Any Gilmore Girls fans out there? I LOVE Gilmore Girls! When we started to plan this trip we knew we would be driving through Connecticut which meant we could stop by Yale University and see where Rory went to school.....yes I get that this sounds stupid to anyone who does not watch the show and yes I know that they didn't even film the show there, but it was a definite stop on our list! We weren't actually going to stop by the school till our last day of the trip but on our way to New Jersey we saw a sign pointing us in the right direction, the car took over and the next thing we knew we were parked in front of Yale.
The school is absolutely breath taking, It's hard to believe that people actually go to school there! I wish I had gone to Yale....or Hogwarts.
After exploring the campus and the library, we made our way to the bookstore to pick up some stylish Yale gear so that people would think we're intelligent, then we booked it back to the car because we didn't put enough change into the parking meter. No ticket, phew!
Calling all muggles, I hereby invite you to share in our experience to the fantastic Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This last August, My friend Aly and I decided to book a last minute trip to Florida to visit Universal Studios for their newest attraction. We easily spent the whole day there and didn't make it to the other sections of the park, which didn't bother us at all.
When we first entered we were greeted by the hustle and bustle of wizards and muggles alike gathering supplies at Hogsmeade. Wands, owls, brooms, uniforms, books and much more were available for purchase to get us ready for school and the upcoming quidditch season. Just beware of the monster book of monsters, it tends to bite.
If you plan to get into a little trouble with your teachers this semester like Fred and George, I would advise you to stop off at Zonko's for a pair of extendable ears, fever fudge or a fanged flyer. Afterwards we headed over to Honeydukes to fulfill our sweet tooth cravings. Chocolate frogs, exploding bonbons and a box of Bertie Botts every flavour beans did the trick.
We quickly got everything on our list and then headed to the Three Broomsticks for some grub. We tried the Shepherds pie and the Fish and Chips, both which were filling, and of coarse we washed it down with a cold glass of butterbeer. It is a must try for sure. By the end of the day I think we had about 3 glasses each! However I would not recommend the pumpkin juice, I love all things pumpkin but this was a little bitter tasting and ended up being thrown out.
We ended up running into myrtle. She was moaning in the bathroom as usual, poor girl. We quickly excused ourselves from the restroom by telling myrtle that Hagrid needed us right away for flight training. She wasn't too happy about that and chased us out.
After arriving at Hagrid's hut, he took us over to meet the Hippogriffs. Have you ever tried to ride a Hippogriff in the rain before? I definitely wouldn't recommend it! It was a perfectly sunny day and then the moment we took off for flight it started pouring. I tried to convince Buckbeak to put us down. It didn't matter though, we were already soaked.
We ran inside Hogwarts to dry off and quickly got swept up in the grand tour of the castle with the other first years. We saw Dumbledore's office, the defense against the dark arts classroom, and of coarse the Gryffindor common room since that is where the sorting hat put us. I secretly wanted to be in Hufflepuff though because that's where Edwar....I mean Cedric is. Oh well.
After exploring the school we ended up on a terrifying Forbidden Journey that included spiders and dragons. Colin Creevey somehow snapped my favorite picture of the whole trip. I really think Aly and I were on two completely different rides.
A little later that evening we heard the great news! This year is the Twiwizard Tournament! We got to see the Durmstrang Institute and the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in action as they entered Hogwarts. They look like some pretty tough competitors.
Well that is the end to our first day at Hogwarts. It was an exciting day and I really loved the detail of the park. I do hope in the future that they choose to expand the park. A few changes/additions I would love to see are: platform 9 3/4, a train station at the beginning to take you to hogwarts, more rides - maybe a flying car and/or Gringotts ride, a fun interactive class such as potions etc, bigger stores with more merchandise options (it was really crowded) and maybe a Great hall with a changing ceiling and unique food choices.
Any Harry Potter fans out there? Have you been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter or plan to? What was your favorite part and what do you think they should add to the theme park?
