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Wizarding World of Harry Potter Experience

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Experience, oh what a magical place…for the most part. I want to let you in on some secrets and answer some questions about the park and the whole experience. I took my mom there for Mother’s Day/ her birthday and learned a lot that will hopefully help you plan and execute your trip much smoother!

Here are some insider tips on your next Harry Potter Experience…all aboard!

harry potter

Do you need a whole day to enjoy the Harry Potter Experience?

The answer is…DEPENDS! Listen up bitches because this is very important information.

If you plan on going to Universal Studios/ Harry Potter Experience anytime from May-September, my advice would be to highly rethink that. School is out, summer is upon us, but hello? Have you been to Florida? It starts getting hot the day after Christmas! So not only are the crowds out of control, but you’ll have to deal with those crowds in the the sweltering heat and humidity. NO THANKS. My mom and I went on a week day and luckily it was partly cloudy, otherwise we would have been miserable.

Universal Studios

Mama is a Harry Potter fanatic! I’m talking OBSESSED with all things HP; she’s even read the whole book series about 3 times…but even she couldn’t spend a whole day exploring. When crowds are at a minimum and the weather permits, you could see both sides of Harry in half a day! Understand that when school’s out, there will be an influx of tiny hellions running around sword fighting with wands and you will HAVE to spend a whole day there because the lines for everything will be horrendous. That’s why you should plan your trip according to peak season!

Should I get a park to park pass?

YES! If you want the whole Harry Potter Experience, then you need the park to park pass. The Hogwarts Express adds a new element to your experience making it all seem even more fucking magical! Well played Universal…another way to take our money. Like I said before…during peak season prices go high as a kite, and a party of 2 buying the P2P pass will set you back a whopping $300! HOLY SHIT BALLS. So expensive. Especially if you are going strictly for HP! In that case, you better try to spend the night there for that price. Lord help the people with kids…gotta take out a damn loan for this trip.

harry potter

WTF is up with the Wands?

Well, first of all, they are $50 a pop. Not terrible for an interactive stick right? Here’s my advice. If you want one, get one! There are about 25 interactive places to “cast spells” around each side of the park, so it’s fun to play around with. BUT don’t fuck up the end of your stick. If it gets scratched, you will have to wait in yet another line to get it repaired. Half the time however, the interactions didn’t even work and if it did…you had to wait behind a gang of small, annoying fuckers who can’t follow directions. So the choice is yours.

[[ SECRET ]] There are plenty of HP workers walking around both sides. Ask them to show you the “secret” places to cast spells!

harry potter

What rendition of butter beer should you get?

Fuck it, get them all! Just kidding, get the ice cream. It’s probably the best ice cream that has ever graced my lips (and hips). Soft-serve with this swirl of amazingness running through it. TO DIE FOR. You can also get the traditional butter beer or the frozen version. Sadly, none of the them have alcohol so are they even that good? What kind of Harry Potter Experience would it be if you weren’t a little tipsy 😉

[[ SECRET ]] If it’s on or close to your birthday, you get a free butter beer in either restaurant!

butter beer

 What side should I go to first?

DIAGON ALLEY! This is the epitome of the Harry Potter Experience! It has so much more to see and do than Hogsmeade AND the line to get into Ollivander’s (the wand shop) was way shorter. Here you can weave in and out of shops, watch a performance outside and see the fire breathing dragon! Hogsmeade was kind of a letdown. Even though it has the Hogwarts Castle, all the outside shops aren’t real, just a playful façade for you to cast spells on. My mom, the HP fanatic said she was really disappointed by the Castle since it played such a huge roll in the books but not in the park? We spent about 35 minutes in Hogsmeade and went right back over to the other side.

[[ SECRET ]] Can’t ride simulation rides? You can go up to the front of the simulations and ask for a tour. My mom has severe Vertigo so any type of ride makes her wanna puke (especially after eating a tub of butter beer ice cream) so I felt bad she wouldn’t get to experience one of the best parts of HP. Luckily, my good friend told us that we could do a walk through tour without having to ever get on the ride! Problem solved. Another tiny secret…somehow the walk through turns into the fast pass lane so we could have hopped right on in the front…no waiting in line!

harry potter
FOOOOOOD!!

My mom and I personally ate at the Leaky Caldron, since we were trying to be all Harry Potterish. This place has British style food that was just eh. Heard the fish and chips were good…if you like fish and chips, but I had Shepard’s Pie and it was just okay. We ended up leaving the park before dinnertime, HOWEVER, when we rode the train over to Hogsmeade we smelled the most delicious smoked BBQ. We thought to ourselves, ” We done fucked up.” Never got to try the ribs at Three Broomsticks so TRY THEM and let me know how they are!

[[ SECRET ]] You can find alcoholic beer all through-out both sides so don’t fret! Strongbow is my fav. ( And yes I have to say alcoholic because of the butter beer..and the ignorance of some people )

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[[ SECRET ]] Maybe not a secret..but its my own personal secret! Find someone who works for Universal and get a discount! 😉 Shout out to Solange for hooking me and my mom up with discounted tickets and 25% off a wand!harry potter experience

Whatcha think bitches?? Don’t take the shit I say personally. This was strictly my experience and point of view at Harry Potter so hopefully you learned a thing or two. Is there anything else you would like to know about the Harry Potter experience? Do you have any suggestions on visiting? Let me know but until next time…

xo Bonvoyage Bitches

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harry potter experience

  1. Eva says:

    If you can do the ride, do the ride! Best part of HPW.

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