Turn your wallet over to The Mouse

 My brother who lives in Florida has a saying--I don't know if it's his or just local--"Turn your wallet over to The Mouse." Meaning, obviously, that if you choose to spend time (and money) in Orlando, you might as well just put Mickey Mouse in charge of your wallet. There won't be much left when you leave. First, Epcot...

Don't ever buy these lollipops. Your children will be sticky for the rest of their lives.

Duffy the Disney Bear. Who? Apparently, Disney needed one more mascot. So they added Duffy. Duffy who? I don't know. But Stephanie loved him.

 

Hula-hooping in the America region at Epcot. It was very interesting to see how Disney summed up each country. America--hula-hoops and colonial architecture. Mexico--mariachi. Canada--moose. England--red phone booths. Germany--beer and cuckoo clocks. We had a blast and Disney is very family-friendly, but I would love for them to add Australia, Egypt, and Peru to name a few.

 

We used this phone booth to enter the Ministry of Magic. We went to Universal the next 2 days. Nathan talked me into going on a roller coaster called The Hulk, which turned out to be very fun, but mainly, we were there to go to Harry Potter World.

Now for a tour...if you haven't been to Harry Potter World, wait till you see how incredible it is!

Hogwarts castle is AMAZING! It is so much like what you see in the movies. We were completely WOW-ed. Inside is the main ride, which was really cool but also made me nauseous.

Professor Sprout's greenhouse. Pass through this while waiting in line for the ride. (You can also just walk through the castle.)

While hanging around the Hogwarts Express, we overheard the "Engineer" respond this way to a girl who asked where "the other Harry Potter ride" was. He said (in British accent), "Harry Potter's a person, love. He's not a ride."

  

The paintings are wonderful. Lots of them move and talk like in the books and movies yet they really look like paintings. The black ones above are the moving paintings--they don't show up in photos.

Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Holograms of Harry, Ron, and Hermione appear frequently at the top of the staircase and talk about the class. It was so easy to picture Gilderoy Lockhart coming down and talking about himself with his winning grin.

 

Entrance to Dumbledore's office. If only there was actually a moving staircase that opened when you said "Sherbet Lemon." Speaking of which, Honeyduke's sells Sherbet Lemons as well as many others, including Pepper Imps, which are yummy.

Dumbledore's office. So well done. There's a talking hologram of him also.

The Pensieve! Loved it!

                                              

The Three Broomsticks. I loved the design of this building. We ate there also. BUTTER BEER is the best thing!!! So tasty--like drinking a creamy butterscotch candy. Pear cider was also quite delicious.

Eric in Hogsmeade. Don't let the snow fool you--it certainly felt like Orlando in August. But I think the snow is a really nice touch.

There you have it! Crowded. Hot. Long lines here and there. Expensive. But SO MUCH FUN! We came home with wands for everyone except Eric, who said, "What would I do with it?" ??? Cast spells, of course! Play! Be a wizard! He's missing out. I bet he secretly wishes he spent the 30 bucks. What does he know, though? He washed his hair with lotion the two mornings we were in the hotel, till I pointed it out to him. He is a good man, though. He's still recovering from the injuries to his wallet. Obliviate!