make The Wizarding World of Harry Potter more awesome than you ever imagined

Friends.

Have you seen it? Do you plan to?

We visited Orlando this month, and honestly, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a highlight. THE highlight.

It’s nestled inside Universal Orlando Resort, and it’s an absolute dream come true. You must see it.

We literally cried happy tears walking into Diagon Alley. Not. Even. Kidding.

I cannot strongly enough recommend a visit to Universal Orlando Resort, and I will even go as far as to say it will exceed all of your expectations. But there are just a few things–a few secrets to keep in your back pocket–before your trip.

And these [little tricks] will make The Wizarding World of Harry Potter more awesome than you ever imagined.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Make The Wizarding World of Harry Potter More Awesome Than You Ever Imagined

Just a few little tricks, friends. Just a few.

First of all, though, you need to understand a bit about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter:

Universal Orlando Resort consists of two theme parks: 1. Universal Studios; 2. Universal’s Islands of Adventure; and 3. The Wed-N-Wild Waterpark.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is broken into to parts: Diagon Alley (in Universal Studios) and Hogsmeade (in Islands of Adventure).
You can take a train–The Hogwarts Express–to and from between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

(image from Universal Orlando site)

Then, prepare your kids.

Give them their very own Howwarts acceptance letter like we did:

Before we left, we downloaded, edited, and printed out the Acceptance Letter from Mediafire. Be careful–there’s a ton of spam over there.

You can download the Word form letter here: Hogwarts Acceptance Letter from Book Template

And here’s our pdf version so you can see how we adjusted: hogwards letter girls

We printed the letter out on marbled cardstock.

And then we rolled it into a scroll, tying it with a gold ribbon.

Here’s what you need to know and do to make your experience rock:

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1. Read the books and watch the movie

I mean. You. Must. Read. The. Book.

And if you can’t finish the whole series, then at least make sure that you read the first book and follow it up with the first movie.

Part of the reason Maddy, Owen, Cora, and I were so excited to see the parks was because we read the books. And we watched the movies. In that order.

I read the first book out loud with Maddy the summer before she went into third grade, and from there she took off on her own.

I read the first book out loud with Owen the summer before he went into second grade, and from there he took off. He finished book seven this year.

We listened to the first book via audio books on our drive to Pennsylvania this past Easter because I wanted Cora and my husband to read it before we went to the park. And then we watched the movie.

Reading the book and watching the movie brings the park to life and gives you an appreciation for the beauty and details like you wouldn’t believe.

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2. Buy the interactive wands

Make the investment.

The interactive wands are not cheap, but they are so cool it’s not even funny.

They’re about $50–and I know!–that’s a lot for a park souvenir, but it’s worth it. My mom and dad gave us money before the trip, especially for wands for the kids, so that helped. Maybe consider having the wand be an early birthday gift or something from relatives if they ask for a suggestion and you know you’re making the trip.

Why the interactive wand? Because with them you can actually make magic happen. Not kidding. Over 30 spots in the two parks.

The wands come with a map of Hogsmeade on one side and Diagon Alley on the other, and it shows all of the places where you can stand and make magic happen. You simply stand on a gold medallion, say the magic word on the map, and move your wand in the direction indicated.

And then? Storefronts come to life, objects appear, water flows, and you’re a witch or wizard making magic.

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3. Plan your visit wisely

For our quick stay at Universal Orlando Resort, we had five Park-to-Park Express Unlimited Passes, and we stayed one night at the Cabanna Bay Beach Resort.

Staying at a Universal Orlando Resort property allowed us to get into the parks one hour early (8 am vs 9 am), which was a huge plus.

Not only was the hotel awesome (more on that later, but essentially it is super family-friendly, has fab pools, and is priced very reasonably), but it provided free transportation to the parks early so that we could plan our short stay wisely.

We suggest, if you have one day to really rock it out at Universal Orlando Resort and Harry Potter is your focus, that you:

take the bus to Universal Orlando Resort to get the Early Park Admission to Islands of Adventure;
run like lightening through Islands of Adventure straight to Hogsmeade and right to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey so we didn’t have to wait in super long lines (remember, we did have the Unlimited Express Passes, but those passes are not available on all rides–the Forbidden Journey is one of those!);
enjoy the totally incredible Forbidden Journey ride, then. . .
zip right on over for a quick ride on the Hogwarts Express so that we could go over to Universal Orlando’s other park–Universal Studios–and ride the other biggie Harry Potter ride, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts (this ride is another that does not take the Unlimited Express Pass!);
enjoy the absolutely fantabulous Escape from Gringotts ride, and then. . .
buy wands at Ollivanders and have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron;
do everything you want at Diagon Alley and then head back to Hogsmeade for the rest of your day.

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4. Send a postcard from the Owlery (but bring stamps!)

You can actually send letters from the Owlery and have them postmarked from Hogsmeade. How cool is that?

Someone was there almost all day long stamping envelopes and postcards with a real Hogsmeade postmark, and the Owlery is big enough that you can find a quiet seat to write a quick note there, too.

We decided to wait on the actual sending while there, though, because stamps were pretty expensive. Instead, we asked to have the postcards we bought there postmarked from Hogsmeade, but we would send them once we got home.

Saved us a couple of bucks, which gave us more money for. . .

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5. Try all three butter beers

. . . BUTTERBEER!!

Did you even know there were three types of butterbeer? There are. And you must try them all.

Hot butterbeer? Check.

Cold butterbeer? Check.

Frozen butterbeer? Check.

All are different and all are awesome.

The Universal Orlando executive chef took three years to create the menus for this park. Three years. And he consulted regularly with J.K. Rowling on the recipes, too. When she tasted the butterbeer recipe–one that took 7 months to design–she knew it was the one. And you will, too.

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6. Get the Universal Express Unlimited Passes

harry potter wizarding world unlimited express | teachmama.com

Unless you live in Orlando and visit the park regularly, get the Express passes, friends!

With Universal Express℠ Unlimited, you can SKIP THE REGULAR LINES at participating rides and attractions in both theme parks to get the most out of every day.

Bam.

They had me at ‘skip the regular lines’ if you want me to be totally honest.

I just think that at theme parks, especially if you are pressed for time, you want to get on the rides as quickly as possible. So in my humble opinion, pay the extra.

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7. Talk to the wizards (and witches!)

There are ‘wizards’ and ‘witches’ (who are really park employees, so don’t get too excited!) kind of wandering around through the park. And they’re there to help you!

Ask them questions. Talk to them. Encourage your kids to do the same because the majority of the wizards and witches are actually from the United Kingdom, so you will feel even more as if you have landed yourself in another country, just by chatting with them.

And the employees have been tested and retested on their knowledge of the books, too, so they know a lot. A lot.

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8. Eat at the Leaky Cauldron.

You guys. The LEAKY CAULDRON.

Right. So you must eat there.

The Leaky Cauldron is in Diagon Alley, and The Three Broomsticks and Hogs Head are in Hogsmeade.

Choose one. Just sit, eat, and feel like you’re in one of the books, eating alongside the characters you know and love.

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9. Do it all.

Do everything. You will absolutely die because around each corner is something more awesome than the last.

A visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is not complete unless you:

eat a Chocolate Frog from Honeydukes Sweets Shop;
browse through Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods;
check out the Monster Book of Monsters at Dervish & Bangles;
visit Ollivander’s Wand Shop and witness a wand pairing (and this shop is an exact replica of the shop from the book!);
send a postcard home from The Owl Post;

ride the Dragon Challenge and the Flight of the Hippogriff;
search for the house elves hiding around each park–one in the rafters of the Three Broomsticks and one in the window of 12 Grimmauld Place;
creep through Knockturn Alley (this is a secret, kinda shady back alley in Diagon Alley);
get dripped on by the for real leaking cauldron in the Leaky Cauldron sign;
‘cheers’ a pal with a frosty butterbeer glass;
drink a bit of Pumpkin Juice and then visit Florean Fortescue’s for some amazing and sinful ice-cream;
walk by Dumbledore’s office, peek into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and wish you could hang out in the Gryffindor Common Room;
overhear a wizard conversation in the hallway of the Hogwart’s Express.

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10. Take your time. Sit. Breathe. Watch.

Really. At one point, my husband took Maddy, Owen, and Cora back to the Escape from Gringotts for a second ride, and I just stayed behind and sat on the steps nearby.

It may have been one of the most peaceful and memorable times I spent at the park.

Yes, the rides are phenomenal. They’re amazing and unforgettable. But the time I spent just sitting–just taking it all in and appreciating that my three little wizards were here with me, enjoying the time of their lives and really bringing a beloved book to life–was worth more than I would have ever imagined.

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Want to see all of our photos from our trip? Check them out:

Have you visited Universal Orlando Resort’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Do share your tips, tricks, and ideas for making the trip more awesome for other people!

fyi: This is a sponsored post, written as part of a partnership exchange with Universal Orlando Resort. As always, all of my opinions and ideas are all my own, influenced only by my experience as a parent and educator and by my three little wizards. When I say that this theme park was not to be believed, I am not exaggerating. We’re already planning our return trip so that we can explore the rest of what Universal Orlando Resort has to offer. This first trip, however, was all about bringing to life a book that each one of us loves and appreciates.