Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley and Back to Hogsmeade

I probably should've looked on my own but I asked my stepson the night before how to find Diagon Alley.  However after being on the street, it was obvious that all you have to do is follow the crowd and listen for the music.  That's another super cool thing, both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley play various cuts from the soundtrack.  Because a lot of that music brings me to tears every time I watch the movies, I spent most of this day overwhelmed, on the verge of tears and with a lump in my throat.

Weasley's Wizard Wheazes.  The hat lifts up and down.

 Dragon on the top of Gringotts.  That was another ride that I was not about to take.

Sirius' motorbike

 Pygmy puffs

 It was absolutely mobbed.

Knockturn Alley was cool too.  It was pitch dark and super creepy.

Another interactive window for your wand.

 Inside Borgin  Burke's.  It was very dark inside.

These bottles were soooooo beautiful but not for sale.

Back in the sun.  That's an ad for pumpkin juice which I did get a bottle of.  It's very strong....too strong for me.  There are a lot of spices in it.  I did try to choke it all down but I couldn't.  I saved the bottle though!

 The insides of the shops were incredible

The Owl Post

 Inside Weasley's.  The shops are unbelievably narrow and as a result, wall to wall people.  I could've spent a lot of money in here so it was a good thing the line to pay was so long

Looking at the back of the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley Entrance

 

Every 15 minutes or so, the Gringotts Dragon breathes fire.

Inside Madam Malkins

Heading back to Hogsmeade you of course go through Platform 9-3/4.  There is the coolest effect when you are standing in line and approaching the entrance where you see people disappearing into the brick wall.  Of course when you round the corner, it's an archway.  

The line to head back was very long.

Hedwig's head moved around

Back to Hogsmeade

This was literally one of the most amazing days of my entire life.  I can die a happy camper now. I am knocking my bucket list out of the park this year.

My Dream Come True

The actual purpose of the trip to FL was so that I could finally get to see Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando.  To say that I bawled my eyes out when we arrived would be an understatement.  I couldn't believe my dream had come true.

I cannot say enough about how utterly PERFECT this place is.  Every single detail lovingly attended to.  

My only issue is that in order to visit Hogsmeade, ride the Hogwarts Express and visit Diagon Alley, you have to buy the 2 day, 2 park ticket, which is obscenely expensive.  But this is something I have wanted to see for so long so we sucked it up and shelled out hundreds of dollars.  

Our first stop was Hogsmeade.  The line to ride the first train to Diagon Alley was a mile long so we opted to explore 

First I got an interactive wand at Ollivanders.  I picked Luna's.  The wand works in front of certain windows.  There is a marker on the ground that shows you the wand movement and where to stand.  I didn't find that they worked very well at all, for adults or kids.  And the lines to do it were also long so I only did a couple.  I put the wand safely back in the bag because I was afraid I'd lose or break it.

Hermione's Yule Ball dress at Gladrags Wizard Wear

Hogwarts!!!!!!!!  There is a 3D ride inside but I'm not a ride person.  I think the first part starts out OK but then gets a bit too extreme for me.  I get motion sickness.

I tried both the regular and frozen butterbeer.  The frozen one is way better.  But both are delicious.

 Aberforth's bar the Hog's Head

We had breakfast at the Three Broomsticks.

We had the American and their food is incredible!!!

Next stop was Honeydukes Sweet Shop

Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans

I really want more of these.  I only got one. The packing is gorgeous.

We were happy to see that the line thinned out to the train so we took that opportunity to take the trip to Diagon Alley.

This is a prop train in front of the station.  You can have your pick taken in front of it with a man dressed like a conductor.

Inside Hogsmeade station.

In the windows to the outside runs a really cool effect of rushing past the scenery, with characters popping up from time to time.  Hagrid waves to the train heading out.

Those are the compartment lights reflections.

Buckbeak flying by

In the frosted windows to the corridor are shadows of the characters and you can hear their voices talking.  The trolley witch goes by too.

It's a very short ride to King's Cross in London.

I thought this was an inspired bit of decorating, putting up the mural from the beginning of 'Half Blood Prince'.

When you walk out of King's Cross, you are in 'London', which is in the Universal Studios Theme Park (hence the need of the 2 park ticket)

The Knight Bus and Stan Shunpike are on the street too.

 The shrunken head moves around and interacts with people. 

Once you get to London it's up to you to try and find where Diagon Alley is....

Where could it be?