Diagonally!

Holy Moly! I have not posted in a month!  WHAT has happened in November?

Oh, I won tickets to Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights plus two one-day park hopper passes. I gave the HHN tickets to Jacob and a friend to use before they expired on November 1.  Then David and I went on a random Tuesday, while the kids were at school, to the parks to FINALLY see the new additions to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter areas.

Side note:  It is NOT CALLED HARRY POTTER WORLD.  It is NOT its own theme park. I groan when I hear people saying they're coming down to Florida to visit "Harry Potter World."  No, you're not.  You're coming down to visit Universal Orlando Resort, which includes Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and City Walk.  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a section of Islands of Adventure, and now with the new addition of Diagon Alley, it's also a part of the Universal Studios park too.

We were not aware of what side the new additions were on when we got there.  We entered Islands of Adventure, looked at our map and realized we should have been at Universal Studios.  Ooops.  Thankfully, I won park hoppers AND there was a new attraction that would take you from one park to another, as long as you have a park hopper; the Hogwarts Express, a ride between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

Waiting to Board the Hogwarts Express

Squee!

Inside our own compartment.

Hi David!

As we rode off, we could see the countryside roll by us.  Even Fred & George flew by.  They'd missed the train, but then proceeded to get on.

Fred and George walk by our compartment door. 

Then Harry, Ron & Hermione walk by.

Arriving in London

So we're walking out of King's Cross, just looking around, when a park member says "Diagon Alley, this way" and points to brick walls, right where the people in the picture below are walking.  I'm thinking "What? Where? It's just a building facade,"  We walk in and around.

 and THIS is behind the wall/  I just stopped and gasped.  My grin was ear to ear.  I teared up.  It was AMAZING.

The Leaky Cauldron

Time to ride!  Wait time was maybe ten minutes! Woo hoo random Tuesday before the Holidays!

There were no pictures allowed inside the ride, but we sure did have a blast!


Lunch was at The Leaky Cauldron!  Squee!!

And dessert was at Fortiscue's Ice Cream Parlour.

I wish I could post ALL the shots we took (we went into Madam Malkin's robe shop, the Owlry, and even DARK Knockturn Alley), but they're not that great (cell phones) and way too many, so I will leave you with these two.