Have you seen the brand new Harry Potter world at Universal Studios yet? It is simply incredible! It's well worth the wait and the price. If you're a fan of Harry Potter, or even if you have simply seen one movie or read just one of the seven books, you need to see the new Harry Potter world.
The trip through the Hogwarts Castle is by far the highlight of the entire theme park. In a single word, it's "Awesome!". Once you step through the castle doors, the adventure begins. It is like entering into the world of Harry Potter itself.
Even though you still have a half hour of waiting in line, when you step inside the doors, the entire maze is set up with fascinating sights, scenes, and shows all the way up to the actual ride itself. My daughter (who turned 19 while we were there) and I both wished the line would really move slower through the castle so we have extra time to totally take in all the sights.
As you step through the very realistic castle, you'll encounter intriguing specimen jars, clips and holograms on screens that appear to be real characters from the movies, statues, passageways, the potions room, the mirror that shows you what you want most … it's all there.
The moving and talking paintings talk about you between themselves as you precess through the hallway, and the "fat lady" responsible for opening the doors actually talks to you. The Sorting Hat that decides which house you will be part of (i.e., Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin) actually moves, talks, and appears identical to the one in the movie.
The Hogwarts Castle is situated at the very back of the Universal Studios Islands of Adventure theme park. Before you get to the castle, you have to walk through the whole town of Hogsmead which is like taking a step right into the films themselves.
Immediately after passing through the entry gate to the Harry Potter World, you will notice the Hogwarts Express train on the right. Then you'll go by the Honeydukes candy store, Zonkos magic tricks store, the wand store, the "three Broomsticks" and the "Hogshead Pub". And don't miss the huge, orange Butter Beer tanker in the middle of the street; the butter beer has an exquisite sweet, buttery flavor with a delectable white head added to it.
Honeydukes has lots of of forms of unique candy including the chocolate frogs … although I did not see any of them jump out the box and crawl out the window as it did in the first Harry Potter movie. They also have the "every flavor beans" for the brave jelly bean lover. And you should search for the "ear" phones hanging from the ceiling in Zonkos.
In fact, the castle is positioned past the town on top of an enormous mountainous rock … just like in the motion pictures … and it is fascinating just to stand there and observe all the detail in the structure of the castle itself. An ideal place to see it and take photos is on the exit ramp from the Dueling Dragons roller coaster. Once you see the castle, notice the turret, that has three-tiered turret popping out of the side of it. Don't you just wonder what such an structure would look like from the inside … or how it would be used … in real life?
It is truly a fascinating twist on theme parks. Every Harry Potter fan should see it!
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