Wasting Time

The Village

Hogsmeade village to the ones who don’t know, is where Harry and friends were aloud to go on their weekends (as of year three “Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban”). The magical village was inhabited by Wizards only. And in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hogsmeade is a home to the local stores and eateries as well as stores and eateries of “Diagon Ally” (Located in London in the book series).

On to the grandest of them all “Ollivander’s Wand Shop”.

Make sure you are visiting the store no later then 11 am or later then 6 pm: here are the park hours. It might take up to 2 hours in line to see the show where the wand picks the wizard. Usually only 1 child in 20 is chosen for the show and the experience. Be ready for this because, that is the way it works in the peak hours. You do not have to stand in line if you just want to purchase the wand. Wand prices are between $20-$150.

The Three Broomsticks

This is not a sit down Restaurant, you cannot make a reservation. Usually the wait time is like in any Theme Park pick up counter Restaurant 15-30 minutes. The Menu offers a lot of yummy options so try everything. Make sure if you still have not tried it the Butter Beer.

Honeydukes

This is the Candy store make sure you visit it before 11 am or after 10 pm because it is small and can’t hold that many people.

Please visit us in a couple of days when we talk about how to save money in our third part when you visit “Harry Potter Theme Park on a budget”

Harry Potter Undesirable No. 1 T-Shirt

We are happy to let you know that a brand new Harry Potter T-shirt is up for sale. This Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows design was the winner of a WBshop.com online poll of several t-shirt designs, with votes cast by more than 10,000 Harry Potter fans worldwide!

Buy Harry Potter T-shirts Some As Low As $5!

So, first, before you do anything, please take a minute and look at the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter map.

Wizarding World Harry Potter Map

Click on the Map to enlarge the view.

In the map you can see three major areas of interest. Hogwarts Castle, Hogsmeade Village, and the Dueling Dragons roller coaster.

Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey

Our focus today will be the infamous Hogwarts castle, and the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Ride. So to start off we should tell you that to ride the attraction you have to be 48 inches tall (sorry about that little wizards).
Please go to our Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey page, to see exactly what will happen on the ride.

As we continue to inform you, please know that if you are wearing flip flops or any other loose shoes you might be asked to take them off, before entering the ride. Also you should know that if you have a bag with you, you will be kindly asked to store it in the “school lockers”. Usually there is a line to rent those, so come prepared-without a bag. Cameras, cellphones etc should also be stored in the lockers or you are running a chance that those items will fly out of the ride without casting a single spell.

Another thing you should be aware of is that the seats are not designed for bigger people, there is a sample seat outside the entry, so you guys can check if you are able to fit in.

Now we get to the very important part where we discuss the lines, and yes the lines are pretty heavy. As is with every major attraction that just opens its doors. During day time you can expect about 2-3 hours wait time. The good news is, that for the most part you are hidden from the Florida blistering sun, as you are touring inside of the Hogwarts Castle.

The tour is an attraction by itself: you get to see Harry’s dorms, the big entry hall and Dumbledor’s office.

We recommend to visit the castle before 9 AM or after 5 PM if you don’t feel like standing 2-3 hours in the line. As an alternative try to go to the single riders line, that should move you along faster. If you don’t really care getting on the ride, you can just tour through the castle.

And finally if you want a keepsake from this experience, they do take a photo as you are riding so you can purchase it after you are done, keep some galeons on you.

Hope this bit of info was useful, please come back in a day or two—we will discuss Hogsmeade Village tips.

Come back later for some more photos and visitor stories.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

This might be considered the beginning of the “soft-opening” phase, although Universal will not confirm that this gesture will be an every day thing. In other words, be prepared for the surprises. It’s all part of the journey leading up to the grand opening on June 18. The number of folks being let into WWHP will be limited.

Many observers have been monitoring the progress of the new dark ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, housed in Hogwarts castle. The ride seems to be functioning fine and without delays.

Come back tomorrow for the full review of the “Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey”.

Hogwarts castle is brought to life, and you can visit there. Harry Potter Theme Park opening date is June 18, 2010, until then we give you the comprehensive video walk-through of the attraction.

The reports from those lucky ones are that the park at this moments are coming in, along with lots and lots of photos. The general reaction is that Harry Potter Theme Park is the most realistic theme park built up to day. In the photos you can see the Three Broomsticks Restaurant, Zonko’s Shop, Ollivander’s Magic Wand Shop and many more, of those places that we all read about.

Come back later on, we will also have couple of videos from the park.

So, without further ado, we bring you the most comprehensive look inside the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter.

Owlery

Ollivander's Magical Wand Shop Keeper

Street Performers from Beauxbaton Academy of Magic

Harry Potter Money is Galleons

The short answer to that question is Some items are priced fair and some items are priced not for “The Weasley’s”. If you remember the Weasley family were always struggling to make ends meet.

We all know that this “once in a lifetime” trip to Orlando Florida to visit Harry Potter Theme Park, will cost quite a bit. Hotels stays, Airline tickets, Food, all those can add up to a hefty bill that some are not sure they can afford.

A popular saying in this situation is “You can’t put a price on memories”. Well that is exactly what we will attempt to do.

So to start off, you will have to get in the Islands of Adventure. Two options to do that. One Park pass and Two park pass(lets you get inside Universal Studious Orlando, Florida)

One Park Pass is $79 a day for adults and $69 a day for children
Two park pass is $109 a day for adults and $99 a day for children

Once you are in through the gate and passing by the Hogwarts Express, you will find yourself inside the Hogsmeade Village. That is where the fun begins as your eyes start to look at 360 degrees of stores and opportunities to spend some Galleons. At Zonko’s joke shop expect to spend $15 for a pair of Sneakoscopes.

If you have decided to take your young wizards to the Olivander’s magic wand shop and by the way let us urge you to do so, it should be an amazing experience, please read our extended review of it.
You can expect to leave from $25 to $120 depending on the quality of the wand. A very important detail is you DO NOT have to purchase a wand in order to experience the wand choosing process.

Dervish and Banges is where the Wizarding community gets it’s school supplies, Quidditch gear and magical wizarding equipment. You can score a Firebolt broomstick for a hefty price of $300. Plus probably the cost couple of broken vases when your young ones try to master the intricacies of flying it inside the house. Thanks to close supervision by the Potter films’ design team, everything looks and feels precisely right, down to the absurdly high shelves and cramped, English-style layouts. In other words, expect some tight crowds.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Visitors

Attendees of the Orlando International Pow Wow (which is a tourism convention) were the lucky ones to enter the theme park and got to see the magic at work. Those lucky few to be there were able to walk through Hogsmeade Village, including its stores and restaurants, take a trip through half of the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride’s queue, and ride the Dragon Challenge and Flight of the Hippogriff roller coasters.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Visitors

After the fact we were able to sniff out some intriguing details about the attractions, stores and restaurants. And we are gladly sharing them here with you.

* Hogsmeade Village store fronts contain interactive elements that include the Quick Quotes Quill and plants that spring to life as you pass by.

* In the Ollivander’s Wand Shop the wand is “choosing” you like we have reported before in our article. Guests are invited to try different wands to determine which is the best fit. If the wand is not a correct fit, special music and lighting makes it clear. A gust of air confirms a right choice. (Please check back tomorrow for a more extensive coverage of the magic wand shop.)

* When visiting the Owlry, you can choose between four different postmarks.

* In the Dragon Challenge que line you will pass through the Champion’s tent and you can see the Triwizard Tournament Cup and the golden eggs from the dragon challenge. (Please check back tomorrow for a more extensive coverage of the Dragon Challenge)

* While strolling the streets of Hogsmeade Street performers will entertain the visitors The girls from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic performing a ribbon dance and boys from the Durmstrang Institute wielding staffs.

Harry Potter Theme Park At Night

* Moving along to the Flight of the Hippogriff attraction, you will meet Hagrid, Fang, and Buckbeak. Make sure you bow before getting on the Hippogriff.

* One of the most fun apparel item for sale is “I served Time In Azkaban”.

As you can imagine all those details are top secret. We will try to scoop some new info in the coming days so make sure you check back.