Wizarding World of Harry Potter

As you should be able to tell by now, I am an avid reader. I have been reading Harry Potter from the very beginning. In fact, my sister and re-read the series for each new book and for each movie coming out. I love re-reading them because I catch new things each time and I get the same happy/excited feeling while reading. Basically, I am a Harry Potter nerd. Though, I have never gone to a movie dressed up in costume. I guess there are varying levels of Harry Potter nerdiness. However, being a librarian puts me pretty high up on the nerdiness scale. In fact, when I was telling a student about my fall break her response was, "that's a librarian thing to do." With that in mind, let me tell you all about my thoughts of my Fall Break experience.

Ever since I heard about Universal Studios in Orlando building a Harry Potter world, I was ecstatic.My husband had never been to Florida and so the planning began for us to go. I wanted to show him my favorite rides at Universal, and I wanted to see the Harry Potter world. It was a win-win for us both.

Overall, I would definitely give the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" an A. The look of the castle and the buildings in Hogsmeade, the detail at the rides, and the different shops were all great. I loved the characters singing in the streets, the Hogsmeade chimneys slanted and old looking, the portraits in the castle moving and talking, and the fact that I could have pumpkin juice, ButterBeer, and chocolate frogs. It was all what I was hoping for, and the little details made it more. They did a great job of making you feel like you were there. The inside of the castle had classrooms with instructions on the board. The Dueling Dragons ride had the Tri-Wizard Cup and even a car in the tree. All of the rides had their Notices from "The Department of Magical Games and Sports." I also loved that you heard Moaning Myrtle's voice in the bathroom. It was a little detail that truly made me happy. All in all, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was well worth it in every aspect.

However, I didn't give Harry Potter world an A+. I think one of the biggest complaints for me was something that they couldn't change. There were WAY too many people there. I honestly didn't think there would be a ton of people there in October. I understand that the wait would be long for those that went in July, when it opened. However, in October... I just didn't think it would be that bad. We had to wait at least 75 minutes for the castle ride and at least a half an hour for a ButterBeer. If you wanted a wand fitting experience from Ollivanders you had an hour plus wait. There just seemed to be people and lines everywhere. I am not much of a line person.

I also understand that they have to adapt things and can't follow the book exactly, but I really wish they could. The fact that Ollivanders and Zonks was in Hogsmeade was not consistent with the books. This bothered me a bit. The food in "Three Broomsticks" was normal food. I wished it could've followed in with the books a bit more. Now, I realize this is being a bit petty, but I just think it would make the super nerdy Harry Potter fans like myself that much happier.

There is obviously enough written. My husband just teased me about the length. I just get so excited with anything Harry Potter related. I felt like a kid on Christmas going to "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter." I truly loved it all! Well done Universal Studios!