The next time I really got the camera out again was in Orlando! Tim had to fly home for work, but Katharine and I took the boys down to Orlando for a little fun in the sun and, in my case, to see the brand-new Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
Our first sighting of Hogwarts Castle...do you see the spires?? (Click to enlarge)
Unfortunately, we were running a little late for our breakfast reservations at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, so after parking we had to book it though the Universal CityWalk and the Islands of Adventure. As we were briskly walking though IofA, when we noticed a Universal employee holding a sign for the line to get into the WWofHP. It was two.hours.long. This was NOT going to work for us, so we told him about our reservations and he sent us straight to the front! BEST.THING.EVER!
Of course, we HAD to try Butterbeer first!
The foam is so thick and frothy that it is inevitable that you'll end up with a mustache. It was amazing!
Since we had already gotten into the theme park, we immediately started exploring. I took so many pictures, that I put together this collage to save some room. How much do you recognize?
Of course, I also had to have a picture taken with the conductor of the Hogwarts' Express!
And the train billows steam...
We took some time to explore the shops, like Zonko's (with the extendable ears pictured below) and Honeyduke's (where we bought Chocolate Frogs, Fudge Flies, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Wands, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans)
The second best part of our day came when we went to go on the Hogwarts and the Forbidden Journey ride. The wait was around 1.5-2 hours, but we had to do a child swap. Both kids are way too young and small for this AMAZING ride. Because we were only going one at a time, the "students" sent us through the single-rider line. It was a 10-minute wait. No joke.
And like I said before, the ride was out-of-this-world. It was, hands down, the best ride I have ever been on. What was funny was I actually got stuck on it twice. Once, I was upside down and once, I was practically laying on my right side. Yeah, think about it.
There are only two other rides in the park, the second one we went on was Flight of the Hippogriff. It was here that we got to see Hagrid's cabin and see a Hippogriff in the flesh.
After that, it was finally time to get a wand. Too bad the line into Ollivander's Wand Shop was the longest in the park. And without shade.
Two hours later, we were standing in the shop...
After Ollivander picked a random person to have their wand choose them, we were shuffled into a teeny, tiny shop to buy our own wands. All I can say is I lost myself. That's how crowded it was. I couldn't find myself. :-)
But I did get a wand! A replica of Hermione's wand chose me!
We got the opportunity to see the infamous Monster Book of Monsters!
After leaving the shop, we watched students from Beaubaxtons and Durmstang perform...
We ended our day at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with a picture in front of the famous Hogwarts Castle.
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