Day 38 & 39 - Orlando, Florida (Wizarding World of Harry Potter)

Day 38 & 39 (2-3 August). We drove about 20 minutes away from Walt Disney World to Universal Studios with the intention of spending one day at each of the two parks - Islands of Adventure and then Universal Studios. We passed through the entry gates at the advertised opening times and made our way to the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. To be at the front of the line you have to arrive a few hours earlier than we did - and it would seem quite a few did. I was gobsmacked when we got to the entry to Hogsmeade (the village in Harry Potter) and were shown that the entry line-up went another way and wound its way about four hundred metres down through the paths to Jurassic Park. It was amazing walking back that far just to get into the park. Universal staff were on hand to shepherd people along, but also to give out standby tickets you passed to the gate-keepers when you finally reached the front - this was a pretty good means to deter queue jumpers who were subsequently found out and sent to the back of the line.

We tossed up whether to come back later, but decided to hang in and see what happened. Just short of hour later we were inside the very impressive Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was just like being on the set of the movie - the scale, sense of location, attention to detail, character involvement and the shops were perfect. We went straight to Olivander's Wand Store and stood in line for another 30-40 minutes for the kids to get their wands. Now, you can get wands from other places in the park, but we (like many others) wanted one from THE store. To accommodate the enormous numbers of people, rather than every individual being 'sized' for a wand (like in the first movie), they select just one person to represent the group (from the approximate 30 that fit inside the store). Just like the movie the person is measured up and tests different wands with shaky results inside the store until the wand selects them. Well, Matthew was 'the chosen one' for our group. It was terrific to see him go through the process just like Harry Potter - a lot of fun. That was a real treat.

We had Butterbeer, bought large chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's every flavour beans (yes, the vomit tasting one is awful) and rode the park's three rides - Dragon Challenge (a few times); Flight of the Hippogriff; and, The Forbidden Journey (twice). The main ride is The Forbidden Journey and the wait time for the two rides was 60 minutes and 90 minutes - and it was well worth that wait! It is simply outstanding. You line up outside Hogwarts and finally enter and progress through the inside of the school - it's the only way to see the inside - and all the characters are involved. There are talking paintings; the Sorting Hat; Dumbledore's Office; and the use of special effects where you are briefed by Ron, Harry and Herminone on getting to the Quiditch Game (with some magical help) - which, of course getting there and being involved in the the game, is the ride. Fabulous use of 4D style effects - you feel like you are flying along behind Harry and then dropping in and out of different parts of the various movies.

We finally left Harry's World early afternoon of that first day for a look at the rest of Islands of Adventure. There were both some good and lame rides in the rest of the park. We cooled down by getting soaked on a raft ride and then headed back for more Harry. We decided to forego Universal Studios the second day and come back for more Harry. Well, we'd come to Universal specifically for Harry Potter and we couldn't get enough - so the second day saw more of the same. It is that good!

After a fabulous time in Orlando, it's time to hit the road and head north. The next stop is Columbia South Carolina.