Universal Studios! Part 2 (Everything HARRY POTTER!!!)

Continuing on with our Universal Studios adventures.... This post contains photos/stories from the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter." I'm a total Potter nut. I've read all of the books (all of which I started on THE day they were released). I've watched all of the movies (except the latest, because, well, I have a toddler...). I've read pretty much ever article I could get my hands on regarding the opening of the attraction at Universal Studios. Anyway, needless to say, I'm a fan.

So a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (link takes you to the "official" site) was pretty high up on my MUST DO list! And I can't believe it, I've been! And for the 8 or so hours we were at Universal Studios, I think I spent 7 of it in Harry Potter land! (Poor Matt, he's such a good sport - and an even better husband - because I kept asking him to turn around so I could see just ONE MORE thing...)

Anyway, I know you want to see the photos, so here goes. I've reduced the sizes, so click on each one to make them bigger.

Starting with, the official entrance:
A view up the main street. Wow, just look at that attention to detail. I'm sounding like a broken record, but their designers didn't miss a beat with this place!
Right up front was the Hogwarts Express:
Family shot:
I just love the crooked chimneys:
And the narrow, pointy rooftops:
The shops were straight out of the books (first pic is where the students get their school supplies, second pic is where the wands are purchased):
And the main attraction - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
(This is actually a ride - but in the sunlight, it was amazing! Can only imagine how awesome this place looks lit up at night!)
Before we went in, I stopped in a really, really long line and got some Butterbeer. It had a cream-soda taste, but it kept foaming and foaming as we drank it down. Couldn't help but getting a butterbeer mustache as you drank it - see:
We let Carter try some and he was QUITE a fan... And kept asking for "More! More!"
(Might also see in Carter's hand a little plastic pumpkin. I also tried Pumpkin Juice while we were there. It came in a plastic bottle and had this little pumpkin as the topper. He dropped that thing like 85 times and all of the very nice people visiting Universal Studios kept giving it back to Carter. It would clank and clack all over the pavement and we just wanted it to get lost... But nooooo.... All those nice people giving it back... It now resides in my office here in Albuquerque. Yay...)
While in line for the Hogwarts castle ride, we saw some of the Mandrake "plants" - again, these were straight from the book and had little faces and I'm guessing if you pulled one out, it would scream...
While the queue wasn't all that long, it was clearly time for Carter to be taking a nap. Tough break kid, this day was about MOMMY!
Once inside the castle, there were neat little displays everywhere. Thought these were just filled with black sand, but when I snapped a photo, they were all the different "house" colors!
A statue of a Hippogriff:
Despite being entirely prone to motion sickness, I was NOT going to NOT ride this one! But if you click on this photo, check out all the other "warnings"...hehe!
The hallway, complete with "moving" portraits:
Yeah, yeah...
The pensieve in Professor Dumbledor's office:
Inside the "Defense Against the Dark Arts" classroom... yeah, it was snowing...inside (up on the ledge was Harry, Ron, and Hermione - but hard to capture since they were holographic):
Classroom instructions on the blackboard:
Hallway as we were headed toward the ride - yep, "No Muggles" allowed:
And finally, the ride. Took off from the Main Hall (complete with a zillion candles):
The ride was one of those types where you watch the screen and your chair moves around on hydraulics. I got TOTALLY sick, but it was OH SO WORTH IT! At the very end of the queue, just before the ride, they had a "Parent Room." So since I went through the line once with Jennifer and Marilyn, Matt was able to come back through with me and ride it too. I just waited in the Parent Room with Carter, Brett, and Henry (I couldn't stomach a second ride....).

At the very end and at the bottom of the castle was the gift shop. I bought FOUR scarves, one from each house at Hogwarts (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw). Sure, you can probably find them online somewhere for a lot less, but I got MINE at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Whoooo hoooo!
And just a few more photos, here I am with the conductor in front of the Hogwarts Express (suave camera action by Matt...he cut Carter off completely...whoopsie!):
And two parting shots from the backside of Harry Potter land:
If you asked me to return, I'd be on the next plane. It was AMAZING! If you ever get the chance to attend, I say GO FOR IT!

And I almost forgot... We ate the "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans" (from the Honeyduke's candy shop) when we got home from Orlando. Sure, they're made by the Jelly Belly company, but we totally enjoyed the wonderful flavors of grass, vomit, bogies, earthworm, sausage, dirt, rotten egg, earwax, black pepper, and even soap (along with the regular flavors of apple, watermelon, cherry, lemon, etc.). Gotta say, completely and totally authentic. Nasty! :)

Hope you enjoyed the adventure too! (And an early Merry Christmas to you!)
~kerrie

Universal Studios! Part 1 (Everything but Harry....)

As the boys play outside today (if you can believe it, it's nearly 60 degrees and sunny today...that's Christmas Eve for ya in Albuquerque!)... Anyway, as the boys are running around and being silly, I thought I'd take a few minutes to catch up on the blog. I've been stalling because my next 3 or 4 posts are going to have nearly 50 photos each (which I've re-sized to save space, so click each one to make bigger).

And those that blog know that you have to rotate each photo, re-size a few of them, and then upload, upload, upload. And all that take some serious time. But it's all worth it, because when I'm bored or when I travel, I look at my own blog more than anyone does because I love reliving the memories!

But I digress...

This blog (and the second part) are the about the Greenie adventures to Universal Studios in early November. Our pal Jennifer got us some cheap-o tickets, so we signed up in a heartbeat. And I promise you, it had nothing at all to do with "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter." Nothing. Really... (That's the next post, so be sure to keep reading...)

This "Part 1" post contains everything ELSE we saw at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL!

First up, the entrance - here's a shot of Carter and I before we began our adventures:
Carter was already excited to see all there was to see:
Of course, there was a Christmas-themed gift shop, so I just HAD to take a photo (I'm a Christmas nut...):
And here was my very first sighting of the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter." If you peek to the left, just over the bushes, you can see the top of Hogwarts:
But we'll get to that...

The first attraction we visited was "Seuss Landing." If you'll remember, Carter was born on Dr. Seuss's birthday (March 2), so we have a special place in our hearts for Seuss. As you view these photos, just look at the attention to detail. EVERYTHING is themed - the bushes, the pavement, the tables, everything!
Weren't quite sure which way were were headed, maybe Near, maybe Far:
Stopped in this little gift shop and got a few fun treasures to take home:
We didn't ride many of the rides, but our pal Jennifer (and her sister Marilyn - bottom right) tried out this one with Marilyn's son, Henry:
Carter got to run around in a Seuss-themed kid garden and had a blast:
Whatever this wheely-thing was, he loved it and kept running back to turn it:
Cute pic of Carter's backside as he peeked in the tiny windows:
My favorite Seuss character, The Lorax (he speaks for the trees!):
Another fun gift shop:
And that attention to detail I mentioned? Check out this topiary:
Next up is the "Marvel Comics"-themed area. The Fantastic 4 Cafe:
Right off Stan Lee Blvd, of course:
Fun pic of the front of a gift shop:
One of the rides, one of those free-fall-type thingies that scare the bejeebus out of me:
If you look closely, there is a very, very handsome man sitting on the bench in front of this Comics Shop:
Ooookay, so it's Matt!
As we were leaving the Comics Shop, we caught a "parade of superheroes"...
Couple close-ups of my nephew, Daniel's, favorite character, Spiderman:
Next up, "The Lost Continent:"
Big mountain with carvings and fountains (and two handsome men in front!):
This area wouldn't have been complete without a ginormous trident:
Carter loved all the water that was flowing around the park. Here's a shot of him enjoying the view (and looking for "Quark, quarks" - or ducks...):
This (below) is actually the entrance to a ride. We didn't go, but I love the giant feet out front...makes you wonder how big the statue used to be, eh?
Matt snapped a few photos from the medieval weapons shop. Here's the guarding knight in shining armor:
Opposite the park from the Lost Continent was "Jurassic Park." Matt, Carter, and Brett went over to see it (while I was in Harry Potter la-la land...). Looks like a T-Rex escaped from the compound:
We all later went back as a family and here's the official entrance sign:
Again, the attention to detail was amazing. Remember the alarms and flashing lights from the movie? Well, here they are along the fence line:
We walked up and saw this guy trying to get a photo of him "feeding" his little girl to T-Rex. She was screaming, he was laughing. I'm guessing this happens ALL the time there...
And the final area of the park, "Toon Town." Here's good 'ol Betty:
And one of Matt's favorites, Prince Valiant:
And the final pic for this post - the entrance to Blondie's Cafe. Love the sandwich (which has hotdogs, spaghetti, even a lobster poking out - ha!):
Can't imagine how people make it through the whole park (we only went to HALF) without taking a zillion photos! Just wait until you see how many we took in the Harry Potter area!

Hope you enjoyed reading/viewing our Universal Studios experience!
~kerrie