Part of this Orlando trip was spent in Universal Studios. While I find this park a lot of fun–cool rides mostly–there’s a lot I feel it lacks compared to Disney World.  One thing they certainly win at though: the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

If you’ve been paying attention you know I love the books, so last time I visited I loved turning a corner to find the Hogwarts Express. This time I visited Diagon Alley, and it is ridiculous to walk through that little slip in the wall and have the whole thing open up before you. So many shops, and signs, and a dragon… I ditched the family and spent an hour just wandering around by myself. 

But another thing I notice that thrills me is a slight difference in the people. At Disney you get some very excited overly knowledgeable fans, but they’re in denser numbers here. There are more adults that are just taking it in for themselves, even spending horrendous levels of cash for robes and wands (not me, I only emptied my wallet for all the themed drinks) so they can interact with the area. I walked around in my Ravenclaw shirt and people commended me cor representing my house, and everyone grinned as they forked over a 20 for a souvenir Butter Beer.  Basically, it wasn’t families or goofy adults I saw a majority of in the Harry Potter portions (though they were there) but nerds, wonderful beautiful Harry Potter nerds, and I loved every second around them.