Trying out butterbeer
I have a friend in Ohio who is just as much a Harry Potter fan as I am. One day she called me up and said she was going to be in Orlando, FL to visit the Magical World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and wanted to know if I would like to come too.
“Are you kidding?” I remember saying. “Of course I’ll come!”
And so we did. We flew with Harry around the castle, road the dragon ride, visited Hagrid’s place and shopped in Hogsmead while sipping on Butterbeer. We even spoke with the conductor of the Hogwarts Express and chatted up talking portraits in the castle while waiting in line for a ride.
It’s been 6 years since the last Harry Potter book was released and 2 years since the movies ended, so you would assume that in this top-of-mind, ever-changing world no one would remember the small kid in big clothes and black-rimmed glasses who slept in the closet under the stairs. But you would be wrong. Harry Potter mania is alive and well and us fans are grateful that the craze has stuck around so long.
Below is evidence that while JK Rowling is still on the fence (or isn’t) about renewing the series with an additional book, fans around the world still can’t get enough of what is already out there.
1. The UK has opened cab, bus and boat tours of Harry Potter filming locations all over London and other locations.
2. King’s Cross station is now home to Platform 9 ¾ where you’ll find a cart disappearing into the wall and a long line of fans waiting to be photographed next to it.
3. Quidditch is now an intercollegiate sport. My own hometown of Columbus, OH houses the OSU Quidditch team while colleges from Carleton University in Quebec, Canada to Virginia Tech have also started supporting the amateur sport.
4. While visiting the UK, don’t forget to tour the Warner Bros Studios where select scenes from Harry Potter are still available including Diagon Alley (now found on Google Maps) and the Chamber of Secrets.
5. The Hogwarts Express was often filmed traveling over the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland. You can now take a steam engine ride on those same rails and enjoy the scenery that is iconic to the movie.
6. The Daily Prophet is available online. Keep up to date with news regarding the Harry Potter franchise, JK Rowling and the actors who grew up before us on screen by visiting thedailyprohetonline.com.
7. Pottermore is the ultimate online hangout for those who want to connect with other HP fans, participate in trivia, and write fan fiction.
There are lots of other examples of how Potter fans are ever-loyal to the books they fell in love with. Just searching Twitter I found lots of quotes and fan commentary including this quote:
“Whenever I see someone falling from a great height in a movie I quietly say: ‘Arresto Momentum’ #HarryPotter” by Harry Potter fan @geolobree.
The lesson here is to not be afraid to give in a little to the fantasy as long as you can find your way back to the muggle world eventually. With all that is going on in our world today, having an escape through literature and the world that it creates is not such a bad thing.
Planning on visiting any Harry Potter tourist traps or sporting events in the near future? Let us know by leaving a comment.
*All images that were not photographs taken by the blogger were taken from Pinterest. No copywrite infringement is intended.