When i was growing up,  had never heard of Harry Potter or the books. It was when the 1st film came out my friend Rayhan said to go see it with his nephew. I saw it and that was that. I saw some of the other films when they came on TV and  then fast forward a number of years and now am a Potter fan. I blame the huge resurgence in Harry Potter merchandise especially Primark, which i have several pieces from.

So you can imagine now being a much bigger fan i was excited to go to the wizarding world of Harry Potter Universal studios Orlando Florida. I planned in advance some outfits and got us all wizard glasses. I was lucky to pick up some Pieces in the sale and match them. I even got mum a Gryffindor headband. You can also wear your house robe and walk around like a Wizard if you please.

The 1st day of our vacation was spent in Universal studios visiting Diagon Alley.48415835_1157136691130639_560290114534637568_n48409257_195587191396087_7208041775183691776_n48397693_1025063877677428_6220905793454080000_n

We did some of the other attractions first knowing that Harry Potter area would be busy later in the day. I was quite excited when it came round to Diagon alley and walking into the wizarding world. WARNING PICTURES ALERT!

When you walk through and find yourself in Diagon alley you cannot help but feel like you are in the film, when Harry 1st visits to get his wand and supplies. The Harry Potter music is playing and you become a total nerd. I took so many photos as i walked around the scenery, shops and places to eat. The attention to detail is amazing, all knds of shops and scenery including Olivanders and Book of monsters. The only  Ride attraction is inside Gringotts Bank

VIDEO OF DIAGON ALLEY

You can grab a Pumpkin Juice, watch live performances on the stage area and also visit Olivanders and purchase a wand which is interactive. You can cast spells in the wizarding world which react with items making them move or speak.   Plenty of Harry Potter themed merchandise to purchase also.

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GRINGOTTS

The main attraction in Diagon alley is Escape from Gringotts. A fab ride and again the detailing inside the bank as you queue up, with all the animated Goblins at work.

It is a fast paced ride, lots of jolts with special effects and you are required to place your belongings in a locker before you ride. ( these are free while you ride) it was mum and dads favorite ride. The line was about 40 minutes i think but was worth it, considering what it could have been.

I was lucky to get a photo just in time, as the Dragon on top the building blew flames out it`s mouth. There is also the Gringotts bank exchange, whee you can swap money for Gringotts notes and coin sets. This was  a shame the minimum was $10 and the note was not that great. You can spend these notes in the wizarding world also. 48428695_507124576474100_2219307235039772672_n48421561_2049833631922783_3369247864839471104_n48418791_763947037293461_4730392386138537984_n48417976_2094517927253402_5094933881484738560_n48417110_307812266516448_6263803866676985856_n48415728_1130719177108567_8827391247757869056_n48405052_302380173726727_2848434018788048896_n48398214_266170507406126_5754514126550335488_nDSC_7985DSC_7980DSC_7977

BUTTERBEER

I had to try the Butterbeer and see for myself  if what people say is true. It is the topping that is like a creamy toffee cream foam, the bottom is like a butterscotch soda. I liked mine which was the original version in a souvenir cup. Both me and dad had them,, mum had Gilly water so basically bottle water ! They do offer 2 choices of cups a tankard and the  footed mug i have. The footed mug is only available in Diagon alley.

I also tried the Frozen Butterbeer which is like a slushy, the foam seems to blend into the drink but nice also. They also have Butterbeer hot and icecream.

You can have a regular Butterbeer for half the cost of the cup,. You can have Butterbeer at a few places we had it in the Leaky Cauldron. You can eat in there also. Other places have it available also. In hogsmeade you can have it in the Three Broomsticks or Hogs Head and also vendors on the street sell it.

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HOGSMEADE & HOGWARTS

In Universal studios Island of adventures is Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, probably most exciting of all. I wanted to get the shot of us all with our wizard glasses and Hogwarts in the background. Someone kindly took our photo and i took one for them.

There is Honeydukes in Hogsmeade where you can buy wizard sweets including Chocolate frogs, Bertie botts and all other kinds of novelty sweets. I bought a Chocolate Frog in the trademark purple box.

There are 3 attractions in Hogsmeade, The Hogwarts Express , The flight of the hippogriff and Hogwarts.

The Main attraction Is of course Hogwarts Castle  Harry Potter and the Great escape. I was surprised to see the queue time was 5 mins, did see more than that but much less than expected for  that ride. I took many shameless selfies and photos in my glasses and scarf and we entered the Castle. Much like the film they have interactive talking paintings and the Sorting Hat, 3d holograms of Dumbledoore and Harry, Hermoine and Ron

THE RIDE ITSELF

The ride inside Hogwarts is a fast paced special effects which swings you around and almost upside down. It is awesome in the detailing, it has dementors  holograms and scenery. You are again required to place your belongings in a locker before riding. We did this but i left my phone in my pocket and held onto it just in case it slid out. At one point it tips you right back flat . It did make me feel a little  dizzy. I would not eat before you ride it for sure.

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HOGWARTS EXPRESS

You can choose to ride the Hogwarts Express train to Diagon alley Kings Cross station ( Universal studios) but you must have a ticket for both parks to be able to. Or vice versus from Kings Cross to Hogsmeade. The Train itself is also a mini ride, it has a moving animated window which projects a short moving window background as if you are traveling from the real Hogsmeade to London. The journey is short and you sit in a cabin.  The experience is different in either direction.

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