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I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan.

I’ve read the books more than once. I saw the Order of the Phoenix movie five times in the theater, and The Half-Blood Prince six times in the theater.

I’ve attended various Harry Potter themed events, creating outfits for the occasion.

So although I already visited once, I was excited to return to Universal Orlando’s, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, ready to dive wand first into the themepark’s magical lands filled with my favorite things.

Drinks

The number one drink of The Wizarding World, is Butterbeer. Getting a Butterbeer, then posing with said Butterbeer, is a must during your visit. Extra points if you don a Butterbeer mustache.

Some people shy away from Butterbeer, fearing the butterscoth-y drink will be too sweet, but it’s not as sugary as you think. They seem to know how to balance the flavor so everyone can enjoy. I like the frozen version over the regular version. I haven’t had the hot butterbeer (only available during colder months) yet, but hope to try it someday.

Although I appreciate a Butterbeer, my favorite Harry Potter drink is the Tongue Tying Lemon Squash. It’s like lemonade, but better.

Ice Cream

Ever since reading The Prisoner of Azkaban, where Harry spends his days eating ice cream while working on his summer homework, I’ve wanted to visit Florean Fortescue’s.

As an ice cream enthusiast, I eat a lot of ice cream. Florean Fortescue’s is one of my favorite ice cream places we’ve encountered in our travels. The ice cream is rich and creamy.

Being a peanut butter fiend, the strawberry-peanut butter ice cream, makes my heart dance like a Hippogriff.

Theming

From the shops, to Hogwarts Castle, the train station, to Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom, it’s bliss stepping into the world of the books and movies.

My favorite piece of theming is the dragon atop Gringotts.

I never get tired of stopping in my tracks when I hear those initial growls. The blast of fire makes my soul feel powerful and exhilarated.

Of course there’s no reason why you can’t take The Wizarding World to other areas of the park.

Rides

The Wizarding World has some of the best rides in Orlando.

As it only just opened, and the wait times were insanely long, we didn’t ride Hagid’s coaster.

Having manageable wait times, I was eager to ride Forbidden Journey and Escape From Gringotts. I’m not a big, scary, roller coaster girl, so I’m always grateful for rides with a thrill, minus the giant drops and/or loops.

Not only do the rides immerse you in the books/movies,

the amazing queues make the lines less painful.

Better with Friends

This trip, we visited The Wizarding World with a group of 10. There were great advantages to visiting with friends.

Coordinating t-shirts.

Disappearing together on Platform 9 3/4,

and having enough people to have a wizard duel.

Life is better with friends, and even better when you’re with friends in The Wizarding World.

My Harry Potter passion is grateful to Universal for creating a magical place, where, at least for a day or two, I can indulge in my fangirl favorites, and leave the world of muggles behind.