Harry Potter World

Since both Ayden and Gavin read the Harry Potter series, we thought it a good time to visit Harry Potter world at Universal Studios in Orlando. They had attended witch and wizardry class at Nana camp this summer and were eager to practice their magic in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

Trips are fun every step of the way with the kids. They are even excited about the shuttle ride to the airport.

Ayden walking through the brick wall into Diagon Alley.

A view down Diagon Alley. 

It is so well done. We spent 4 days at the park and much of that time in Harry Potter. Each day back, new details were observed. The park staff were in character, the shops were perfect replicas of the book, and the rides were so much fun. You honestly felt like you were living in the book. It really was an amazing place. It was hard to leave to visit the rest of the park. None of us wanted to leave the magical ambiance that is Harry Potter.

We headed straight to Ollivander's shop to get each kid a wand to do magic through out the park. This was especially meaningful because they had to earn their wands by weeding all summer long. They worked hard for months and were excited to pick out the perfect wand. We happened to be the only people in the wand experience, which made it so personal, as Ayden's wand chose her. It was probably my favorite experience there. Ollivander was perfect and since it was just us, it really seemed just like Harry's experience in the book, but we were living it. The first few wands weren't compatible as they wilted flowers and made bells go haywire. But when the correct wand was chosen, a light shown down and the music played softly in the background. It was so great.

The kids ultimately picked out their own wands and went straight to magic.

There were numerous magic tricks and spells to perform around the park and a few secret ones too. And they weren't easy. You had to move the wand in the right way, which was different for every trick. Gav seemed to have the wizarding touch. Here he floats the feather.

More magic in action below:

We took a lunch break at the Leaky Cauldron. Once again, the ambiance was just as one would envision and the British food was good too.

The kids called the Ministry of Magic...for real. 

They answer if you dial the right number. They loved it.

We stopped by the Knight Bus. The driver was hilarious!

We drank lots of butterbeer...lots! It was hot outside and the butterbeer was delicious. We got the iced kind. Refreshing but not too sweet with a marshmallow head on top.

We rode in Hagrid's motorcycle. 

The Hagrid's Great Adeventure ride was the best roller coaster I've ever been on. The kids loved it too. This was the first time at a park where the kids were tall enough and brave enough to actually ride real rides. It made it so much fun to do together. They had a blast!

And we watched the dragon breathe fire. You actually could feel the heat!

Then we caught the Hogwarts Express from Diagon Alley over to Hogsmeade.

This was such a special experience. You really felt like you were leaving one place and entering somewhere entirely different.

We made it through to the right platform.

Sitting in our train car.

We arrived in Hogsmeade ready to shop at Honeydukes.

The Three Broomsticks was equally as charming and the food a bit different but also delicious. More butterbeer? I think so!

The weather was great and the lines were short. It was fun sharing this experience with Mom and Dad as well. We stayed in their time share which made for great accommodations and added tons of fun to the trip. We loved every minute and the kids were talking about coming back before we even left.

We did spend time in the rest of the park as well so that we could do other rides that Raegan and Aislin could enjoy. It was a jammed packed 4 days.