Today was the day we chose to visit Islands of Adventure.
We were really looking forward to all the different sections represented in this park. Yeah, right! To be honest, today was all about - Harry Potter! Realistically, we had to walk through the other areas just to get there and back. We did stop a little en route...
The Port of Entry had a very old world island feel to it, and served its intended purpose of getting visitors in the mood for an island adventure. I could handle some Margaritaville right now!
Moving quickly into Marvel Superhero Island, we rode the Spiderman ride. It took us through New York City in an effort to stop the bad guys from further destroying the city. With our 3-D glasses, we felt like we were right in the thick of things. (No flinching today!) Since none of us are Comic book fans, we really didn't relate to this theme very well.
Toon Lagoon, on the other hand, was a walk down Memory Lane. All my childhood favorite cartoon and comic strip characters were in evidence: Betty Boop, Popeye, Beetle Bailey, Cathy, Blondie and Dagwood, and more.
Just as the heat was beginning to take its initial toll, we happened upon Bilge Rat Barges. We were warned we would get quite wet, and did we ever! By the time we got off, we were literally soaked to the skin!
Lunch at the Comic Strip Cafe gave us a chance to start drying out, but, honestly, with the heat, being wet felt great!
Leaving Toon Lagoon, we walked straight through Jurassic Park. It did feel like an authentic jungle, but we had no time to waste. We could practically hear Harry calling our names!
Suddenly, Hogwarts came within view! What a thrill to walk through the gates and enter such a magical world.
The first thing we did? Butterbeer! Icy cold and creamy - just what we needed. We were even serenaded by the Frog Choir while we waited in line.
From there, we decided to visit Hogwart's itself. What an awesome reproduction of the castle school attended by Harry and friends.
It included all the memorable locations and decor so loved by Harry Potter fans: the Herbology greenhouse; the House points counter; the Phoenix statue at the entrance to Dumbledore's office, and indeed his office with Dumbledore himself presiding; moving/talking pictures in the halls(!); the Dark Arts classroom; the sorting hat; the Great Hall, complete with floating candles, and so much more I can't remember it all. Every detail was perfect. My daughters were in their idea of heaven.
All of this of course, led up to the Hogwart's ride itself, called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Riders were in suspended "cars" that flew throughout the grounds, following Harry on his broom. In the process, we came across all kinds of dangers, including dragons, giant spiders, the Whomping Willow, quidditch players, and (shudder) dementors. It really felt like flying, and was fun at first, then my motion sickness kicked in. Just too much stuff whizzing past. (See why I didn't go on the roller coaster with Emily?!) What a wimp! No more rides for me! The girls, on the other hand, went back later and rode again...
They, along with Larry, also rode the Flight of the Hippogriff, a pretty tame roller coaster designed for the less daring. (I probably could have handled that one if I'd headed there first - but I wasn't going to risk it after almost losing my lunch in Hogwart's...)
Emily even convinced her sister and her father to go with her on the Dragon Challenge - dueling roller coasters that make 4 or 5 upside down loops, then miss each other by mere inches when they meet in the middle. (Another shudder...)
Meanwhile, I made myself at home in the village of Hogsmeade. I hit the Hog's Head Pub, where I had a real beer and a snack. It rained while I was inside having my beer, really coming down hard! The pub suddenly became very crowded! It seems everyone was running for cover. Except my kids. They're Oregonians - they're used to being out in the rain. And this rain was warm! They continued to tool around, ride rides, and see the sights. That stinkin' rain didn't slow them down one bit!
I also spent some time in the Owlery, next to the Owl Post, of course, and wandered around, taking TONS of pictures. Hey, I had a lot of time to waste while the rest of the family rode the rides again and again!
I checked out all the village shops, including Olivander's, Honeyduke's, Zonko's, and Dervish and Banges.
Once they resurfaced, we had dinner at the Three Broomsticks...
...and the girls did some shopping.
At Honeydukes, we bought a Chocolate Frog and some Peppermint Toads.
Zonko's was full of one gag after another.
I couldn't believe it when it got dark, and I realized we'd been in the HP world 7 hours! We passed the train station, said good-bye to the Hogwart's train conductor, and started the long trek back to the car.
By then, we virtually staggered back through The Lost Continent, we were so tired. I'm sure there was some cool stuff there, but we didn't notice. We did almost lose Emily when she thought she'd found a faster way outta there!
I have to admit, though, that the teacher in me had to ride The Cat in the Hat ride in Seuss Landing. Even the Caro-Suess-el was tempting!
You know, this being our first theme park experience, I have been agog both days at the creative and convincing designs of the places we've visited. The theater person in me is so impressed with the level of detail that has gone into the "set" design of each themed area. Each of today's "islands" was so true to theme: comic books, cartoons, Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss - each so convincingly done. Even waiting in lines is made enjoyable by the care that has gone into making the interiors a part of the experience. Yesterday's Men in Black building felt like a real training center for prospective agents; today's Hogwart's castle was an astounding achievement in authenticity. There are some talented people out there!
We were really looking forward to all the different sections represented in this park. Yeah, right! To be honest, today was all about - Harry Potter! Realistically, we had to walk through the other areas just to get there and back. We did stop a little en route...
The Port of Entry had a very old world island feel to it, and served its intended purpose of getting visitors in the mood for an island adventure. I could handle some Margaritaville right now!
Moving quickly into Marvel Superhero Island, we rode the Spiderman ride. It took us through New York City in an effort to stop the bad guys from further destroying the city. With our 3-D glasses, we felt like we were right in the thick of things. (No flinching today!) Since none of us are Comic book fans, we really didn't relate to this theme very well.
Toon Lagoon, on the other hand, was a walk down Memory Lane. All my childhood favorite cartoon and comic strip characters were in evidence: Betty Boop, Popeye, Beetle Bailey, Cathy, Blondie and Dagwood, and more.
Just as the heat was beginning to take its initial toll, we happened upon Bilge Rat Barges. We were warned we would get quite wet, and did we ever! By the time we got off, we were literally soaked to the skin!
Lunch at the Comic Strip Cafe gave us a chance to start drying out, but, honestly, with the heat, being wet felt great!
Leaving Toon Lagoon, we walked straight through Jurassic Park. It did feel like an authentic jungle, but we had no time to waste. We could practically hear Harry calling our names!
Suddenly, Hogwarts came within view! What a thrill to walk through the gates and enter such a magical world.
The first thing we did? Butterbeer! Icy cold and creamy - just what we needed. We were even serenaded by the Frog Choir while we waited in line.
From there, we decided to visit Hogwart's itself. What an awesome reproduction of the castle school attended by Harry and friends.
It included all the memorable locations and decor so loved by Harry Potter fans: the Herbology greenhouse; the House points counter; the Phoenix statue at the entrance to Dumbledore's office, and indeed his office with Dumbledore himself presiding; moving/talking pictures in the halls(!); the Dark Arts classroom; the sorting hat; the Great Hall, complete with floating candles, and so much more I can't remember it all. Every detail was perfect. My daughters were in their idea of heaven.
All of this of course, led up to the Hogwart's ride itself, called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Riders were in suspended "cars" that flew throughout the grounds, following Harry on his broom. In the process, we came across all kinds of dangers, including dragons, giant spiders, the Whomping Willow, quidditch players, and (shudder) dementors. It really felt like flying, and was fun at first, then my motion sickness kicked in. Just too much stuff whizzing past. (See why I didn't go on the roller coaster with Emily?!) What a wimp! No more rides for me! The girls, on the other hand, went back later and rode again...
They, along with Larry, also rode the Flight of the Hippogriff, a pretty tame roller coaster designed for the less daring. (I probably could have handled that one if I'd headed there first - but I wasn't going to risk it after almost losing my lunch in Hogwart's...)
Emily even convinced her sister and her father to go with her on the Dragon Challenge - dueling roller coasters that make 4 or 5 upside down loops, then miss each other by mere inches when they meet in the middle. (Another shudder...)
Meanwhile, I made myself at home in the village of Hogsmeade. I hit the Hog's Head Pub, where I had a real beer and a snack. It rained while I was inside having my beer, really coming down hard! The pub suddenly became very crowded! It seems everyone was running for cover. Except my kids. They're Oregonians - they're used to being out in the rain. And this rain was warm! They continued to tool around, ride rides, and see the sights. That stinkin' rain didn't slow them down one bit!
I also spent some time in the Owlery, next to the Owl Post, of course, and wandered around, taking TONS of pictures. Hey, I had a lot of time to waste while the rest of the family rode the rides again and again!
I checked out all the village shops, including Olivander's, Honeyduke's, Zonko's, and Dervish and Banges.
Once they resurfaced, we had dinner at the Three Broomsticks...
...and the girls did some shopping.
At Honeydukes, we bought a Chocolate Frog and some Peppermint Toads.
Zonko's was full of one gag after another.
I couldn't believe it when it got dark, and I realized we'd been in the HP world 7 hours! We passed the train station, said good-bye to the Hogwart's train conductor, and started the long trek back to the car.
By then, we virtually staggered back through The Lost Continent, we were so tired. I'm sure there was some cool stuff there, but we didn't notice. We did almost lose Emily when she thought she'd found a faster way outta there!
I have to admit, though, that the teacher in me had to ride The Cat in the Hat ride in Seuss Landing. Even the Caro-Suess-el was tempting!
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