Part of my 30th birthday gift this year was a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWoHP). You may remember that I chose to have a Harry Potter themed birthday cake...well, I knew the WWoHP was due to open this year, so I decided that I wanted to visit there more than anything! When we found out that we would be moving to the Virgin Islands for the Coast Guard, I knew it was the perfect opportunity! We were able to work the park, which is part of Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure theme park, into our trip, and we were lucky that it officially opened the same day we were due to leave our home in Maine!
We decided to go to WWoHP before we did anything else in Orlando, since I was so excited about it! I'm glad that we did it first, but it was also very, very busy because when we went the park had only been officially open for four days! It was pretty crazy!
We arrived and parked about 30 minutes before the park was due to open and it was a good thing we did because we ended up in a crazy long line waiting to get in. There are two entrances into WWoHP; one is for guests staying in Universal hotels and goes through Seuss Landing and the Lost Continent to the right. The other entrance is for the general public and goes through Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, and Jurassic Park to the left. This was the line we joined and when we did, it was all the way through Jurassic Park! We got in line right at the entrance to Jurassic Park! If you've been to the Islands of Adventure, you know how long of a line that is! Admittance to WWoHP is included in the price of a ticket for the Islands of Adventure, but because the demand is so high, you have to be given another (free) ticket before you can actually get into Hogsmeade!
We stood in line for a good 30 to 40 minutes, but once the park officially opened, the line really moved along pretty quickly.
And then, before we knew it...
...we were in!! I was so excited I could hardly contain myself!! I couldn't think straight to decide what to do first! It was just too overwhelming!
Upon entering, you are confronted with a big choice: Hogwarts or Hogsmeade. How can you possibly decide?! I just stood there for several minutes, mouth agape, head swiveling from one side to the other. Finally, I decided I would get started with a photo of the most prominent part of the park...
...Hogwarts! You can see the castle from miles away while driving down the interstate! It's thrilling to see and the glimpses that you get of it as you walk through the park to WWoHP are awesome teasers!! They did a fantastic job on it!!
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. It's a cupcake version of an orange dreamcicle!!
