Thanksgiving at Universal: A Trip Report - Day 5 - Dining in the Three Broomsticks

After a full day of walking, touring, and shopping, we were hungry as a hippogriff! However, we were close to the Flight of the Hippogriff, and Josh decided he was brave enough to ride it. Randy took him for a quick ride (not too quick as the queue had gotten pretty long) while LaRae, Katelyn, and I took a tour of Hogwarts and then went to watch the Toad Choir. 

The Hogwarts Tour, which I mentioned in an earlier post, allows guests to tour the inside of Hogwarts without standing in the usual queue. To do the tour, simply walk into the Castle through the gift shop and tell a wizard that you would like to do the tour. They will point you in the right direction which will take you through a hall of portraits that the regular queue does not go through. You will get plenty of time to wind beside the queue to spots where you have prime viewing to stop and view the holograms and other details of the castle. If you want to photograph the inside of Hogwarts, this is the only way to do it as bags and cameras cannot be carried on the ride itself and must be placed in lockers in the Hogwarts entrance. 

A full tour completed, we decided to go hear the Toad Choir. Their magic was waning though, and so they were unable to sing (sound system or microphones were acting up). Instead they moved to take photos with the crowd. Through the difficulties the choir stayed fully in character. When it was our turn to get our photo taken, they asked Katelyn about her wand. When she said it was new and that she wasn't sure how to use it yet, they requested that she not point it toward them. We all got a chuckle out of that!

Requesting the untrained wand be pointed at the ground.

We also took a minute to get some photos of the Hogwarts Express while we waited on the boys.

The porter walked up as I was taking this photo. He was very
perplexed by my odd Muggle behavior of taking
photos of luggage that wasn't mine!

The boys caught up in time to take a photo for us. See my awesome
Harry Potter jacket? :D

Photo opportunities completed, we moved toward having an early dinner in the Three Broomsticks. The atmosphere and decor here was, like everything else, perfect down to the minute details!

Randy had chicken which looked like something Hagrid would order!
He said it was cooked perfectly.

I love Shepherd's Pie, so I was excited to try it here. It was delicious! 

I couldn't resist the frozen Butterbeer in the souvenir mug. It was sweet
and butterscotch flavored. Not sure it would be a constant favorite
of mine, but it was a yummy treat to try!

Outside dining area sign

While my family finished dining, I decided to take a second spin on Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey. My app told me the queue was super short, and being a single rider, they did pull me to the front when I got to a certain point. I can't fully describe how much I loved this ride! I could ride it on loop!

I kept my phone on me, so I could snag a photo of the Sorting Hat!

On the way out, LaRae and Randy insisted that I go ride the Amazing Spiderman 3D attraction. It, like the Forbidden Journey, was a simulator that moved through rooms. I'm glad I rode it with LaRae as it was super incredible. At times I was ducking because it was hard to tell what was real and what was 3D imagery!

Oh... just going for a spin in the Fantastic Four's ride, no big deal! 

Spiderman, Spiderman...

No clue what this was, but I love me some X-Men!

Finally the long day (with no rest time) was over. The entire family was exhausted and dragging on the way out of the park, but it was a good tired. We definitely had an amazing time at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure! Would I go again? Absolutely! Do I need to go there every time I'm in Orlando? Probably not. Come back on Wednesday, and I'll share the Universal vs. Disney rundown. Parking, downtown areas, ride storage, cranes, and more will be discussed!

Thanksgiving at Universal: A Trip Report - Day 5 - Wizardly Shopping in Hogsmeade

Lost Continent

Katelyn and I wound our way back through Seuss Landing and the Lost Continent so that we could go back into Hogsmeade to see all of the shops. Hogsmeade boasts the shops of Dervish & Banges, Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods, Honeydukes, Ollivanders, and Zonko's. Guests can also grab both Wizard and Muggle food and drinks like Pumpkin Juice and Butterbeer from carts throughout the village. For those looking for a more substantial meal, the Three Broomsticks has plenty of yummy victuals fit for the most hungry of all magical guests and creatures! (We dined there for dinner, but that's tomorrow's post!)

As we wound our way through the shops I noticed that Katelyn was very quiet. I love my alone time with my niece, and we usually keep up steady conversation, but I think she was taking it all in so deeply that speaking was out of the question. I simply kept up a steady stream of "ooooh look at this!" and "what do you make of that?" while she nodded or looked at more items with wide-eyes. We were both wanting to drop some cash on some souvenirs, so we were shopping with a mission!

Katelyn's love of Harry Potter came about in a nontraditional manner. She and her brother spent time watching the story of Harry Potter unfold on the television screen as LaRae played Lego Harry Potter on the Wii. After having fun watching her mother play, Katelyn asked to read the Harry Potter books. She is still working her way through them, and the first read through LaRae reads each book aloud with her. At this point, I believe she had only read through Book 3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. That wasn't much of a problem as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter seems to be based in that time period while the actors from the movies seem through the park's merchandise and holograms are older than Year 3. I believe this is because the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is meant to be fun, and after Book 3, things get super dark, super fast. No one wants to explore Hogsmeade with the threat of You-Know-Who, Deatheaters, and dementors!

Hogsmeade! Doesn't it look like you're walking onto the movie set? I love
the ever-there snow. Makes it even more fantastical! 

The Owl Post was neat, but alas, most of the owls were out on errands.

Katelyn wanted her photo in front of the Hogwarts Express, but I
think the train conductor made her nervous...

We found the Zonko's Ricks & Jokes shop was a mix of Zonko's and Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes in Diagon Alley. We do know (spoiler alert!!) that Fred & George were looking into buying Zonko's or opening a shop in Hogsmeade, so that's how I justified this mixing of merchandise. We loved all of the details and items there were to look at!

Zonkos Tricks and Jokes

This is a Pygmy Puff (from the Weasleys' shop in the books). Katelyn
was unsure of it, but I thought it was adorable!

Honeyduke's was a favorite shop for the two of us. We spent quite a long time looking at all of the amazing candies and treats! 

I always thought the idea of Sugar Quills was neat!

Chocolate Cauldron

Ton Tongue Toffee

Katelyn looked at this and said, "Aunt Joanna! Take my
picture! You need this on your blog!" She was well aware these
photos were all going on the interwebs! :) Love this kid!

Katelyn was also looking for a wand to buy, but she decided this
chocolate wand was not quite what she was looking for.

Exploding Bonbons

Pepper Imps

Peppermint Toads

Even more options!

Pink Coconut Ice

Chocolate Frogs - Katelyn wonders what Wizarding Card is in each
package. We definitely bought a couple of these!

What would Honeyduke's be without Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?

Chocolate Frog Window Display

Every window and sign in Hogsmeade is detailed and perfect!

These must be held up by magic!

I would like a self-stirring cauldron, please!

Parcels await owl delivery!

The wand chooses the wizard.

Quidditch Supplies - where is the Golden Snitch??

The "Public Convenience" has a familiar haunt who will visit you
when you use the restroom! Moaning Myrtle can be heard throughout
the restroom. I took the time to accompany a nervous
companion there. I found Myrtle to be a delight!

Do you recognize this formalwear?

Dervish and Banges had an assortment of wizard robes and other items a great wizard needs.

The Quibbler

Katelyn insisted I get a photo of the Monster Book of Monsters!
It was in a cage because it was really moving! So cool!

Katelyn wanted to buy a wand, but finding the wand to choose the wizard proved to be quite daunting. 

Ollivanders featured a simple sign. The queue to go meet him was a
big longer than we wanted to wait, so we checked out his stock
in other locations.

Wands could be found in Ollivanders. They ranged from famous wands to
general wands waiting for a wizard. 

In the end, the best option for wand buying was a cart outside of the Hogwarts gift shop. At the cart Katelyn could easily view all of the wands, touch them and try them out, and take her time choosing without being pressed on all sides by people trying to get a good look. She happily chose Luna Lovegood's wand. While she didn't know who Luna was at the time, she did love the look of the wand. I guess the wand really does choose the wizard!

I found the best shopping for me was the Hogwarts gift shop as well. I was able to find a Wizard t-shirt, a jacket like Harry's from the movies, a pin for my lanyard, and some other odds and ends. Again, cell phones do not work well in the shop, so telling LaRae and Randy how to find us again was difficult! In the end, we all had the perfect souvenirs and plenty of memories from shopping together.

Come back Monday to dine in the Three Broomsticks and see the Toad Choir. Wednesday's post will be a sum up of Disney vs. Universal. Both do some great things better than the other!