We decided to take the girls to visit Universal Orlando's Harry Potter World a few weeks ago. We had been talking about taking them there for a while. The stars aligned and we had the opportunity to take them for President's Day weekend.
Every time I talked to anyone who had already been there, they raved about the experience. They talked about how authentic it felt and how much fun it was to be among so many other Harry Potter fan. They raved about the activities, especially the magic wand.
We arrived in Orlando about 5:00 p.m., ate dinner and went to bed early. As part of our Harry Potter package, we received park admission one hour before it opened to the general public. We were going to be there as soon as possible.
As we walked into the park, the crowd started moving more quickly. The Harry Potter activities were located at the far end of the park. Everyone did a funny race walk as everyone wanted to move quickly, but not so quickly as to take a fall. It was entertaining to watch everyone race walk through the park. Every area had a different path floor. Some were pretty slick with morning dew. I'm not sure anyone really looked around at the attractions as they race walked to Hogwarts. I certainly did not look around as we move to the main event.
When we arrived at the Hogwarts arch, the Hogwarts express engine was smoking. A conductor welcomed us to Hogwarts. The brunette twin, our resident Harry Potter fanatic, gasped when she walked through the arch. She said, "I can't believe I'm here."
We rode the rides, purchased a wand and had breakfast at Leaky Cauldron. The streets were full of young wizards and witches in full Hogwarts attire. Wands were flying. Guests were pointing and staring and gaping. Everyone was so happy to be part of the experience.
Even before we made it to Diagon Alley in the other park, the Harry Potter attractions lived up to the hype. It was as magical as we hoped. The girls were enchanted and so were we.