I’ve been thinking a lot about the ways in which fiction and real life become intertwined – especially fiction that finds us when we need it most. I can’t think of a place where fiction and life are closer than the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
I grew up as part of what I like to call “The Harry Potter Generation.” Millennial? No, thank you. I was 11 when the first book came out. Coincidentally, so were Harry and Ron and Hermione. When book two rolled around, all four of us were 12, and so on. I feel like I not only grew up with the Harry Potter Books, but with the characters themselves.
I didn’t live in a broom closet under the stairs quite like Harry, but I did feel rather like I was on the edge of things more often than not. I was a reader, a bookworm in a town where it wasn’t something to celebrate. I was (and still am) short, soft-spoken, and sometimes too kind for my own good. Reading Harry Potter at such an age and in such a place, I found I identified with Harry’s battle to fit in after being on the outskirts for so long. I found Hermione’s intelligence – another girl who reads! who excels in school! – refreshing. Was she ostracized for it? Only until Harry and Ron realized that she was a friend, not in spite of her intelligence, but that she came as a whole package, annoying traits and all.
A Visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
So how wonderful was it to return to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter that Universal Studios created? Pretty wonderful. We went back in 2011, just a year or two after the Hogsmeade half of the park opened at Islands of Adventure. Since then, Universal has more than doubled the Harry Potter portion of the park, adding Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida, and creating The Hogwarts Express that you can “ride” between the two parks, provided you have a Park-to-Park ticket (sneaky, Universal.).
A few of these photos are from our 2011 visit – since I’d already been once, I decided I didn’t need duplicate photos of everything (I’m getting smarter as I get older). All of these are iPhone or point-and-shoot camera photos, nothing fancy or technically wonderful, but good enough to give you a feel for the park and entice you to visit yourself (and no, Universal has not paid me in ANY way, shape, or form for this write up. I spent my money and was just floored at how awesome it was.).
Hogsmeade – Universal’s Islands of Adventure
Stunning. They recreated Hogwarts and it looks amazing.
One of the rides is inside Howarts, and the line winds you through the castle and gives you a glimpse of different classrooms as you wait. The ride makes you feel like you are flying on a broomstick behind Harry and Ron, and it’s AMAZING. Provided you don’t get motion sick and aren’t horribly terrified of spiders or snakes (I closed my eyes when the spiders appeared. Just can’t do it.). You do have to ditch bags, phones, etc. – but there are lockers at the beginning of the ride to do so.
You can watch Olivander help a wand choose a wizard, but it’s also just delightful to walk through Hogshead and check out all the “snow-capped” roofs and the little shops. They created Honeydukes, where you can buy Chocolate Frogs and Ton-Tongue Taffy.
I did not snag a photo of the other two rides, but the Dragon Challenge is the best roller coaster. If you like coasters, make sure to spend the extra time to wait in line to ride in front – it’s 1,000 times faster/more exhilarating that way. Note: you do have to get rid of all cell phones, wallets, etc. before riding most of the Wizarding World rides. They have lockers at the entrance you can rent for free for a certain amount of time, but it does take awhile to stand in line for one.
The third ride in Hogsmeade is the Flight of the Hippogriff – it’s a kid-sized roller coaster, so no loops or twists. Adults can totally ride, though. :) While in line, you get to walk past Hagrid’s hut (so well done!), and you can keep bags, phones, etc. on this coaster, no problem.
And the Butterbeer. The regular stuff is pretty sweet, and the frozen version is just perfect. I also hear there is a warm Butterbeer if you get to the park early, but we did not get the chance to try it.
We ate a late lunch at the Three Broomsticks – the line was long, but the park has it down to a science – we moved through quickly, got our food and table with out issue (one of our party has a Gluten Allergy, and they were super allergy-friendly and easy to work with). And the food was good. Between four of us, we had a GF Salad with Roast Chicken, Mac & Cheese and potato wedges, and Shepherd’s Pie (delicious).
After we’d drank and ate our fill, we decided to head to Diagon Alley via The Hogwarts Express.
The Hogwarts Express
If you have a Park-to-Park ticket, you can ride the Hogwart’s express from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley. We recommend doing it at least once – otherwise, it’s just as fast to walk from park entrance to park entrance if the line is long. The line does move pretty quickly, and once you are in a train car there is a 3D screen out the one side of the train that shows the rolling English countryside and London, along with Harry Potter characters along the way. There are translucent screens on the other side of the car where more characters pop in and out throughout the ride.
You can see a video of The Hogwarts Express pulling into the station on Instagram.
And Platform 9 3/4 – brilliant! I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to run through a smokescreen wall or something to make it out to the streets of London, but still a fun experience.
Diagon Alley – Universal Studios Florida
Hogsmeade is cool, and the Hogwarts Express kind of a neat go between, but the true “WOW” part of the park is Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida. This is what you see when you walk through an opening in the brick wall:
The buildings are all built at angles and there are signs everywhere displaying wares for witches and wizards. The experience is almost exactly like Harry’s when he enters the alley with Hagrid the first time. And that dragon on top of Gringotts? He gets a little angry from time to time, as most dragons do.
There are all kinds of shops at Diagon Alley, appropriately so. The Magical Menagerie is the “pet store” where you can find stuffed animal replicas and t-shirts and such, but also cool details like these dragons that hold up the shelves.
They spared no detail: these are the tap handles for two of the Wizarding World brews. We tried the Dragon Scale Amber Lager and Wizards Brew American Stout and they were delicious. You can actually check out all of the park’s brews on UnTapped here.
One of our favorite shops was a little surprising, but Borgin & Burkes in Knockturn Alley was so cool. I picked up a Deathly Hallows pin there, and it’s spot-on compared to the movies, complete with the Vanishing Cabinet and jewelry inspired by the books.
Speaking of favorites: Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor. We went twice! The Butterbeer ice cream is my favorite version of Butterbeer: not as sweet as the drinks. They have soft serve and hand-scooped, and a two-flavor combo of the Earl Grey & Lavender PLUS a scoop of the slightly-sour Clotted Cream was amazing.
Butterbeer Ice Cream? Yes, please. I need to figure out how to make this at home.
Diagon Alley also has the Escape from Gringotts ride, another 3D experience where you get to pretend to follow Harry and the crew as they raid a vault and leave on the back of a dragon. You do have to get rid of cell phones, etc. into a locker near the entrance, but it’s worth it.
A True Experience
What I didn’t take pictures of? The costumes. Each store and ride has its own costumed employees, from train conductors to dragon wranglers. The soundtracks to the movies play in the background at every store and ride, creating a seamless atmosphere. And it never gets annoying, promise.
The employees use the word “muggle” quite frequently, like when you ask what brands of soda they are serving? “I’m sorry, we don’t serve Muggle sodas here at the Wizarding World.” They do, however, have Pumpkin Juice (interesting), Gilly Water, and English-style apple cider!
Would I go back? Probably. After I see the rest of the Muggle World, of course. :)
Love Harry Potter? Make sure the Wizarding World is on your Bucket List.
P.S. Have you read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? Make sure you do before the movie comes out this fall!
