My First Visit To Hogsmeade

On Monday, I planned for an early start to the day because it was going to be my first visit to Hogsmeade, otherwise known as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. The park opened at 8:00 and I think we arrived there about 8:30 - I'm pretty sure we didn't leave on time for anything except maybe church and on the day we left. My mom stayed at the condo on this day because she had no desire to go to Universal and also we had promised her she could have some days to rest rather than get out and be on the go with us each day.

I had bought our tickets in advance so there was no waiting in line to buy tickets, which was nice. Once inside the park, we heading directly to Hogsmeade and I rode the Dragon Challenge roller coaster a couple of times. There were a TON of people there and if you know anything about me at all, you probably know that I hate large crowds of people. Makes me a little crazy. We stood in line for a couple of butterbeers, which were amazingly delicious and I am now on a quest to maser the recipe since it is not available in bottled form and to my knowledge the only place it is served is at Hogsmeade. We got the frozen kind and we both enjoyed it.

The problem with Monday was that I didn't really go with a plan. That was my first problem because I had no idea where to go, what I wanted to do or see. The second problem was that I was crabby from not feeling well among other things. My dad had taken my mom's wheelchair that morning and while I didn't think it would bother me, it actually did and I ended up pitching a fit about that as well. Yes, I am 35 years old and still know how to pitch a fit. Lovely, isn't it. Basically, I wanted someone to ride rides with and all my dad wanted to do was find a show to watch. We clearly got our wires crossed when planning ventures to Universal. In hindsight, it probably would have been best if I had done Universal and my dad had done something else because he didn't enjoy Islands of Adventure all that much.

We finally decided on a plan which was splitting up. I took some cash out of my wallet and sent my purse and camera with my dad so I wouldn't have to lock it away in a locker. I rode roller coasters all afternoon and my dad went to this show or that. We had plans to meet up at the entrance at 3:00. About 2:30, I headed that way because I didn't want to be late. He was early as well and we actually then decided to check out one of the water rides. I told him I didn't feel like coming back that evening and we should go ahead and ride the water rides. In addition to my sinus issues, I also was having stomach issues on this particular day. I walked and he rode over to the ride but there was a long wait so we left to go pick up my mom for dinner.

Dinner was at Carrabba's and afterwards, we dropped mother back off at the condo and ended up going back to Universal. The evening was much better than the morning. I rode a bunch of rides, including the amazing Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. My mouth was agape the whole ride. It was incredible - like being in the movie! My dad also rode that one once but the motion made him sick so that was it for him. I bought a Quidditch jersey and my dad bought me a shirt that said "Muggle". When 9:00 rolled around, we headed towards the entrance but not without stopping for another butterbeer first. My dad didn't want one but I did. The folks working at the park were closing the line because the girl pumping the butterbeers was having problems with her machine, but my dad managed to sweet talk them into letting us be the last two in line. Other people wanted in line too but no one else was allowed in. A woman asked my dad if he would buy one for her and gave him the money to do just that. Then a boy came up to me and asked me the same thing and handed me a $5 bill. I told him that I was keeping his change of 75 cents as a tip. There was no frozen when I got up to the front of the line, so the boy got $1 back and I got a 75 cent tip and then they closed down the stand.

We headed towards the exits, made amends for any hurt feelings from before and finally made it to the car. It's a long walk from the park to the car, which I was warned about by Tony, a season pass holder (I might be a little envious of that!). Monday was in the books and I was ready for a night of rest and a visit to the doctor!