Hogsmeade

During my recent visit to the US, I took a quick side trip down to Florida and somehow wound up back in Europe (all I know is that we traveled through the 1950s). It was magical. There was snow on the roofs, even though it was 86°F. I knew, generally, that Florida was warm, but didn't check the weather before we left.

First off, BIG THANKS to pops for being a sport and driving all the way while listening to an HP audio book.

The vintage-style hotel we stayed in was part of the resort and was really cool. Multiple pools, a lazy river, a gym, a shuttle bus we never had to wait for long, discounts at Margaritaville and most importantly the privilege of entering the park an hour early. (Only problem is that the walls are a little thin - I sneezed and the neighbor said, "Bless you!")

First stop: the goblin run bank! These guys are animatronic and move (someone I showed this photo to thought that they were real people in costume). This was also the first stop of almost everyone else who was allowed into the park at 7AM.

The goblin robots aren't so great at posing.

Such detail! This was a house-elf dealer storefront (wasn't actually a store). 

Pretending to go into Order HQ.

After exploring Diagon Alley a bit, we had some time to kill before the train to Hogsmeade departed, so we rode the Transformers ride - I'm pretty sure I saved the world during it. The Shrek 4D experience was okay, but the room they have you wait in was pretty entertaining.

If they have magic, why do they need all that coal? It seemed like the line for the Hogwarts express was the longest/slowest one we waited in all day. 

Sipping on some butterbeer (very vanilla-y) with an early lunch at the Three Broomsticks .
There is no way I could have drunk a full serving of this.

Such a dramatic looking school.

A pensive for your thoughts.

After riding the rides and checking out the shops in Hogsmeade, we took a lap around the rest of the park. I really liked the "The Hulk" ride, so many twists, accelerations, loops, and just upside downs! And pretty much no line! Then it was back to Diagon Alley for dinner and shopping; we had hoped to ride the Gringotts ride again, but there was something wrong... maybe they realized what had escaped from it earlier...

Beard bags for sale!

This was not on the menu, but my peanut butter-strawberry ice cream was delish!

Captured the dragon breathing fire on digital film!

I thought this shirt from the Magical Menagerie was perfect for my lil'sis, but dad said no :(

Overall, the trip was great! I can imagine going in the summer! It was hot and (the HP parts) were kind of crowded as it was. Since traffic was lower, we had time to look at other parts of the parks and take an afternoon nap a break to watch Champions League.

I prefer the old-school roller coasters to the ones where you wear 3-D glasses and are surrounded by screens as you are moving.

It was a really neat experience- walking around a few blocks that have been fairly carefully curated to be a world that only exists in books or on the screen. I made my coffee this morning in my souvenir beer mug from the Hog's Head and have my a quddich club pennant hanging on my wall. They had a lot of cool merchandise, but nothing as awesome as the Ravenclaw quiddich hoodies a friend and I made in high school (I do not have a digital image, but will scan it once I am home again for Christmas).