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Harry Potter
Scott:
--- Quote from: efranks on September 22, 2010, 01:16 PM ---I never did stop back in here after CV. I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at Universal with the guys I drove to Florida with, Jace and Chris, on Monday after CV.
The attraction was packed all day. There were huge lines for all of the shops and the Three Broom Sticks which is the food option for that section of the park. Jace and I did the castle tour but I skipped the two roller coasters, it rained and they were both off for a while and I didn't feel like waiting in the lines afterwards, plus I'm not a huge roller coaster fan anyway.
The shops and decor of the attraction are really cool but I think they could have used a couple more shops and definitely could have used more space for the shops that are there. I walked through Zonko's and Honeydukes and hit Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods, which is as the exit to the castle.
I completely missed the Dervish and Banges store but I think it was because the line of people for Olivanders was wound out past that store. The line for Owl Post was also long enough that I didn't wait for it.
The lines for Olivanders were so long, in fact, that they added a separate cart near the castle that was selling wands for people interested in buying but didn't care if they missed the wand selection with the cast members. I ended up buying two wands and got them from the cart instead of the store. I actually waited in line behind Jay Laga'aia who was at the park with, I'm assuming, some of his family.
There were also carts around the attraction selling shirts and some other items that you would normally find in the stores. They also had a huge Butter Beer cart and a couple smaller carts selling pumpkin juice and other drinks.
Besides the wands I picked up a pin at Filch's Emporium and a chocolate frog. There was additional HP merchandise at the large store near the entrance. That store had stuff from all of the various attractions around the park so, from a shopping standpoint, it was easier to look there than in the dedicated stores in the attraction. That's actually where I bought my frog.
We got to the park around 11:00am and left at 9. Jace and Chris had passes for both Universal parks and they visited the second park while I stayed at Islands of Adventure, where HP is. So I had plenty of time to walk around the full park as well as the HP area. I would have spent more time in the HP area but I really didn't feel like waiting long periods of time in lines to see the stores when I wasn't planning on buying anything, it just kind of felt like a waste of time. I would definitely go back, though, I had a fun time at the park and would like a chance to look through all the stores and maybe have dinner at the Three Broom sticks.
Since the HP attraction is still so new, it's going to be a while before the lines start to settle down. I was a little surprised at how packed the place was on a Monday in August, but I still had a good time.
E...
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We took our boys yesterday and we all had a ton of fun...it is amazing how lifelike everything was. We ate in the three broomsticks, our boys got picked for the wand ceremony at Olivanders, the line for the HP Virtual Ride was 2 hours long. Probably not worth it for the ride but walking through the castle and decorations was awesome.
I'm not a huge crowd guy and I'm really not a lowest common denominator guy (which seems to be attracted to theme parks for some reason) Needless to say that after 8 hours of standing in line in the hot Florida sun...I was wiped, a Hog's Head Ale was well deserved
efranks:
That's awesome that your boys got picked for the wand ceremony. It looks like the place was packed...that's about how it looked when I was there. I guess the "newness" hasn't worn off yet.
The day I was there it rained and I think that contributed to our much shorter wait to go through the castle. We were in line maybe an hour before we got inside, but only about a half hour before we were under cover of the attraction, which wasn't bad, but 2 hours would have sucked.
I still think it looks odd with the snow on the buildings but everyone running around in shorts, and knowing it was probably 80.
I'm looking forward to going again this August, as much or more than CVI at this point.
E...
Phrubruh:
I've been wanting to go to IOA for a long time. Its just the plane trip across the country with three kids and a motion sick wife that scares me.
name:
--- Quote from: efranks on March 28, 2012, 01:47 AM ---
I still think it looks odd with the snow on the buildings but everyone running around in shorts, and knowing it was probably 80.
--- End quote ---
Ain't nothing wrong with that....
efranks:
Dredging this thread up. I spent most of yesterday and today watching all 8 Potter films. I've been reading through the series again, just started Half Blood Prince, but had sort of planned the marathon a while ago.
When we went to Celebration VI this year, I went to Universal again to see the HP attraction and on th way out picked up a couple bottles of Pumpkin Juice and a chocolate frog and figured a marathon was a good time to for them. It takes about 20 hours to watch everything so I watched the first 4 movies yesterday and finished the rest off today. It was a really lazy way to spend the holiday but it was fun.
With the books fresh in my mind, I've seen the movies more, it surprised me how much GoF, OotP and HBP were changed. The first time I'd read the novels it had been a while since I'd seen a couple of the films and vice versa next time I saw the movies. The first three films (w/ some variances in Prisoner) are pretty accurate so I guess I forgot how different the next three are. I still love the movies, but I think I'm a little less impressed with their interpretations than I have been in the past.
And I'm still not at all happy with the end of Deathly Hallows 2 when Harry doesn't fix his busted wand.
Still have to finish off reading HBP and then read the DH, though.
E...
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