**WARNING: This post contains a lot of pictures.

They are on a hosting server, so the wait time shouldn’t be too long.

However, in other words, I hope you have a fast internet connection!

HERE is the link the the entire album online (over 200 photos). **

• Date: December 29, 2011
• Place: Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure, Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Who: Sasha & Keira [of Love Passion Romance: the romance novel blogzine & Sasha's Phi Mu sorority sister ]
  • We’re both native to Florida and are quite familiar all things Florida theme park-esque from Disney to Universal to Jungle Island down the line…

Keira and I visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter before, on December 27, 2010 (Images 1, 2, 3, 4 dated on Facebook’s Mobile Uploads).

This post no way reflects our personal opinions on the urban planning, organization and general organization of Universal Orlando.

THAT, is in another post. Found here [TBA] about our real opinion as Florida-residents and major Harry Potter fans on Universal Orlando’s $200m project.

This post is purely what to do, what to see and what we did

Basic background information:-

Sasha:-

• Harry Potter fan since
  • 1998/9, when she read her first Harry Potter book
• Favourite Harry Potter book
  • Goblet of Fire
    with The Half-Blood Prince and The Chamber of Secrets in a tie for second favourite
• Favourite Harry Potter character
  • Severus Snape
    (*ahem* I was SO on-target about “The Prince’s Tale” in the Deathly Hallows)
    
• Least favourite Harry Potter character
  • Ginny Weasley and Dolores Umbridge
• Favourite Harry Potter House
  • Slytherin
• Harry Potter house actually sorted into via Pottermore by J.K. Rowling
  • Gryffindor

Keira:-

• Harry Potter fan since
  • 2000, when she read her first Harry Potter book
• Favourite Harry Potter book
  • Goblet of Fire, with Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix tie for second favourite
• Favourite Harry Potter character
  • Weasley Twins, Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin and the Fake Mad-Eye Moody/Barty Crouch Jr.
• Least favourite Harry Potter character
  • Ginny Weasley and Dolores Umbridge
• Favourite Harry Potter House
  • Gryffindor/Ravenclaw
• Harry Potter house actually sorted into via Pottermore by J.K. Rowling
  • TBA [has yet to be sorted]

Enjoy!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is located as a ‘land’ inside of Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure (IOA) theme park. It is not a part of Universal Studios (US) — a popular misconception.

They are two separate theme parks.

If you get there after 10:30 a.m., you might have to wait in a horrid, ghastly (and every other adjective related to that) line TO GET INTO the ‘land’ near the Jurassic Park land.

You get one of these queue tickets:

When you do get in…

WELCOME TO THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!

(From here on out the photos are in order as I took them throughout the day, so you’ll notice the natural lighting changing)

The first thing we did was the Hogwarts Castle or as the ride is called the “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey”

Entrance to Hogwarts

Hogwarts

The Greenhouse where Professor Sprout teaches inside of Hogwarts Castle

Yes, that would be a mandrake

One-Eyed Witch

Mirror of Erised

House Cup Bean Counter

Entrance to Dumbledore’s Office

Dumbledore’s Pensieve

Did you pay attention in Gilderoy’s class?

Sorting Hat

When the ride was over we wandered around the store you end up to see if there was anything new in there we were interested in. Some fun things we came across:

En route to the re-named “Dueling Dragons” fire/ice ride, now called the “Dragon Challenge” based on the Tri-Wizard Tournament

The Dragon Challenge

You can see the Hogwarts Castle nicely from there

Mr. Weasley’s enchanted Ford Anglia from the Chamber of Secrets or as my father lovingly calls it, “the possessed car”

At Hagrid’s Hut

Peeking inside Hagrid’s Hut

Entrance to the actual Tri-Wizard Cup area

Enter your name to become a Tri-Wizard champion

WITHOUT FLASH

Back to the wizardingly village

Three Broomsticks

They have two types of themed drinks -

Butterbeer and then Hog’s Head beer (Scottish ale)

Keira wasn’t a fan of the Scottish ale

I, however, liked it

Hog’s Head

Waiting in line for Ollivander’s being the Harry Potter lovers that we are

Ollivander’s … finally…

Afterward you end up in Dervish & Bangs as well as the Owl Emporium — they are connected

Quibbler, anyone?

Hagrid’s Book of Monsters from the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hogsmeade by night…

Three Broomsticks at night…

Chocolate Frog outside of Honeydukes

Zonko’s

“That’s barbaric!” – Hermione Granger

“… that’s Wizard’s chess.” – Ron Weasley

Hogwarts Express!

Hogwarts Castle by night…

Return to Hog’s Head for Butterbeer this time…

Happy

Pottering

_

Sasha H. Muradali owns the Little Pink Blog and Little Pink Book PR, LLC. Sasha holds a MA International Administration with a concentration in Intercultural Communication from the University of Miami (’08) and a BS Public Relations and Dance from the University of Florida (’07). She has been featured in Forbes, CNN and Business Week. Sasha tweets fervidly (@SashaHalima), loves Harry Potter and the colour pink. Get a copy of the Little Pink Blog delivered to your Kindle and ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook.

Little Pink Blog & Little Pink Book PR are federally registered trademarks of Little Pink Book PR, LLC. © 2009-2012 Little Pink Blog & Little Pink Book PR. All Rights Reserved.

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