Fantasy Manifests into Reality

For Janan's 11th birthday in January she received her "Letter from Hogwarts".  This birthday gift started when just a few month prior she said to me, "Mom, I know you're going to think this is silly, but I still believe I'll get my letter to Hogwarts on my 11th birthday, just like Harry did."

Since she started the first book at age 5 and has continually returned to them in the 6 years since (re-reading her favorites more than 10 times), I shouldn't have been the least surprised she really believed it.


It was all Nana & Poppy had to hear.  They had been wanting to plan a trip to the new Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter and this was just the incentive they needed.  They planned the trip & Mama designed the "official letter from Hogwarts".


While we thought the countdown would begin immediately, there seemed to exist a bit of doubt about it really happening.  But, as the date grew closer she became more and more excited.


We left on Tuesday, June 14th for Orlando. Wednesday morning, we all got up bright and early to head over to Universal Studios.

Universal Studios has much more to offer than just Harry Potter World (HPW), but she wanted to go DIRECTLY there.  She & Poppy carefully studied the map, so no wrong turns would be taken.


First, you have to travel through Dr. Suess Land (Oh!  How Mama wanted to spend some time there!)...

And then through The Lost Continent, which includes a bit of Greek Mythology; Janan's second favorite thing next to HP (I even had the audacity to think we might spend a bit of time there before getting to HPW...silly me!)...

Janan & Poppy on the way THROUGH
The Lost Continent

before you reach HPW.  But, when you round the final turn there's no doubt you're about to enter Hogsmeade.

Everything seems to be taken straight from the movie set.  Despite the 100 degree weather, the snowcapped rooftops almost convince you it's winter!

The first thing you see is the Hogwart's Express - conductor and all!

You can shop at places like Zonko's Joke Shop,

Honeyduke's Sweet Shop, 

(yes, they sell Chocolate Frogs with wizard cards 

& Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans!) 

and Ollivander's Wand Shop.  More than just a store, they put on a genuine "the wand picks you show"!  

Janan walked through every inch of the park with a look of awe generally reserved for the very young on Christmas morning.  That's a look I haven't seen on her face in years!


Mama loosened the "no soda" rule so Janan could try Butterbeer.  I had heard it wasn't very good, so was thinking one would be enough.  Well, it turned out to be REALLY good!  The best way I can explain it is like a real Italian Cream Soda in butterscotch flavor.  


These pics are of her first taste....

Her 1st Butterbeer!

Trying the cream first..

Taking a sip...

It was a HUGE hit!
(We lost count of how many she had after that!)

From there, the magic only got more and more amazing.  The Flight of the Hippogriff became her favorite ride.  As you enter the ride, you hear Hagrid's voice telling you you've entered the Forbidden Forest.  His hut is there, complete with the sounds of Fang barking inside.

The ride looks like wicker baskets, which at first seems odd, until you hear Hagrid saying that Hippogriff's are so dangerous a wicker 'training' Hippogriff has been created to teach the students how to ride.  But, as the ride heads out of the station area, a Hippogriff is there waiting for you to give it the proper respect & bow.  

On our last day, she even rode in the FRONT!  

Mama's favorite ride was The Forbidden Journey.  You have to walk through the castle (including the greenhouse) to get to the ride and everything is there including staircases waiting to shift, talking portraits and the sorting hat.  The hat's job here is to give you all the warnings about the ride!  LOL!

This ride is AMAZING!  You actually FEEL like you're flying!  I don't want to give it all away (in the event you're planning to go), but if you've ever really wanted to play Quidditch this is probably the closest you'll ever get!  


We had 3 day park passes and I really wasn't sure how we could fill three full days but we MORE than managed and still left wanting more!  


Of course, I did finally talk her into other areas of the park.  We ended up doing Poseidon's Fury.  An Indiana Jones like show that was amazing!

On our way in to Poseidon's Fury

We rode the Jurassic Park water ride, the Toon Town White Water Raft ride (that one turned out to be her 2nd favorite) and even the Log Ride which was captured in a photo that will most likely go down in family history...

Yes, I think you can count Janan's teeth!

She even gave up one Butterbeer to try Pumpkin Juice and loved it, too!

As we walked out of the park for our last time on Friday, I took one final pic of Janan with her last Butterbeer.  

Our last two days in Florida also have many amazing memories.  Nana & Poppy got us tickets to see La Nouba, a Cirque du Soleil show, at Downtown Disney.  We had 4th row seats!  It really was a spectacle to behold and Janan loved every minute it!  

Before the show started, we walked around Downtown Disney and found this amazing shop called Vinylmation.  What attracted me first was this Mickey in the window:

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but he's made up of many other tiny Mickeys (OK, it is Mickeys, Mickey Mouses or Mickey Mice?)!

  

The table beneath him and the lamp above him were also created with the tiny Mickeys.

Each one is the shape of Mickey Mouse, but looks either like another Disney character (e.g. Jack Skellington, Winnie the Pooh, etc.) or another animal/creature (e.g. an owl, werewolf, etc.)  Of course, in true Disney fashion, each little Mickey is sold in limited quantities and they come in sealed boxes, so you don't know exactly which one you'll get.  

We also had fun being silly in the Disney stores...

My Little Chipmunk

Saturday was spent on the beach with friends in a gorgeous wildlife preserve near Cape Canaveral.  You could see the shuttle launch pad as we drove in and this guy was sunning along the road, as well!  As is typical, Janan had been saying all day that she didn't want to leave Florida without seeing an alligator so, of course, the Universe provided.

Our beautiful Guatebabies!  

Sunday our flight didn't leave until 3:30 EST, so we had some more time to go to Downtown Disney for lunch and final pictures.

Janan & Mickey!

A whole toy store filled with Mr. & Mrs. PotatoHead stuff!

Janan & Poppy in front of the giant Tinkertoys

Janan & Nana with Pooh, Tigger & Piglet!

I think we would all agree, this was our greatest vacation ever.  It really will be hard to top this one!