Universal Studios -The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

The Friday of our LA adventure was all about Universal Studios. We were up bright and early, and out of the apartment by 7am. We took the metro red line to Universal City, then caught the free Universal Studios tram which deposited us right outside the studio gates. I had splashed out on Front of Line tickets for us. They were expensive, but ended up being SO worth the money. To start with, they allowed you to enter the park 1 hour earlier than the usual 9am opening time. We figured we only had 1 day to see everything in the park, and we didn't really want to spend hours queuing in 30 degree plus heat. The queue for the Harry Potter ride was around 85 minutes for most of the day, plus most other rides had 30 minute plus waits. Electronic boards around the park were kept up to date with the current wait times.

We headed straight for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the 'Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey' ride. Since we were in the park early there was hardly any queue, so we decided not to use our front of line passes in case we wanted to do the ride again (front of line lets you skip the queue once on every ride and attraction). The ride was amazing, I'm not a huge theme park ride junkie, but even I could appreciate how well it was done. Clicking on the link will give you an idea of the experience, then imagine it with 3D goggles on and being whipped through the air on a robotic arm. It really did feel like you were flying!

Next we did the 'Flight of the Hippogriff' which was a very short, quite sweet, old-fashioned roller coaster. Will and I were in the very front seats which was a little bit scary!

With the rides done, we spent a while exploring the rest of Harry Potter world. It was so brilliantly done. They had pretty much recreated the whole of Hogsmeade.

Now I (obviously!) think Will is pretty cute...

But he's not a patch on these super-excited junior wizards!

It was scary just how many people were walking around kitted out in full wizarding outfits, or Harry Potter memorabilia. I guess if you're a die-hard fan then this is your Mecca. It was over 30 degrees so they must have been hot!

There were lots of shops that you could go into and explore. If you wanted to, you could send a letter using 'owl post'.

You could buy any manner of memorabilia in the Dervish and Banges school supply shop, including uniform items branded with the different Hogwarts house insignia.

Ollivander's was doing a roaring trade in wands (at around $50 a pop!)

You could buy 'candy' and chocolate frogs at Honeydukes, or magic tricks and novelties at Zonko`s joke shop. The attention to detail was incredible, right down to Moaning Myrtle in the public restrooms!

Hogwarts (where the forbidden journey ride was based) was spectacular. You could see the spires from anywhere in the whole theme park.

There was a small stage set in the village where a couple more mini 'shows' would periodically appear. You had actors playing the part of participants in the triwizard tournament...

As well as recitals by the frog choir (yes, it really is as weird as it sounds).

All in all it was a magical experience, and I wouldn't even say I'm that big a Harry Potter fan. After spending time in Hogsmeade you did become immersed in that world and it all started to seem 'real'. Here are some more pics to finish.