The Wizarding World of Harry Potter- review

A theme park review, you ask? Yes, this is a first. Over spring break, one of us FINALLY got to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida, located in the larger park, Universal Studios. Thanks, Dad.

-What was great: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This ride is a simulation of a flying tour through Hogwarts and many of its dangers. The surprise was that it was actually scary. It was the best simulation ride we have ever been on, bar none. We wish the castle had included a great hall and a few more rooms. Would it have been too much trouble to include more talking pictures and the headmaster’s office? The Hogsmeade village replica is picturesque and lovely. It’s a little odd to see the snow on the rooftops and be so immersed in the recreation, yet be baking in the hot Florida sun though. The castle is also pretty. There are lines to get in the stores, but they are half the fun. Take a big wad of cash and wait for 15 minutes. The lines look long, but they are fast.

The shops have some good stuff to buy (even though we went into three before I saw some copies of the actually Harry Potter BOOKS). The Owl Post is worth a look, especially if you like stationary. Go ahead and eat in The Three Broomsticks. It sells regular food, as well as famous Harry Potter beverages and ice cream. The park also includes The Hogs Head. Our favorite store was Dervish and Banges. It sold clothing, wallets, wands, and other paraphernalia. One of us is a proud owner of a $99 Gryffindor robe and the Elder Wand. Don’t judge. In Ollivanders, you can have a wand choose you, just like in the books and movies. Also, we would like to give a shout out to whatever efficiency expert trained the employees at this park and designed the protocols. The lines moved quickly, because every seat was filled. The employees were friendly, the park was clean, and it was run about as smoothly as any park we have ever seen.

What was good: The Dragon Challenge rollercoaster. It was just a regular rollercoaster. It could have been longer, in our opinions. But it was good. The other rollercoaster, Flight of the Hippogriff, is designed more for children, but we would still go on it, if you have time. There is a Hogwarts Express replica just inside the gates, but that is mostly there for photo ops.

What was disappointing: The joke shop, Zonko's. There wasn’t much there. Hardly any funny items, and it was really small. It didn’t deserve to wear the name. Honeydukes was mostly good for chocolate frogs and not much else, unless you are crazy for candy. It WAS a little too crowded, and it's also a little small. We hope Universal seriously considers expanding the Harry Potter portion of the park, if only to accomodate the milling crowds. There's a lot of opportunity here. The castle could be expanded as well. Move the extra rooms underground if you have to. The park portion definitely left us wanting more. More rides, more stores, more more more. Don't go expecting it to be a whole theme park, or even half of one. It's a section. But it's still awesome.

Tips: Don't do what we did. Skip work and go during a regular weekday, not during spring break or the holidays. We still got to do everything we wanted to do, but pushing aside the other cretins was a hassle. Unless you want to wait in line forever, choose the “single rider” option on the Forbidden Journey ride. Split up your party and jump on. It’s fun alone. You can’t really see your friends during the ride anyway. The frozen butterbeer is better than the regular version, in our opinions. Go with hardcore Harry Potter fans so that you can geek out together without shame, and also so that no one rushes you out of the Harry Potter part too soon so that they can go ride The Hulk or something.

Bottom line: This blogger would go back. And probably will. It's heaven for an HP fan.