It was absolutely, without a doubt, worth the wait.
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| Dragon Alley |
In the words of JK Rowling:
Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping...
Tip #6 Start in Diagon Alley
Dragon Alley was Harry's introduction to the wizarding world. I firmly believe every muggle and every wizard-at-heart needs to start there. Plus, it makes a little more sense when you ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade (Larissa clued me in to this).Jillian and Aaron were excited to go, but they weren't quite cry-as-soon-as-you-walk-through-the-wall excited. Guess who was?
Thank you for this video, bro. I love it!
You guys, I cannot adequately describe how cool this place is. The rest of Universal Studios is just ok, but I think they knew that if the Wizarding World wasn't incredibly detailed and accurate the fans would have a fit. As such, it is incredibly detailed and accurate, right down to the stuff sold in stores and restaurants. You can't get the same candy in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as you can at Honeydukes. In Diagon Alley, there are tons of Quidditch supplies. In Hogsmeade you'll find Hogwarts souvenirs. I absolutely loved it.
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| Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes |
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| Ready to take a trip through Gringotts' caverns |
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| A puppet show telling Beetle the Bard's tale The Fountain of Fair Fortune |
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| My first butterbeer of the day |
Tip #7 Get the parkhopper if you want to take the Hogwarts Express
It's smart from a commercial standpoint, and annoying from a tourist standpoint, that Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade are in two different Universal Studios parks, so you have to get the parkhopper pass if you want to go to both in the same day. If you do this, you can take the Hogwarts Express. It's a short ride, but a fun one, and the story is different depending on the direction you come from. As I said, start in Diagon Alley if you've never been before.
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| Hogsmeade, outside Hogwarts. It looked beautiful, though the snow on the roofs was odd in 80 degree weather. |
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| Hogwarts is beautiful |
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| My favorite ride is inside the castle. Plus, they have references to all of the books and you get to go through all the classrooms and the Gryffindor common room while on line. So. Much. Detail :D |
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| Lunch at The Three Broomsticks. This "feast" fed Aaron, Jillian, and I and was delicious. (I ate a LOT of good food on this trip.) |
We went back to Ollivander's so I could watch the wand selection. I had heard they usually pick a child, so I didn't expect it to be me. Then I realized everyone in our group were adults. I started bouncing off the walls, practically shooting "pick me!" out of my eyeballs.
The wand master picked Aaron.
And then Aaron asked if the wand master would do a favor "for my sister" and the wand master agreed.
And my wand choose me.
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| Ivy with unicorn hair. Of course I bought it. It chose me! |
There is no other word for it. The moment was magical!
Other fun things:
- Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees sang "A Cauldron of Hot Strong Love"
- Flight of the Hippogriff baby roller coaster
- Dragon Challenge roller coasters -- rode the Chinese Fireball (red) and Hungarian Horntail. The Fireball was the better of the two and it's worth it to wait to be in the front row on the outside ;)
- Bought a Hogwarts Christmas tree ornament -- Geoff had a discount for being a season pass holder. Hooray!!
- Wandered into the regular Universal Studios for the Jurassic Park ride
When we returned to Diagon Alley, Aaron and Jillian stood in the middle of the street for a good 10 minutes waiting for the Gringotts dragon to breathe fire. I don't blame them for wanting a photo. The fire only lasted two seconds, so it's good they were prepared.
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| As you can see, they weren't the only ones waiting |
Jillian and Andrew went off before closing to ride the Gringotts ride one last time. While they were away, I spotted this sign:
Obviously, I had to check it out. Aaron, Geoff, and I looked through the forbidden objects (and Deatheater-themed clothing) in Borgin and Burkes until closing and watched a show in the regular park until Andrew and Jillian appeared again.
Aaron and I headed to Disney Springs while the rest met Kristen for dinner somewhere. We ate a Ghirardelli sundae, watched a lip sync contest, danced the "Cupid Shuffle", and browsed a few stores.
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