Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures

Tales from my (mostly Disney) travels!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures
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  • Category: Diagon Alley

    • Another Stroll Through Diagon Alley (Universal Orlando)

      Posted at 1:42 pm by taryngirl, on April 17, 2019

      1/7/19

      It was time to head back to the Universal side, and to do this, we took Hogwarts Express.  If you want to do this ride, you must have a Park-to-Park ticket!  Otherwise, you will not be permitted to ride the train.  IT IS SO COOL!  

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      I seriously could not get enough of Diagon Alley!  It was so realistic.  I loved looking at every detail of the buildings.  Here you can see The Hopping Pot, where you can buy some Butterbeer, or regular beer.fullsizeoutput_2886

      In this same area (Carkitt Market) is where you can see The Tales of Beedle the Bard or Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees do live performances throughout the day.fullsizeoutput_2888

      Eternelle’s Elixir of Refreshments is a small beverage kiosk also located in Carkitt Market.  here you can find elixirs that you combine with water, and it transforms into a colorful beverage.  fullsizeoutput_2889fullsizeoutput_288a

      This cute little shop is the Magical Menagerie.  All kinds of stuffed animals and creatures can be found here.  In the side window on the outside of the shop you can try out your Parseltongue and peek at the snake.

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      Possibly the most exciting part is the fire breathing dragon on top of Gringott’s Wizarding Bank.  Hang around for a little bit because he usually breathes fire every 10-15 minutes or so.

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      Many thanks to my friend Jason for these close up amazing photos!

      Some others in my group were talking about how good the ice cream was at Florean Forescue’s Ice Cream Parlour.  Well….ice cream is one of my favorite things ever, so I knew I wanted to try it!  And I had a snack credit left that I could use.  Everyone was rattling off their favorite flavors and I honestly couldn’t decide.

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      I ended up with Strawberry Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chili.  Both were SO GOOD!  The Chocolate Chili had a little bit of a kick to it, but it was yummy!  As soon as I was done eating it, I remembered that I forgot to take a picture of it.  Boo!

      I did actually ride Escape from Gringotts!  I have really bad motion sickness.  Especially with rides that are simulators.  I knew this had some screen action, but I HAD to try it and just close my eyes at certain parts.  It was really cool and I’m glad I did it!

      Gringott’s Money Exchange is a neat little place where you can interact with a goblin and exchange Muggle money for Gringott’s Bank Notes to use at participating locations throughout Universal.

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      Knockturn Alley!  Don’t miss this.  It’s kind of hidden but definitely neat to walk through.

       

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      One last picture on my way out of Diagon Alley.  This statue and fountain are located just outside of the secret entrance.

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      Posted in Diagon Alley, Uncategorized, Universal Orlando | 0 Comments | Tagged Diagon Alley, Universal, Universal Orlando
    • Universal Orlando Morning Touring Diagon Alley

      Posted at 11:08 am by taryngirl, on January 26, 2019

      1/7/19–Park Day!

      Our plan was to hit up the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the Universal side since we could enter 1 hour early.  We were up and had breakfast in the lounge and were on our way around 8:15 a.m…a little later than I wanted!

      (Check out my new Convertible Belt Bag by Thirty-One Gifts!  I am a Senior Director with Thirty-One Gifts, and it came in just before my trip.  I was super excited to try it!  It is the PERFECT SIZE for me for park touring!)

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      It was a quick walk to the front gate.  But first, we had to stop and get this pic!

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      There were no real lines at all to get in.  I made it through and then looked for Chrissy.  Her ticket didn’t work!  She had to go to Guest Services to get it fixed.  After a little bit we were on our way to Diagon Alley!  They were checking room keys to make sure we were staying onsite to qualify for the hour early entrance.

      I took some pictures along the way of the empty streets!

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      Christmas decorations were still up!

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      I absolutely loved all of these NYC themed streets!

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      If you have never been to Diagon Alley, you might not know how to “enter.”  It’s right here in this unmarked area!  It almost looks like you are walking into a big bathroom.

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      Inside Diagon Alley:

      This is looking back towards the entrance we just walked through.

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      At this point we got a call to meet the rest of the crew for a group picture…in Islands of Adventure by the entrance.  Also at this time, it was 9:00 a.m. and the regular crowd of people were pouring into the train station to ride Hogwarts Express over to Islands of Adventure.  So we opted to walk out of Universal and across the front of Hard Rock Cafe and Toothsome Chocolate Emporium.

      It was a gorgeous morning!fullsizeoutput_27d2fullsizeoutput_27d3

      Preliminary thoughts…If you love Harry Potter and part of the reason you are here is to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it is an absolute must that you arrive at 8 a.m. and beat the crowds!  Almost everyone makes a bee line to this area.  You get the early admission if you are staying at a participating resort or even if you buy tickets only through me…your friendly travel agent!  Contact me for more information and too see which resorts participate.  8-9 a.m. is also a great time to get pictures along the way of the empty streets.  I think the best plan is to get into Diagon Alley first then come out around 8:45-8:50 a.m. and get in line for the Hogwarts Express.  That will get you over to Hogsmeade first thing to either ride Forbidden Journey or explore a mostly empty street.

      To Be Continued…

      Posted in Diagon Alley, Uncategorized, Universal Orlando | 0 Comments | Tagged Diagon Alley, Harry Potter, Universal, Universal Orlando, Wizarding World of Harry Potter
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