Last month I took Robbie and Henry to Harry Potter World as one of their Christmas gifts. We traveled with the Mathusek family, who are just wonderful people. Monica is a great example to me of a kind, patient mother. I have never heard her raise her voice to her children. Derek and Josh are great kids and Henry and Robbie get along well with them. Lots of giggling, esp between Henry and Josh. It made it a lot more fun traveling with friends!
At the Richmond airport, ready for takeoff!
Waiting in line for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. It was a long line, but the theming was fantastic. I don't like roller coaster rides, and this one made me pretty nauseated, but I'm glad I rode it. The other kids rode it again the next day, and Josh even rode it a third time while Henry, Robbie, and Derek went and rode the Hulk and the Velocicoaster, two giant coasters that Josh wasn't interested in riding.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
After a ride or two, we ventured through Hogsmeade and enjoyed some of the fun shops and ambiance. You really did feel like you were transported to another world!
There were so many fun treats in Honeydukes! I was very tempted to buy Felix Felicis, but at $20 a bottle it wasn't worth it for me.
Treats!
Of course we had to try butterbeer--cold, frozen, and hot. It tasted like a butterscotch cream soda. The frozen was the best in my opinion, but all of them were super sweet.
The boys each got to pick a wand from Ollivander's--Robbie chose McGonagall's wand and Henry chose Dumbledore's childhood (different from the Elder wand he had as an adult). They also had generic wands you could choose. Throughout the park, you could do spells at different spots to make things move in shop windows. So fun!
Making a call to the Ministry of Magic.
We ate lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. No wonder it was leaky--check out that huge crack!
Classic pub food--I enjoyed a shepherd's pie.
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!
The joke shop was full of fun stuff, although some of it was just for looks, which was a bummer. But Henry bought a distractor toy, and we bought a Skiving Snack Box with Nosebleed Nougat, Puking Pastilles, Fever Fudge, and Fainting Fancies.
The puking pastille--one end to start throwing up, the other end to stop. The texture was like a Jolly Rancher.
Ice cream from Florean Fortescue's.
At the end of a long day in the park, the boys were happy to hang out at the motel's water park. Super fun!
This elevator sign made me laugh on the ride Escape from Gringotts.
I think the Hogwarts Express was my favorite ride. Just needed someone walking by to ask, "Anything from the trolley, dears?"
Borgin and Burkes--appropriately creepy.
The chocolate frogs were pricey but honestly pretty cool--I loved the hologram hexagonal cards inside.
What a magical weekend we had!
