This way to Hogwarts

Oh man, you guys, I don't even know where to start. let's just preface everything by letting you know I was crying pretty much the whole time- walked into hogsmeade:tears, witnessed the wand choosing at ollivanders: lump in throat and misty eyes, went into hogwarts castle: lost it, rode the hogwarts ride: sobbing. There was SO much detail! The atmosphere was the best I could have hoped for, and exceeded my expectations in a lot of areas. I've been avidly following the design and construction progress of this park since I was in high school, so I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to finally actually experience it all. Naturally, I took a ton of photos, but I'll try and just save the best ones instead of dumping them all here- the light was pretty low in a lot of areas anyway,and really doesn't do the place justice. Anyway, you'll probably only really enjoy this post if you're into harry potter, and you might otherwise be bored to tears. fair warning.













Hogsmeade had a lot of the iconic diagon alley and hogshead shops from the book. it was really fun strolling though and seeing all the familiar store fronts- they did a great job with the shop windows! We rushed to Ollivanders first because we read the line gets really long and moves slowly. I'm so glad we waited for it though- it was amazing! When they usher you inside and shut the door it really feels like you stepped right into the book. Everything is crooked and dusty and lamplit and the guy playing Ollivander was really awesome. I don't want to go into too much detail for those who haven't gone though, because I think part of what was so striking for me was not knowing what to expect. I'm going to keep interior photos to a minimum for this reason as well. Don't want to ruin it for anyone going soon! It's so much better to be surprised!



















Pickin' out wands



Honeydukes!



Sugar quills!



chocolate wands!



I believe their latest flavour is dirty diaper? yum...

After stocking up on some sherbet lemons and crystalised pineapple, and convincing myself I didn't NEED a ten dollar giant chocolate frog, we headed over to the three broomsticks for lunch. ah. you guys. pure magic. It's like the leaky cauldron and the three broomticks mixed- and a very large, amazingly designed and decorated interior. And the food was the best theme park food I've ever had by far. I got some cornish pasties, just like at the great feast! And of course, butterbeer. Ryan got a roasted chicken.



















Next stop, the 'hogwarts grounds' area near the two roller coasters in the park: the dueling dragons, and the hippogriff. One thing I was so pleased with in the park was the way they designed, themed, and detailed all of their waiting and line areas so much, that I actually thoroughly enjoyed going through so immensely that I went back to both the castle and the roller coaster and waited through the line just to see it all again, and didn't even ride the rides. This line took us to hagrid's hut, the weasley's flying car, a great view of the castle, triwizard tournament memorabilia, and the shrieking shack, to name a few exciting things.













Ok now it's time for the big one- Hogwarts Castle! it was a beautiful beautiful sight. this was by far the best line I've waited in my whole life. I went through three times just to explore the castle again. No photos will really do the interior justice, but the atmosphere was perfect and the detail was so impressive. You get to see so many props and artifacts- it's such a dream.



















Dusk was my favorite time there, as all the lights in the castle and the village came on, while the sun's glow still lingered. After all this running around I was craving more butter beer- naturally- it's delicious.









and there you have it- one beautiful, amazing, fantastic, magical, dream-come-true day in the world of harry potter.





love, from hogwarts,
Kathryn