Hogwarts

The other day, I caught my mom looking through old photo albums. I mean, they weren’t that old…but they still exist, which kind of makes them old. Anyways, as I was looking over her shoulder, I saw that she was looking at pictures from when we went to Universal Studios in Florida. My favorite memory from Universal Studios was the Harry Potter theme park. Everything was so realistic- it felt like you were literally walking around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.

One of the things I remember was the buildings. They were almost identical to the buildings in the movies- I was amazed. The houses towered high, and the roofs were sometimes slanted. The chimneys were crooked, and the windows were oddly shaped. Oh, and there was a fresh coat of snow all over the place, even though it was ninety degrees outside.

Walking around the park, there were all sorts of landmarks from the movie- from Hogsmeade to Hagrid’s house, and everything in between. Everything looked exactly as they had in the movies. The people who worked there referred to themselves as wizards, and took on British accents as they sneered at us and called us “muggles.” That was one of my favorite things, the people. Those that worked in the Harry Potter Park took their job seriously, and really made you feel like you were a part of the magical world of Harry Potter.

Think back to the Harry Potter movies. Do you remember any of the times Harry and his friends were drinking Butter Beer? Well, they had butter beer at the park, and it was by far the best flavored drink I’ve ever had. It tasted like cream soda and butterscotch, and had a light layer of foamy white cream. I don’t know how else to describe it- but it was absolutely delicious.

                Inside of Hogwarts was a roller coaster. You walked into the castle (after waiting in line for over an hour) and hopped into one of the seats. The ride then took you into what I think was like an Imax room, and flashed images to you. Sometimes you felt as though you were following Harry in a Quiditch game, other times you were in the forest and giant spiders were crawling all over you. It blew my mind how amazing this ride was.

                The Harry Potter theme park was my favorite part of our stay in Florida. There were so many different aspects that made the experience so realistic- from the lopsided buildings, to the authentic food, to the inside of Hogwarts, this is one of my all time favorite places to visit.

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