The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

So, let me just begin by saying I love Disney-- I feel loyal to them and the work they do; nobody, and I mean nobody, does it quite like Disney! Their attention to detail, their level of creativity and their dedication to pushing the boundaries of imagination are hard to top. Consequently my theme-park standards are pretty darn high. Add that to the fact that I'm a pretty ardent Harry Potter fan. I mean, I've read the entire series (all seven books) at least five or six times. Indeed, if I have another son some day, I've already decided we're naming him Harry!

Enter the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios! I wasn't sure what to expect, but let me tell you, every one of those high expectations were either met or exceeded! I was SO glad we got to check it out!

Our sweet little Lucy is also a devoted HP fan, and has read the first five books all by herself. This was the definition of a dream come true! We got there literally as the park was opening and headed straight for Hogsmeade! The window displays all along the street were SO much fun to look at! We could have window shopped all day, finding new things we hadn't noticed before. It was just like the pages from the book had come alive! Here are the chocolate frogs from Honeyduke's.

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!

Spell books in front of Olivander's Wand Shop.

Tasting butter beer for the very first time (which was absolutely delicious!). Buttery, rich, and caramel-y. Mmmm. This girl was in HEAVEN! Love the foam on her upper lip.

You can see how empty it was since we were there right at opening-- we literally had the streets to ourselves for about an hour. It was perfect. 

After window shopping for a bit we headed straight for the Hogwart's castle-- which was so amazing! There is a really neat ride inside that takes you on a broomstick ride with Harry Potter throughout scenes from the book. The castle was really cool inside too-- the line went through the Herbology classroom, the Great Hall, Dumbledore's office, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom (where the naughty pixies make it snow), all while there are portraits talking to you along the walls!  

We checked out Filch's Emporium right after the ride, and Lucy was ready to hop onto her very own quidditch broom.

Hagrid's "monster book" from his Care of Magical Creatures class-- Lucy even remembered you were supposed to pet along its spine to put him to sleep! 

Picking out which of the four Houses' accessories they would buy!

Miss Lucy's early birthday present-- an authentic Harry Potter Gryffindor robe! Wohoo!

From the moment we got there I'd been dying to check out the goodies from Honeyduke's, and they didn't disappoint! I think Jon was a little bit scared when he saw the manic look in my eyes-- I could have tried one of everything!

We started with the treacle fudge (kinda weird, but Harry's favorite), pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, and chocolate frogs. I snuck a few extras in while Lucy wasn't looking for some future stocking stuffers, but shhh! Don't tell her...

It was so fun to taste and try so many of the goodies featured in the books that we'd read about-- Luce and I didn't want to leave!

Family picture in front of the Hogwart's Express-- the real train connects Hogsmeade to the new park at Diagon Alley, but unfortunately we didn't buy tickets to that part. Next time!

As lunch time drew near, we decided to eat at the Three Broomsticks-- a local business owned by Madam Rosmerta as the story goes, and got to choose from a menu of British pub foods and authentic pumpkin juice, as they didn't serve soda since it was deemed "muggle" food.

Leah noshed on mac and cheese (not sure if that's a local delicacy), but she was sure happy!

Jon and I got the fish and chips-- which were delish, and made all the better because of the setting we got to eat them in. After lunch we decided we'd better take a peek at the other areas of the park like Dr. Seussland, and the Marvel Comic Land-- which were both very cool, but honestly, we came for Harry Potter, and it didn't take us long to head right back!

As you can see Hogsmeade just got busier and busier as the day wore on, but we wanted to spend as much time as possible pretending to be residents of the wizarding world!

They, of course, featured wands you could buy-- and again, for the Harry Potter freak like Lucy and I, we loved looking at every character's individual wand. Lucy received Hermione's as her very own, and Zach decided someday he'd like Harry Potter's.

And that was it! Poor Leah, who'd been dragged through park after park all week long eventually reached her limit, and I think we were all happy to finish before dark this time. We'd seen and done just about as much as we could handle-- and with many, many souvenirs in hand, officially finished our fantastic Florida vacation. Miss Lucy couldn't have been happier to end on such a high note-- and went to sleep that night with dreams of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. And maybe, just maybe, she'll get her very own Owl Post inviting her to arrive at Platform 9 3/4 to be the next Hogwart's student in 2015!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

We had a FANTASTIC trip to Florida this past week, and as dog-tired, wiped-out, and burned-out as we are from 5 solid 16-hour days of theme parks, that darn vacation bug has bitten and we are already wanting to plan our next Disney vacation! And here's the sad thing-- with over 200 pictures taken I STILL feel like I didn't take enough and capture all of the magical, "first time" moments on camera! It's so hard to see and do everything, but Jonathan and I came to the conclusion that any good vacation should leave you wanting more-- and bottom line, the kids had the time of their lives. So, buckle up, keep your arms and legs inside the roller coaster, and enjoy a really loooong recap of our Orlando vacay! 

((!!CAUTION: PICTURE OVERLOAD AHEAD!!))

This happy face says it all! The vacation started Saturday night with a very sweet reunion with two cute Colorado cousins (Sophie and Isaac), and Grandpa and Grandma Cardon from Washington. Grandma Cardon handmade these gorgeous Elsa dresses for the girls' Halloween costumes, and this was Leah's first time trying it on. I don't know about you, but I think it was a hit!

 Singing "Let It Go" and twirling with the beautiful sparkly train.

I love this picture! Being the three female cousins, Lucy "big-sisters" both Leah and Sophie, and they are so sweet together. It was so fun to hang out the night before our vacation officially started-- kind of felt like Christmas Eve with all of the anticipation and excitement!

SUNDAY- Character Breakfast and Downtown Disney

Auntie Kylene reserved us a Character Breakfast at the Polynesian Resort at the restaurant Ohana for Sunday morning. So bright and early we got ready and out the door to meet Lilo and Stitch.

All ready for our breakfast at Ohana!

Mmmm! Chowin' down on some bacon! We had eggs, Mickey Mouse waffles, fresh fruit, homemade coconut pineapple bread, sausage, potatoes, and guava juice. It was delish!

 

Then the real fun began-- first up was meeting Stitch!

 Next was Mickey Mouse!

 Leah was always game for a high-five, if not a hug.

 Meeting Lilo!

 Last was Pluto, and then a parade with all the characters together. The kids loved it and it was a great way to kick off our vacay!

 Zach and Isaac are peas in a pod-- and Zach has no shame in admitting that he'd happily trade Leah to have Isaac as a little brother. The "mans" gotta stick together!

 We decided to take a peek at the Polynesian resort before we moved on, and took a nice little walk outside along the beach where they do their nightly luau.

 You can just barely see the castle from Magic Kingdom peeking out from the skyline in the background. We had BEAUTIFUL weather all week-- clear blue skies with temps in the lower 80's.

 We then moved on to Downtown Disney to look around at all the fun stores, relax back at the condo, and have a yummy dinner at Bahama Breeze. We got the kids to bed pretty early in anticipation of our first Disney day the next morning!

MONDAY- Magic Kingdom

Monday was like a whirlwind! We hit the ground running at 90 mph and didn't let up until the sun set behind Cinderella's castle. We got to the monorail bright and early and then immediately hurried over to Fantasyland to get some of the busier rides under our belt. We did the new Little Mermaid ride, Winnie the Pooh, Alice's Teacups, It's A Small World, and the carousel first. 

The fall decorations all over the park were so fun for Halloween!

 Next up was Adventureland and Frontierland-- where our old favorite, the Haunted Mansion resides. Leah rode that one with a half-hearted whimper the whole way. I think she was equal parts terrified and fascinated by the ghosties!

 While mom, Lucy, and Zach took turns riding Splash Mountain (Zach was a stud muffin and did every single ride he was tall enough for! I was SO proud of him), Leah got to meet Jessie and Woody, and afterwards Lu and Zach got her autograph. 

 About that time we headed over to the Pirates of the Caribbean and stopped for lunch and a little breather. Leah was as good as gold all morning which we were soooo thankful for! When it's you and your husband against three kids (and one who is in their terrible two's) plus a theme park jam-packed with people, you feel like you're holding on for dear life sometimes!

 Enjoying the Tiki Room with the singing birds. Leah loved it!

 Waiting to for Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride which definitely became a favorite of Leah's (we did it at least 4 times throughout the trip). She'd say "Wheeee!" the whole way.

 Next we headed over to the kiddie rides near Fantastyland and did Goofy's roller coaster and Dumbo. Always a classic!

 About this time the heat and the excitement of the day finally caught up to Leah and she zonked out for a super long nap while everybody else continued on our ride extravaganza! Gotta be grateful for nap time!

 We headed over to Thunder Mountain Rail Road which we hadn't hit yet, and took turns with Grandma and Grandpa Cardon. Zach decided to put himself in the stocks on the way over. 

 The Pirates ride (which is one of my personal favs) had been broken down earlier in the afternoon when we'd tried to do it, so we decided to swing by on our way out of the park to see if it was back up and running. By a pure stroke of luck it had just re-opened, so we literally got to walk right on! It was a great high note to end the day with. 

TUESDAY- Epcot

 Oh my. I love, love, love Epcot. I love the World Showcase!! With the kids rested and refreshed (Zach fell asleep about 30 seconds after we made it to the car the night before!) we were ready to hit it hard.

 My kids had purchased autograph books as part of their "souvenir allotment" and had really gotten enthusiastic about it! Unfortunately we hadn't really had time at Magic Kingdom to wait for many, so we decided to get in line first thing for the Character Meet and Greet which we knew would get busier throughout the day. I should have known better! The "wait time" posted out front had said 20 minutes, but it was actually more like a 60 minutes, but my kids were so dedicated and patient I didn't dare bail on them! We finally got to meet Mickey and have him sign their books.

 Goofy was next, and out of all the many, many characters we met, he was the only one Leah was truly afraid of. Ha! See her cowering behind Zach?

 Minnie on the other hand was totally non-scary and Leah ran right up and gave her a huge hug. Cutest thing ever!

 Although it was a long wait and kind of ate up that glorious block of time when the lines to rides are short, it was worth it to get a few autographs and some fun pictures. By then we were ready for a little excitement and went straight to the Finding Nemo ride, and the Figment Imagination ride.

 Thus began our tour of the World Showcase, starting with England and the one and only Mary Poppins. Epcot was having its annual Food and Wine Festival, so all along the way in each country were little food stands to try samples of authentic food (for money of course), so we got to try fish n' chips, too.

 Alice in Wonderland came along next and was so cute talking to Leah.

 Leah just kept hugging her and giving her high-fives-- she is a sucker for anyone in a princess dress! This is always one of my favorite parts of the trip.

 Crossing the bridge from England to France! Beautiful Lucy! She and Zach loved trading pins-- and any time we saw a worker who had pins we absolutely HAD to stop and trade with them. It's a fun tradition Grandma Joanie taught us about.

 Princess Aurora in France.

 And a big good-bye hug from a very enamored Leah!

 I'm telling you-- Leah just LOVED meeting all these princesses! Anytime I would ask, "Do you want to meet a princess?" She'd quickly hop back in the stroller and wait patiently in line for her turn. It's amazing what almost-2-year-olds are capable of with the right incentive!

 Aladdin and Jasmine in Morocco

 I think Morocco is one of the more beautifully done and more interesting countries. I could spend so much more time just looking around at the shops and peeking in all of the restaurants! So cool!

 Leah loved the belly dancing costumes with all of the sparklies. Oh yeah!

 As we made our way around to each country we realized we'd better head back to France for our pastries before we got too far away. The chocolate mousse was to die for, and I'm scared to think back on what we spent at that little patisserie, but it was soooo yummy!

 Lucy and Zach in China. Unfortunately we didn't catch Mulan that afternoon. 

 And same with Snow White in Germany. So little time and so many things to see! While Leah napped, we headed over to the Test Track and Soarin' to take turns riding with the kids.

 Once Leah woke up, we did Nemo's ride one more time since it was easily her favorite of the day, and then called it a night!

 The big "Golf Ball" (as Zachy calls it) is so beautiful all lit up at night. Nobody does it quite like Disney! That's for sure.

WEDNESDAY- Hollywood Studios

We also really love Hollywood Studios! It has such a fun, upbeat vibe, and we knew Leah would love all of the various shows!

 We'd learned our lesson the day before at Epcot and wasted no time getting in line for the really big rides before they got too busy. I started with the Hollywood Tower of Terror with Zach and Lucy-- and we were the first ones on it for the morning! Oh yeah! Zach was SO freaked out but he loved it!

 While Jon went on the Aerosmith roller coaster with the older kids, Leah and I walked around for a bit. We then met everyone for the Indiana Jones stunt show.

 The highlight of Leah's life came when we went to the Frozen Sing-Along right before lunch. She loved seeing Elsa and Anna live, and getting to sing along to "Let It Go"-- they even had real snow fall from the ceiling during the finale which was awesome.

 Just around the corner from the Frozen theater were Mike and Sully, and since Leah LOVES Monsters Inc. we knew she needed to meet them! She even gave Mike Wazowski a high-five!

We finally made it to lunch at the Sci-Fi Diner, which is a really fun eatery decorated to look just like an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater. And the food was SO good!

 Zachary ate his entire hamburger and all of his chocolate milkshake, the lucky duck-- all while coloring and watching kooky sci-fi movies from the 1950's.

 We finished our rounds of Hollywood Studios including the Star Tours ride, the Great Movie Ride, and finishing with the awesome nighttime show Fantasmic which includes special effects, fireworks, water, and all the characters singing and dancing. It was an awesome day!

 THURSDAY- Animal Kingdom and back to Magic Kingdom

 Our final day at Disney began at Animal Kingdom, which is one of our favorites because generally it's less busy, and I think it's really uniquely designed.

 We headed straight to Africa to hop on the safari ride where we saw tons of wild and exotic animals including lions, elephants, zebras, hippos, and alligators. Here are Lucy and Zach beating the African bongos! 

 On our way out of Africa we saw King Louie and Baloo the Bear. More autographs? Check!

 We made it to Asia to ride the yeti roller coaster. When we visited 2 years ago, Zach was too short to ride this one and he really, really wanted to-- so he patiently waited all week to finally get a chance to ride this one! It didn't disappoint! It became his "new favorite." 

 We took the kids to the "Bugs Life" 3D show inside the Tree of Life at the center of the park. Leah loved all the buggies even though she was maybe the tiniest bit scared, too.

 We decided to check out Dinoland USA before heading to lunch, trying to squeeze as many rides as possible in before we planned on park-hopping over to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon. Since most of the rides were too big for Leah, it was nice for her to get a chance to have some fun!

We met Donald Duck on our way out of Animal Kingdom, which was the perfect send off to the Magic Kingdom for the last time!

 We loved getting the chance to see all of the awesome fall decorations on Main Street USA. 

 Pumpkin scarecrows in the pumpkin patch!

 We totally lucked out with the amount of people there Thursday afternoon-- it was way better than Monday and we were able to do most rides in under a 15 minute wait. We hit Thunder Mountain RR, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Autotopia, Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, Alice's Teacups, and then finally finishing with It's A Small World. We knocked it out!   

 I always feel so sad and nostalgic when it's time to say good-bye to Disney-- it's truly such a magical, special place and there's nowhere else like it in the whole world. We had so much fun revisiting our favorite rides and introducing Leah to our favorite Disney traditions. I guess what made it sadder this time was knowing we won't live within driving distance next time-- so who knows when we'll ever make it back? At least we had Harry Potter World to look forward to the next day...