I know this has nothing to do with pianos, well maybe a tiny bit (we wore our Piano Forums T-Shirts:-)

Kathy and I visited Universal Studios in Florida a few days ago, primarily to check out the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter. She and my sister (and a gadzillion other people) are fans of Harry Potter.
I've not read the books, but I have seen the movies.

My sister asked us to take pictures, both forgot our cameras, so we picked up a cheap disposable. Not bad picts for a cheap camera... (feel free to correct me on any wrong captions, Kathy isn't here right now to set me straight).

The Entrance


The Famous Train



Hogsmead?


Hogwarts (It looks bigger than it is, but it is big)



Another View


The Bridge


The Entrance to Hogwarts


The Mirror


The Greenhouse is where you line up in the Queue to get into the building (and leads to the ride). It's a clever idea as it keeps you out of the hot sun (they also have fans running).


More of the Greenhouse, a Closeup of the Unusual Plants


More Pictures in Next Post Below

And one more Greenhouse Picture with a few of our New Friends


Interesting View from Inside the Greenhouse


A Couple of Muggles Escaped from the Wizarding World of Pianos


Inside Hogwarts ... Harry, Hermine, and Ron were on the balcony talking to us (a very

realistic 3d representation, more like a hologram). At one point something was said about

casting a spell, Ron cast the wrong one, and it began to "snow" on all us Muggles. Yes, it

actually felt cold and looked like snow.


There is also a point where Dumbledore speaks to the crowd from his office, another very well

done 3d hologram.

Yes, the hat talks, constantly :-)


There were lots more things to see inside, including talking portraits on the walls. They

talked to each other, and to us. Very well done, look almost exactly like the ones in the

movies.

The ride at the end of the queue through Hogwarts is incredible. It's a combination moving and

virtual ride. You are trying to keep up with Harry Potter flying on a broomstic through a

Quidditch Field, around castles, over water, etc. Kathy and I are both rollercoaster nuts, so

this was a bit tame for us, but it still definitely tickles your tummy:-)

Some Additional Outside Views






Finishes Up in Next Post Below

Another Outside Shot



I Think I've Spotted a PWPF T-Shirt!


And Just to Tie the Piano Into All This (from another attraction at the park)...




We wandered through some shops in the village including the sweets shop, they also have the magic & Joke shop, Oleandar's (sp?) (which had a huge line all day), and a few others.

We had lunch at the 3 Broomsticks, very cool building (food was ok, but overpriced as usual).
Oh, and we tried the Butterbeer ... highly recommended!

The people working this area of the park wear appropriate costumes adding to the fun (as do a number of the guests).

All in all a fun time.

Bottom line? If you're a fan of Harry Potter you will enjoy the Wizarding World.
Now if they'd just build a Middle Earth for us Tolkien fans :-)

If you decide to go, try to go on a week day, and obviously not on a holiday (and not any other time when school is out). We are lucky in that we live 90 minutes from Orlando/Kissimmee.


By the way, you might be interested to learn there are other definitions of Muggles:
Muggle or muggles refer to a variety of different things (from WikiPedia):

"Muggles" as a slang term for marijuana in the 1920s and 1930s, associated with the jazz scene
"Muggles" (recording), a 1928 recording by Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, derived from the above cannabis usage
"Muggles", a character from Carol Kendall's first Minnipins novel The Gammage Cup (1959)
"Muggle-Wumps", a family of monkeys in "The Twits", a novel by Roald Dahl first published in 1980
"Muggles", a race in "RAH" (later retitled "The Legend of Rah and the Muggles"), a 1984 book by Nancy Stouffer
"Muggle", a person without magical abilities in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter fantasy books and films. Later adopted by various subcultures to identify those outside their group or lacking in a skill
"Mr. Muggles", the pet pomeranian of the Bennet family in the NBC drama, Heroes

Frank means well, Bless his heart. The Joke Shop is "ZONKO"S and the wand shop that had the looonnnggg line was Olivander's. We did have a wonderful time and it was like entering Harry Potter's World. Hagrid's Hut was cool, but you could only see it from the "Flight of the Hippogrif's line. For some reason, the pictures did not come out. (Maybe the Wizards had something to do with that?) Oh, and Frank forgot to mention that "Moaning Myrtle" could be heard in the boys and girls Lavoratories! It was quite fun.

Beautiful review.

I have two Muggles here at home who would love to visit the park. (too bad we live a little further away than 90 minutes)



And the film music sounds great on my piano (especially the themes written by John Williams and Patrick Doyle).