Harry Potter at Universal = Awesomeness

by Sara Taney Humphreys

Summertime is code for family vacations. This year my husband and my oldest son weren't able to come on vacation. Hubby had to work and my 16 year old is too cool to hang out with me. *sigh* So my sister, my mom and I took the opportunity to have our own little vacation. It was quite a crew. Me, three boys, Megan, her two girls and my mom. What better place to go an have some fun than....Orlando!

I'd been to Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure with my family a few years ago and have been dying to go back since they opened the Harry Potter park. It was SO cool....and crowded. You actually had to get a special ticket just to reserve your time to enter that portion of the park. But boy, it was worth the wait.

When you turn that corner....Hogwarts and Diagon Alley are actually right there in front of you. As I was walking through the street and hanging out in Hogwarts, I turned to my mother and said, "Can you imagine being J.K. Rowling and standing here? The world you created has literally been made a reality."

All of the kids wanted their own wands and I have to admit it took a certain amount of effort to keep from buying one for myself. My son Leo chose Voldemort's wand and it's very cool. They have replicas of the wands of each of the characters.

We went on everything, especially the water rides, several times. We look like drowned rats but we didn't care because it was such fun. It was just great to be together. Looking forward to our next trip already!