Finley's big Christmas gift from Santa was a trip to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure to go to Harry Potter World. The time finally arrived for our fun trip!
We arrived on Saturday afternoon and after changing into shorts and settling into our hotel room we headed straight for Diagon Alley.
On our way to Diagon Alley we were able to dial into the Ministry of Magic.
We also stopped off to meet Stan Shunpike conductor of the Knight bus.
Stan was super nice and talked to Finley for a long time!
At last we spotted the Leaky Cauldron and made our way through the brick wall to Diagon Alley.
When walking through it even sounds like the bricks are moving.
Diagon Alley is filled with food, shops, witches, wizards, magic, and even a few rides.
Finley was most excited to get his very own wand and do some magic!
So we headed over to Ollivander's Wand shop for the official tour and to pick out a wand.
Finley decided that he wanted to get Dumbledore's wand which is also called the Elder wand.
We had a lot of fun looking at all the wands!
The wand we bought Finley was an interactive wand. It costs around $50 but it was totally worth it!
All throughout both sides of Harry Potter World there are markers where you can stand, aim your wand, and do magic!
They give you a map that shows you where to go, how to move your wand, and also what to say. Finley had so much fun going around to all the marked locations and performing magic!
We stopped in a few of the stores such as Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
And of course we had to stop off and get some frozen Butterbeer! It is seriously the best drink I have ever tasted!
We even took a stroll down Knockturn Alley and ventured into some creepy shops.
We saw a Goblin over at the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts ride! This was a roller coaster/3-D ride. Finley was just barely tall enough to ride it. I am sure glad he was though because he absolutely loved it! I think we rode it 3 times over the course of three days.
This magical dragon sits on top of Gringotts bank and breathes fire every 10 minutes.
For dinner we headed over to the Leaky Cauldron for a traditional pub meal.
Of course we washed down our fish and chips with more frozen Butterbeer!
By the end of the day we were pretty tired.
We headed over to King's Cross station for one last ride, this time on the Hogwarts Express!
We rode the train over to Islands of Adventure and headed into Hogsmeade as it was getting dark.
And when we exited we got to see the Hogwarts Castle all lit up!
Our first day in the parks was truly magical! I was so impressed by the interactive wands, the shops, delicious food, and all the little details that you notice when walking around Harry Potter World. But there was still lots more to see and do. Stay tuned for another post soon!
1 comment:
Looks so fun!
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