A Taste of Magic

To say that my expectations for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (to give it its full, official title) were high would be an understatement. As an avid fan with an intense imagination, I think it would be impossible for anything to live up to my extremely high expectations. When we arrived at our hotel, (the Loews Portofino: supposedly a taste of Italy...) I tried to remain calm and collected about when we would finally go to the park and experience my childhood (and possibly young adulthood? Don't judge.) dreams. I am technically an adult and should therefore be mature about things, right? However, when it comes to something as dearly loved as Harry Potter, all maturity is quickly thrown aside and I don my geek persona in full, unabashed glory. (No, I didn't dress up; that's not what I'm implying. I can't dress up for anything no matter how badly I want to, but that's irrelevant.) 

A view of the "harbor" of our hotel.

After not being able to await our dearest Aunty Kate (who was also joining my mother, sister, and me on this adventure, but had to endure a delayed flight and a ridiculously long bus ride before she finally arrived), my sister and I grabbed our rain jackets, took the boat to Universal, and then power-walked (it took a lot of self control not to jog) to Harry Potter World. The geeking out that ensued once we were in sight of the castle was something I almost wish the poor photographers at the park had captured for us, but alas, they were nowhere to be found (thankfully).  

Me, trying to look nonchalant but excited at the entrance to Hogsmeade.

We wandered around for a few minutes, taking pictures with our phones, completely unabashed by blatant our touristing, but excusing it by reminding ourselves that we were in the most tourist-filled place one could possibly ever find themselves. 

Unfortunately, a storm unlike what we have here in Texas was rolling in, so we ducked into the Hog's Head before the crowds poured in to get our first taste of butterbeer and pumpkin juice. 

Personally, I thought that both the frozen and the iced butterbeeer were delicious (the foam topping was, without a doubt, the best part), and the pumpkin juice was good, but incredibly sweet. 

Dervish and Banges and chocolate frogs.

Going in to Ollivanders Wand Shop was something I had been looking forward to since I first heard about the park opening. The wands are easily the most magical part of the Harry Potter experience: in both the books and the movies, wand lore is fascinating and exciting (my geek persona is on and will stay on as long as Harry Potter stays awesome). What's more thrilling than having something "choose" you? It's better than being picked for a sports team, better than being chosen for most anything else. In the books, J.K. Rowling makes it sound as though the wand, much like the Sorting Hat, knows you intimately and personally, often in a way better than you know yourself. Isn't being known fully and completely accepted what everyone truly wants in life? I might sound a little dramatic, but Harry has an attachment to his wand and is as fiercely protective of it as any of the other characters throughout the books.

To enter, one has to wait in line, and they (a staff member dressed in wizard's robes and sometimes trying to speak with an awkward British accent) select 20 people at a time to squeeze into the tiny shop. Once inside, one person is chosen to have a wand select them, and goes through a series of motions (involving Accio! and Aguamenti!), that, while entertaining, can never compare to one's own imagination. 

Going on the Forbidden Journey, though, was easily one of my favorite things about the whole experience (aside from the butterbeer, which was positively delicious). You get to walk through a re-creation of Hogwarts, which has some pretty amazing props and things that can be seen in the movies. I won't spoil the ride for you, though; all I'll say is that I was definitely impressed. 

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

--APWBD