Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures

Tag: Wizarding World of Harry Potter

• Diagon Alley

  Posted at 10:21 am by taryngirl, on April 30, 2021

  11/16/20

  One of my main goals was to spend some time in Diagon Alley. This whole area is like a page out of the book! There are so many details, that with each trip I notice something new.

  To enter this area, it’s not really marked. You have to just walk in doorways and find it! It’s located next to King’s Cross Station.

  This is King’s Cross Station, where you can board Hogwart’s Express to travel to Islands of Adventure and the village of Hogsmeade.

  

  Once you walk through the doorway, you are immediately transported to a magical place!

  

  Keep walking straight ahead and there are a variety of shops, and one of the coolest parts…

  

  The dragon that sits atop Gringotts Bank is a true fire breathing dragon. It goes off every so many minutes. You will know it’s gearing up to breathe fire when you hear the rumbling starting.

  I love walking through the different shops. There is one called Eyelop’s Owl Emporium/Magical Menagerie. Here you can purchase owls, and all of the other magical pets, as well as items to take care of them.

  

  If you walk outside of this store, in the window you can see a snake who will speak Parseltounge to you.

  

  Also located in this area is Knockturn Alley. This is a very dark, walk through area. The theming is amazing! You can see these singing heads:

  

  Borgin and Burkes shop is located here.

  

  

  Everything was decorated for Christmas!

  

  If you are a super Harry Potter fan, there is no shortage of merchandise depicting your “house.”

  

  

  Be sure to visit Gringotts Money Exchange! Behind the counter you will see a goblin. You can ask him a question and see what he has to say. You can trade US currency for Gringotts bank notes. These bank notes may be used for purchases within Diagon Alley at select locations.

  

  There is no shortage of Butterbeer! There are a few locations that serve it.

  

  

  This is also a fun shop! Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes has apparel, toys and other souvenirs.

  

  You can find all kinds of goodies at Sugarplum’s Sweet Shop!

  

  

  

  Possibly my favorite snack in all of Universal is ice cream from Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor! They have soft serve, hard pack, and a special feature of Butterbeer ice cream!

  

  I’m sorry this is partially eaten, but it was hot and melting and I had to start eating it immediately! I can never decide on just one flavor, so I get two…Chocolate Chili and Strawberry and Peanut Butter. SO GOOD! (So good that I went back and got it the next day too…)

  

  Just outside of Diagon Alley you can find the Knight Bus! There is usually a bus conductor there that you can have conversation with, as well as a shrunken head.

  

  Overall, we had a great time in Diagon Alley! It was not crowded at all, and the weather was perfect. This is for sure a don’t miss for me!

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

• Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade

  Posted at 9:03 am by taryngirl, on February 25, 2019

  1/7/19

  We finished up our yummy lunch at Three Broomsticks and then took some time to explore Hogsmeade.  The brave ones went to ride Forbidden Journey.  I unfortunately can’t because of my motion sickness!

  The weather was just perfect!

  

  My first stop was Honeydukes!  I couldn’t wait to see all of the sweet goodness!

  Many of the candies were consistent with the movie.  Chocolate frogs, exploding bon bons, etc.

  They also had a case with many yummy treats!  I was so full, I didn’t get anything.  But so many things looked delicious and the line was long!

  Looking back, I regret not getting anything to eat for later!

   

  

  I went into all of the little shops.  Everything was themed so wonderfully.  It really felt like I was in the movie!  

   

  Posted in Hogsmeade, Islands of Adventure, Uncategorized, Universal Orlando, Vacation, Wizarding World of Harry Potter | 0 Comments | Tagged Hogsmeade, Honeydukes, Islands of Adventure, Universal Orlando, Wizarding World of Harry Potter

• Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Three Broomsticks Lunch

  Posted at 8:08 pm by taryngirl, on February 4, 2019

  We continued on to Hogsmeade and headed straight for Three Broomsticks!

  

  

  We got there at a really good time.  There actually is a queue outside so the cash register areas do not get too jammed, and so the doors are not blocked for those who are exiting.  We luckily avoided this and walked right inside.

  Here’s a picture of the breakfast menu that they serve.

  

  And the lunch menu:

  

  We already knew we were all going to get The Great Feast!  When getting the feast, you cannot use a quick service credit per person.

           Once you are in the line inside, the first person you get to will tell you what register   number to go to.  You place your order at the register and they normally hand you your food right there.  We were such a big group with 3 orders of the feast, so they just gave us our drinks and brought our food to the table.  We were given a number to put on our table.

  There is another person who seats you.  I think this is to avoid people saving seats.

  

  The chicken was moist, and the ribs were good!  I loved the potatoes and the vegetables.  I could do without the corn on the cob.

  

  I really enjoyed this meal!  I thought it was really good.  When looking at the price, it almost seems cheaper to order just a single serving per person.  But it was fun to get it in a feast!  

  I would definitely return here!

  Posted in Dining Review, Islands of Adventure, Quick Service, Uncategorized, Wizarding World of Harry Potter | 0 Comments | Tagged Dining Review, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Islands of Adventure, Quick Service, Three Broomsticks, Wizarding World of Harry Potter

• 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!)

  

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

  

  

  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!

  

  

  Christmas decorations were still up!

  

  

  I absolutely loved all of these NYC themed streets!

  

  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.

  

  Inside Diagon Alley:

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

  

  

  

  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!

  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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