perform a Christmas show with her singing Banshees. We shopped and wandered and somehow ended up back in Hogsmeade at the Hogs Head to drink our last Butter Beer before heading out for the night.

Harry Potter World lived up to my every expectation and they nailed all the details, big and small. Disney may be the happiest place on earth but Harry Potter World is the most magical.

1080p from Abby W on Vimeo.