Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Motto: "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus"

Never tickle a sleeping dragon.

 
(In case anyone is wondering, why yes, that IS a Ghostbusters chasing Pac-Man t-shirt!)

Proton packs OUT! Power pellets IN!

This is another long and photo heavy post (but totally worth it!)  

The Forbidden Journey is the biggest reason why WWoHP is so amazing. For roller coaster enthusiasts, The Forbidden Journey = Hogwarts + Magic + (Superman Ride)^2. In other words, FREAKING AWESOME. It's unlike any ride I've ever been on, combining 3D, 4D, and real roller coaster motion - totally sick!

 Braving Mt. Fanny Pack was totally worth it.

To get to The Forbidden Journey ride, you enter Hogwarts castle and wind through the castle halls. The castle exterior is so massive that I nearly missed the the entrance to Hogwarts. Past a huge stone entryway flanked by stone pillars, topped with signature winged boars, you see white script blossoming over the Hogwarts crest on the stone facade as if written by an invisible quill-wielding hand - and then disappears like magic! It's nearly impossible to tell how the lettering materializes unless you've pushed past the mountain of fanny packs and mashed your nose six inches away from the transient lettering. (Because I braved Mount Fanny Pack to find out, I'll tell you - embedded fiber optics.)

So, the idea is that the school has welcomed Muggles into their hallowed halls for the first time ever. Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione plan to sneak you into a Quidditch match. The plan is for you to meet them in the Room of Requirement and fly out with Harry and Ron (riding brooms) on a school bench that Hermione has enchanted. But you're in for far more than just a Quidditch match!

The line starts in the greenhouse where live exotic plants hang from a paned glass ceiling. A fenced off area houses a row of potted mandrakes and other Herbology tools (rakes, spades, and other toxic plant extraction tools.)

 

Inside the castle, you are greeted by a large, gilded wizard (the architect of Hogwarts, as seen in the Chamber of Secrets movie), with a small lion and badger at his feet and holding a miniature Hogwarts castle in his extended hand. Another gilded wizard (the first Hogwarts headmaster; while the Four Founders were professors, none held the title of headmaster) imperiously points his finger at you.

 I want YOU...for Hogwarts.

In between the golden wizards - the four House point hourglasses!  (Why is Ravenclaw so deficient in gems when they're the brainiest of the lot? Gryffindor is leading the pack here, which means that Harry and Ron probably have not yet had Potions.)

SNAPE: Five MILLION points from Gryffindor!

I'll think of a reason later.

At the end of the hallway stands the giant bronze phoenix statue leading up to Dumbledore's office in the movies. Clearly, I'm just a tad excited to be here. The entire castle is filled with choice nuggets like these from the books and movies. I almost wished the line was longer so I would have more time to SEE EVERYTHING.

 OMG! Faaaaaawkes!

It was too dark deep inside the castle for my camera to take any decent pictures, but you next enter a central hall with huge vaulted ceilings and walls covered in talking portraits, including the Four Founders - Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw. Gryffindor and Slytherin were easy to find; Hufflepuff was harder to find, and someone had to point out Ravenclaw to me. Anyways, it's quite impressive. I borrowed this picture from Google:

"Helga, dear, do these robes make me look fat?"

Afterwards, you move into Dumbledore's office with cabinets FULL of wizarding gadgets. Even the Pensieve makes an appearance! 

FOR SALE: One Pensieve.
May consider choc frog card trade.

Thankfully, they used the proper stone basin as shown in the Order of the Phoenix movie and not the ridiculous Silver Surfer surfboard that replaced it in the Half-Blood Prince movie. (What the hell, David Yates? WHY? WHY?? You cut me deep.)

Next is the Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA) classroom where a huge skeleton of something sinister hangs from the ceiling, and jars of pickled things and creepy skulls lurk in windowsills. Holograms of Harry, Ron, and Hermione are beamed onto a balcony where they reveal themselves from underneath the Invisibility Cloak. They convince you to ditch History of Magic and come play Quidditch with Harry and Ron instead! The dialogue is peppered with Ron and Hermione's classic bickering (Ron: Prof. Binns is such a dead bore. Hermione: Ron! Prof. Binns IS dead! He's a ghost! You're so insensitive.)

Right before you board the ride, the Sorting Hat offers bits of sage advice. The pic here doesn't do it justice - it looks so much more sentient in person.

 Oh you may not think me pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.

That's it! I won't spoil The Forbidden Journey surprise. Trust me, you'll want to find out on your own.

I died and went to Hogsmeade!

Excuse the shine. It's Florida.

Last weekend, I finally made it to my own personal mecca, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWoHP)! Hallelujah! WWoHP was everything I'd hoped for and more. Universal did an ah-may-zing job recreating the world JK Rowling spent more than a decade inventing (and I spent fangirling over). Their attention to detail was remarkable. We spent 8.5 glorious hours at the park and I still wish I had three more pairs of eyes to soak everything in.

WARNING: This is a long and photo heavy post. (Click on the pics to open a new window and click again enlarge.)

With that kind of warning, you'd think I like to take a lot of photos. Well, what has two thumbs and forgot to charge the batteries in her camera before embarking on the trip of a lifetime? THIS GIRL. My camera died after two hours. Gaaaaah. I'm still kicking myself. Anyways, the photos below are a mix from my camera and crummy iPhone 3GS (not even iPhone 4 or Droid!)

Before I left, my friend Chrissie advised me not to bring my DSLR because you can only bring on the rides whatever fits into your pockets. No bags or purses allowed. (Those must be stowed in lockers, conveniently provided for free for the first 30-40 minutes or so. After that, it's $3/hr! With a crowded park, the locker fees can easily rack up.) So I made sure to bring my point-n-shoot and wear loose jeans with big pockets. Despite the warning, we got lucky - the park was relatively empty. By that I mean, most everyone at Islands of Adventure could be found in Hogsmeade. The rest of the park was empty; we actually walked onto The Hulk and Superman! Jody tells me this is unheard of. Even with the "crowd," we only paid a locker fee once. 

Holy Hogsmeade! 

I really felt like I was in Britain, with tilting buildings and narrow streets. Not all the stores are operational, but the storefronts make you wish they were so you could buy a self-writing quill at Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, or take home a Mimbulus mimbletonia from Dogweed & Deathcap (also featuring a live, screaming mandrake!) Tomes and Scrolls carries the whole Gilderoy Lockhart collection, including his best-selling autobiography Magical Me. But what I really coveted was Hermione's beautiful, ombre pink chiffon gown for the Yule Ball in the Gladrags Wizardwear display case. *Sigh*

 Zany Zonkos! 

Zonko's is an actual store. Hooray! All of the merchandise is, obviously, jokes and toys and most is for sale - Extendable Ears! Pygmy Puffs! Fanged Flyers! However, for the keen-eyed observer, you can spot merchandise from the books only for display - Portable Swamp, Dr. Fillibuster's Fireworks, and a tangible, hanging recreation of the fire-breathing firecracker that chased down Umbridge. So much fun. I know there are more that I missed, but I was hindered with only one pair of eyes.

Honeydukes!

Honeydukes could give Willy Wonka a run for his candy-coated money. Again, rows upon rows of chocolates and candies, many of which are adapted from the books. I bought a box of Peppermint Toads (delicious!) and hard candies in a Honeydukes jar.

Beauxbaton and Durmstrang!

The Triwizard Rally is a show that takes place several times a day at the top end of Hogsmeade, before you get to Hogwarts. The show features routines from the students at Durmstrang Institute and the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. The Durmstrang guys were pretty intense; this guy looks angry. Or maybe he just resented wearing a brown polyester uniform and combat boots in 100% Florida humidity. Also, where can a girl get a peaked felt fedora? I want one.

I heard the other show offered is the Frog Choir comprising four Hogwarts students, one from each house, accompanied by singing frogs. I didn't see them at all though, so all I can conclude is that they alternate shows.

Two tidbits before I move on: 1) Moaning Myrtle greets you in the loo; and 2) the park is fun for Potter novices and fans alike. You don't have to achieve fanboy status to enjoy yourself.  But if you are a fan, the park designers hid Easter eggs all over the park. I won't give them away (not that I caught them all anyways), but it's fun to look up and spy, say, a jar of doxy eggs or a pot of bubotuber pus while drinking your butterbeer.

Next up...HOGWARTS! All aboard the Hogwart's Express!