Wizarding through the World of Harry Potter
Sunday
13 Nov 2016
Today is THE DAY. I get to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with my own two eyes and it was greater than all twelve synonyms for awesome that Google gave me.
We got up at 630a because we had early admission tickets which means we can get into the park at 8a instead of 9a like all of the normal fools. We got up and ready, had breakfast in the Rock Royalty Lounge (bagels, pastries, cereal, donuts, hard boiled eggs, coffee, donuts), and got our pictures taken for the express pass. Next stop.. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!
We took the City Walk to the park entrance and headed immediately to HP World. We entered London, passed the Knight Bus, and escaped into Diagon Alley!
I was like a child the first time they realize what Christmas is. It was breathtaking! Extremely impressive! Jaw-dropping! I couldn't even handle it, I probably sent 50 snaps and took a thousand pictures. First order of business was to get a lanyard for our park tickets and express passes (which are the bomb, btw). I chose Gryffindor, naturally, and Em got Ravenclaw.
We walked through multiple shops including Quality Quidditch Supplies and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes! At somepoint we walked past an employee and he said, just in passing, "Red hair, freckles, vacant expression.. must be a Weasley!" It was THE BEST.
Next we stepped into Gringotts Bank and spoke to the goblin. I asked him, "Where is Harry Potter?" He replied, "I do not have time to concern myself with the whereabouts of any Gringotts customers, no matter how popular." 😂😂😂 Then I told him, "Thanks, bye!" and he said, "Farewell."
Em showed me Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, we will eat there Tuesday! Then on to Magical Menagerie to check out the creatures like Fang and Hedwig! We passed a potions shop and then headed down Knockturn Alley, home to the shops for dark wizards. It was dark and spooky! We went into Borgin & Burkes and looked around at the death eaters masks and skulls! We could also hear the bird at the vanishing cabinet (from HP and the HalfBlood Prince) and saw a shaking trunk. You can also purchase a Tom Riddle journal. Yikes!
After Knockturn Alley we hopped aboard Hagrid's motorcycle (which actually belonged to Sirius Black) for some photos. AND THEN we went to Ollivander's and watched a wand choose a wizard. We also checked out most of the wands, they have nearly all of the characters as well as originals that you can choose based on your birthday or other factors. The shop was incredible, the detailing of everything is fantastic.
We managed to leave empty handed and headed to Madam Malkin's to check out "robes for all occasions." We stood in front of the mirror and she told me, "Those are very odd robes indeed." 😂 In my opinion, the souvenirs aren't horribly priced with the exception of the clothes. Apart from those the rest are pretty much normally priced for your traditional overexpensive theme park stuff. We strolled past many other shops which are only for window shopping but again, detailed to the hilt! We hit up another wand store Wands by Gregorovitch, but still didn't select anything.
By now we were feeling parched so Em stopped at Eternelle's Elixir of Refreshment and got a Gilly Water and an elixir to induce euphoria. Then we headed tp The Hopping Pot where I puchased my first BUTTERBEER!!! That stuff is DELICIOUS. I tried it cold but you can also have it frozen or hot.
Now on to the ride through Gringotts vault, called 'Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts'. It was excellent, the majority of the rides here are 3D and use CGI and other effects to simulate a real coaster or thrill ride. This works out swimmingly for me because I hate roller coasters and LOVE staying on the ground. The walk through to get to the ride was intense, they have the newspapers with moving pictures (although Alan Rickman's have stopped moving since he passed) and then you go down the elevator nine miles underground. the ride itself is a they'll and when you're finished everyone claps!!!
Next we ventured back to London to get to King's Cross Station. This took us by the Knight Bus and I got to have my picture taken with 'Stan Shunpike' and I loved every second of it. Everyone here is incredible at staying in character!
The red telephone both told us, when we called, that the Ministry of Magic was closed due to inclement weather in the department of muggle inquiries and to please try back again later.
On to platform 9 and 3/4!!! Into King's Cross Station and over to Hogsmeade we go. Hogwarts Express was fun, you see out the window of your car as well as shadows in the walkway outside of your car. Arriving at Hogsmeade had me as starry-eyed as entering Diagon Alley! There's snow on top of all the buildings and the music's playing and Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry looms in the backdrop. I also got to take a photo with the conductor!
Right next to the train station is Flight of the Hippogriff, a terrifying "family-friendly" roller coaster. It was only like 45 seconds riding time so I decided it would be okay, I made it but it was scary!
Next we traveled around Hogsmeade and visited some shops like Honeydukes (homemade sweets) and the bathroom where you can hear Moaning Myrtle! I LOVED it!!! We then rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey! It was an awesome 3D sim ride, just the kind I like! You get to walk through Hogwart's and see all of the amazing detail they put into this place. It's incredible!
We finally left the Wizarding World to have lunch at Mythos, the number one theme park restaurant in the world! We both got pad thai and they serve you delicious bread with butter shaped into the Universal Studios logo.
After lunch we explored more of Universal's Islands of Adventure park. We went to Seuss Landing, a magical world where Dr. Seuss characters and illustrations are brought to life! We jumped on "The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!" and rode around Seuss Landing in the sky. Then we rode The Cat in the Hat where we whirled through the classic book!
After Seuss Land we headed back to enjoy the pool at the hotel, today was the hottest and sunniest day of our trip and the pool here is shaped like a guitar AND there's a water slide. It was a pretty perfect day for pool lounging, we watched some kids play a water balloon toss game and rock a hoola hoop contest. We went down the slide three or four times and then enjoyed the sun.
We got ready for dinner and headed to Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. It's fairly new and we expected a line, the wait was 60 to 70 minutes so Em put her name in and we walked to Hard Rock to check out the Rock Shop and explored some of the kiosks around City Walk. We rounded back to the Emporium and looked around at their store. I was salivating pretty hard by the time they seated us 100 minutes after we put our name in.
Let me tell you, we had the best waitress I've ever had in my life. If you come here, ask for Julie; she was excellent! We split a chocolate almond bread with salted caramel butter, it was divine. I ordered a veggie burger that came with a sunny side up egg, avocado, and onion straws. OMG. And fries. Best meal this trip. And you can't forget dessert, not at a chocolate emporium. Em got a 'Chocolate x5' and I got brownie. Wow.. I 100% could not even get halfway through it after my meal which i knew would happen but I simply couldnt resist. We both ended tossing most of them but it was worth it.
At this point all we could do was basically roll ourselves back to the hotel to pass out. Day one at universal, WIN. 💯!