364/365. Monday, August 9th. Kara’s 19th birthday and also probably the highlight of the trip…HARRY POTTER WORLD. The five of us kids headed off to Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park for the day, which now houses The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where Courtney, Ysa, and I spent our entire day. It was so fantastic to feel like we were a part of the world of Hogwarts and all our HP heroes. You could visit Honeyduke’s Sweet Shop, Zonko’s Joke Shop, the Three Broomsticks, the Hog’s Head Pub, Flourish and Bangles, Ollivander’s Wand Shop, Flitch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods, the Owl Post, and Hogwarts castle, of course. Hogwarts was part of one of the three rides that are there, and the ride it housed, The Forbidden Journey, was by far the best one. It is part roller coaster and part simulation, so at times you are facing a huge screen and feel as though you are literally flying on broomstick with Harry and Ron, and the next you are in “real life” again, and face dragons, spiders, and dementors. The other rides are the Flight of the Hippogriff, which is a family-friendly roller coaster that lasts all of one minute, but is cool for it’s view of Hagrid’s hut while in line and getting to bow to Buckbeak. The last ride is the Dragon Challenge, which is two separate tracks of roller coasters that twist and turn around each other. Your feet dangle, which makes it even scarier. You get to pass the Flying Car on your way to the entrance, which is also right next to the Hogwarts Express train. You then travel through tunnel-like caverns before getting to the actual ride. I have many, many pictures from our amazing day here, but of course for this project I had to pick just one. I chose a shot of the exterior of Hogwarts castle as you are getting ready to get in line for the Forbidden Journey. It was so awesome that they took the time to create this area of the park and make it as authentic as possible. Ysa and I were commenting all day how there needs to be an entire theme park dedicated entirely to Harry Potter. Even if that doesn’t happen, I’m sure I will be returning to Harry Potter World sometime in the next ten years. If you have the opportunity to visit, I highly suggest you jump at the chance!
