A Birthday Invitation to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Like the little owl in real sealing wax??


When we got home from our trip to Madeline Island, Harriet and Billy came over bearing owls and letters straight from Hogwarts. There was an owl and a letter for each child inviting them to "Hogwarts," aka Universal. Hannah celebrated her 11th birthday in August and Harry Potter got his invitation to Hogwarts on his 11th birthday so Billy came up with some very creative letters and even a poem telling how he got the letters. The kids were thrilled of course, it was so fun to watch them try to figure out what was going on.

T'was a hot summer's night and in the bed room,
The occupants were comfy in the AC cocoon.
H in her mask and B in his cap,
Were both snuggled in for a cool August nap.

When out on the lawn, there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from our beds to see what was the matter.
The moon had gone dark, no stars could we see
A sense of foreboding had come over me.

When all of a sudden a giant of a man
Came up to our door with his cap in his hand.
His hair was all shaggy, his coat was a mess
His look made me nervous I had to confess.

He came to the porch with nary a chuckle
And knocked on our door, nearly making it buckle.
The lights for security were all lit and bright
The yard was no longer serene in the night.

I saw pairs of eyes, all over the place,
But I couldn't make out a familiar face.
Then I noticed the eyes were as bright as an owl's,
Then I saw dozens, and hundreds, of silent night fowls.

They perched in the bushes and branches of trees
I was feeling quite nervous with trembling knees.
With nary a HOOT, nor a flutter of wings,
No noise, just sitting like queens and like kings.

Then the giant reached up, he rapped with his knuckle,
I opened the door for fear it would buckle.
When I saw his broad face, the fears went aside,
And I beckoned to Hagrid to come on inside.

But he said he could not, he was in a big hurry
He called out for Hedwig who came in a flurry
Held tight in his beak he carried his charge
Three letters, official, old, brown, and quite large

One each addressed to Grace, Hannah, and Joe,
But they were not home, so where should he go?
I told him I'd take them, and hold them with care
And when they returned, I would take them to where
They lived in Mount Dora, on the side of a hill
Oft called a hollow, near a lake and a rill.

He pulled from his cloak, a twisted old stick
He waved it around, and gave it a flick.
The lights went all dim, and then it was black
I thought it a dream, but I still had a stack
Of letters for kids when they land from their flight!
I wonder what messages came in that strange night?

Portofino, Universal, and Harry Potter!

We spent last weekend in Orlando at Universal Studios with Aunt Harriet and Uncle Billy. Hannah turned 11 this year, the same age Harry Potter is when he gets invited to Hogwarts. Harriet and Billy came up with a very creative way to invite Hannah to Hogwarts (depending on when you are reading this, you may have already seen the post about that--I'll be doing that post after this one) and of course to bring her family along. We stayed at the Portofino--an Italian themed hotel on Universal property. Above is one of the halls in the lobby area that is made to look like a street in Italy. And, below, is the Piazza. There was even a Trattoria, and a Gelateria and every night three men sing opera from one of the balconies. Very fun!

What is Italy without motorscooters??

We had dinner in the Trattoria both nights, the first night there was a character dinner complete with Shrek and Scooby Doo. They also had a make your own pasta bar where you chose your toppings, sauce, and noodles and the chef puts it all together to make your own pasta creation. We had lots of fun with that. I think Hannah won with the best pasta (in my opinion), she had Rigatoni, alfredo sauce, spinach, chicken, grilled onions, and lots of garlic.

We woke up very early to catch the boat that would take us to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter by way of CityWalk and then Islands of Adventure. I have to say that Universal did a really great job with this. The books and movies really come alive here complete with butterbeer and pumpkin juice.
The first thing we did was go to Ollivander's Wand Shop. They do a little show that is very similar to the scene in the movie where Harry gets his wand. Then they release you into a wand shop where you can choose your own wand. They have some that are just different styles of wands but you can also buy many of the characters' wands. Hannah got Hermione's, Grace got Lupin's, and Joe got one of the unique designs.


The merchandise was fun to see. Above is the "Monster Book of Monsters." You can buy a smaller version for just $50. Yes, everything was overpriced but that was hardly a surprise. You can also buy things like a Rememberall, Sneakoscope, Snitch, scarves, robes, t-shirts, broomsticks, and more.
There are three rides and above and below is one of them--the Hippogriff. Just your basic roller coaster. I couldn't believe how short the lines were. The kids rode this at least 5 times! The lines were short but ours were even shorter because our hotel key was also a fast pass. That was pretty awesome! The other two rides were a little more intense. One is a partially simulated ride through the castle with flights through the Quidditch pitch and some up close scares with dementors, spiders, and a big dragon. I rode it once and it made me slightly sick so I didn't ride again. The kids rode that one 3 times I think. And then, there is the big roller coaster, Dragon Challenge. Just Ollie and Grace did that one.

Here is Hogwarts above and Zonko's Joke Shop below. The store windows were really interesting and fun.

Of course, the Hogwarts Express was there with a surly conductor.
I loved all the crookedness, very unique and Harry Potterish.
The Butterbeer was amazing in my opinion! I loved it. You could get it frozen or just soda. It was kind of butterscotchy with a creamy frothy top. Yummo!!

We rested for a while in Hogsmeade Station while Ollie and Grace did the dragon ride. Notice all the owls and owl poop in the rafters.
Joe got a stuffed Crookshanks and he was all about that cat for the rest of our stay!

After our morning in the Wizarding World, Ollie and the kids and I went to the rest of Islands of Adventure. We got completely soaked on Popeye's Bilge Barge and again on Rickshaw Rapids. I've never gotten that wet at a theme park, I was literally dripping! After all that wet fun we headed back to the hotel so that I could take a nap and the kids and Ollie could visit the pool. Later that evening we went to dinner at the Trattoria again and this time there was a face painter there. Joe picked a pumpkin (not sure why) and Hannah got a dragon on her arm and Grace got a snake on her arm. After dinner we walked around the Piazza and then rode the Pedicab over to Citywalk. That was a fun experience! I felt bad for our biker though--he had Ollie and I and Hannah and Grace!




We got back from CityWalk just in time for the nightly opera. We got some gelato and sat in the Piazza listening to opera--so very Italian!
We were up early and back at Islands of Adventure by about 8 the next morning! We had to get there for our breakfast at The Three Broomsticks.

I got the Traditional English Breakfast complete with Blood Pudding. I tasted it but that's all I had--it was pretty gross. Thankfully, everything else was just perfect!

Soon after breakfast we said goodbye to Harry Potter and Hogsmeade and Harriet and Billy...then we spent the rest of the day at Islands of Adventure and Universal. It was hot and tiring but we had that Fastpass hotel key still and so did lots and lots of rides. It was a great day and an amazing weekend!!