However, I'm making this journal to give advice to people who plan on going. When I went, there were a few issues that would not have been a problem had I been informed.
My schedule, when I went was:
- Got there are 9:00, when the park opened.
- Had to walk the long way, all the way through the Jurassic Park area, to get the the HP area.
- Spent the next two or three hours trying to get over head exhaustion/hunger fatigue/agoraphobia, so I actually didn't go enjoy the park until like noon. I had gone in originally, but was nearly fainting and crap in the Hog's Head so we left to give me a break.
- Ate food, got better.
- Went to Zonko's, Honeyduke's, waited in line for Dervish and Bangs.
- Went home.
- Came back at around 7:00.
- Waited in line for Forbidden Journey ride. Took about an hour and a half to get on.
- Went to Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods.
- Watched the Beauxbatons/Dumstrang performance.
- Had butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.
- Went home.
First of all, do not go in the morning. You may think that you're being clever and beating the crowds, but you're not. Everyone thinks they're being clever and beating the crowds, and with all these people thinking their clever, you gets crowds. You should actually go at night. A lot of people leave at night because their kids get tired and they want to go out to a fancy restaurant or something, because they're tourists. There are a lot of things in Universal that close after 5:00, but HP World isn't one of them. I don't know if the Frog Choir performs after 5 PM, but the Beauxbaton/Durmstrang students do, because I saw them perform around 9:00, and all the shops are open. Better yet, where there are hour long lines to get into Dervish and Bangs at 12:00, there are no lines at all at 8:30. There was an hour long wait to get food at the Three Broomsticks when I was there are 11 AM, but there were absolutely no lines at 9:30 PM. You just buzzed right by.
Unless you're a Florida native or frequently dwell in stoves, you will be astounded by the unbearable heat. This is another reason to go at night. As I mentioned before, I'm a New England girl, so I succumbed to the hot, sticky, humid weather and almost passed out when we went early. The weather and the crowds combined are absolutely overwhelming. Florida is much cooler at night, and you will be a lot more comfortably standing in line for rides when the sun is not trying to murder you.
Speaking of which, as tempted as a major Potter fan may be, do not wear robes. You can guess why. They are ridiculously inconvenient. Instead, wear lighter clothes that still give up a vaguely magical vibe. I wore a comfortable, light romper that looked almost like a school uniform, and that worked out wonderfully.
On the subject of feeling magical, you won't. The Wizarding World will make you feel like a Muggle. First of all, the workers keep calling you a Muggle, which was very frustrating. I kept saying I wasn't one, and one guy kept insisting I was. It was very unnerving. Be prepared to feel like a tourist.
Lines are long. Especially for the rides. I went to the Forbidden Journey ride at night, but still waited over an hour. However, the wait was bearable thanks to the lovely decor surrounding me, and friendly Australians. Other places were you should expect lines are Dervish and Bangs, Ollivander's, and the Three Broomsticks. I can't tell you if there are lines to get into the Dragon Challenge Ride or the Flight of the Hippogriff Ride, because I didn't go on either.
The Forbidden Journey is so worth it. Seriously, it was worth the long wait. You start out by going on a tour through Hogwarts, and you see beautiful recreations of Dumbledore's office, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and the Room of Requirement, to name a few. All the while, holograms of characters and amazingly real moving paintings talk to you and banter with each other. The four founders of Hogwarts have a very amusing argument about who will win the Quidditch cup. You continue on to the ride, which goes sideways, and you sit on a bench-like four-seater and it goes on a track. Half of the ride is a movie, which the seat moves along with and makes you think you're actually there. This part actually made me sort of scared, because it honestly felt like you were flying on a broom, so I kept my eyes closed most of the time. The other half of the ride is animatronics and recreations of places. This was incredibly cool. You come face to face with a dragon that breathes smoke in your face, spiders spit at you, and dementors try to suck out your soul. The ride never goes upside down, but it does move around a lot. However, as someone who can honestly say she gets dizzy and nervous easily, this was a bearable ride. It's very scary, though, so beware!
Get food. The butterbeer is amazing. It tastes like cream soda with butterscotch, and there's frothy foam on the top that tastes like shortbread. It's really yummy. Get it in one of the reusable butterbeer mugs. The Hoghead's Brew also comes in an exclusive mug, so if you're of age, get that/ My father tried it and said it was very good, albeit strong. The Pumpkin Juice isn't that good. It tastes like liquid pumpkin pie, it's very potent. It's like something you would cook with rather than drink straight. Silly wizards and their unbearable sweettooths! Despite the pungent flavor, the bottle is really cool, so if you're the kind of person who likes collecting things like that, the seven bucks are worth it. Chocolate frogs are frighteningly big and solid milk chocolate, so it will take you a while to finish one. They're also costly (10.00), so you know it's not any run of the mill candy. Each one comes with a Hogwarts Founder card. I was lucky enough to get Rowena Ravenclaw. The cards don't move, but still have a sort of 3D appearance. Bertie Bott's Beans are also 10 dollars, but very worth it. I've gotten some really gross flavors so far: sardine, pepper, and a lot of things I can't quite explain but are still really gross. Beware the white ones, the gray ones with light gray spots, the green ones with dark green spots, and the yellow ones with dark red spots! The only other candy I bought was Pepper Imps, which have a sharp, cinnamon flavor and are much less expensive at five dollars. Since the jar is really cool, I suggest you buy them. Peppermint Toads, which my brother got, are also really good. There are tiny little bits of dark chocolate that taste like peppermint patties.
Know what you want. Unfortunately, with the crowds you get there isn't much time for browsing. Go online beforehand and see what your choices are, and when you get into the store snatch up what you want quick! I got a stuffed Pygmy Puff plushie from Zonko's, candy and Pumpkin Juice from Honeyduke's, a Ravenclaw tie and Quibbler poster/spectraspecs from Dervish and Bangs, and a Ravenclaw scarf, tee-shirts, and Fawkes plushie from Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods. Filch's had the widest selection of things to buy, and Zonko's had the least. Dervish and Bangs is very small, but it's connected with the Owlery, where you can by stationary and wands. I wish I could have stayed in Honeyduke's longer, because there was a lot of candy I wanted to try, like Fizzing Whizzbees.
Don't worry if you don't buy everything you want. There are other areas of Universal that sell Harry Potter stuff, including shirts, robes, Quidditch supplies, and candy. I got some extra candy and clothes last minute in one souvenir shop that wasn't anywhere near the Wizarding World. Also, Universal has an online shop, which I am very thankful for, because I was seriously debating whether or not to buy robes. They're a pretty nice quality, and the cheapest professional ones on the market. These are 100 dollars, whereas HP fansites like Alivans and Whimsic Alley sell their robes at $130 or more. Also, a lot of stuff featured at the theme park can also be found in the WB Shop. I wanted to buy a Marauder's Map at Filch's, but they were sold out. However, I was told I could find the map online. The only things not sold online are the candy, Pumpkin Juice and butterbeer, the Quibbler poster/spectrespecs, a few Hogwarts House accessories, and the Quidditch supplies. Speaking of the Quibbler, I had assumed it was an actual magazine. It's not, it's actually a poster, but it's still really cool and comes with spectrespecs. I tried the spectrespecs on, and they're really cool. They actually do distort your vision, which I wasn't expecting.
I named my pygmy puff Roly-Poly Watson. That's not actually a picture of him, but they all look the same, so whatever.
Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. If you have any questions, please post them in the comments section.
Cheers.