Harry Potter World: Hogwarts

I realize this is my third post about Harry Potter World, but I have had a lot of requests to share in detail so I figured the more images the better.  You of course, always have the liberty of skipping to the next post!

(MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

After spending most of the day in Hogsmeade we loaded the Hogwarts express to "Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey" located at the Hogwarts castle.  We had to wait forever to get on the ride, but it was totally worth it.  The line was pretty amazing too, besides the whole having to wait in a line aspect, because it led you first through the herbology classroom and then inside the castle.  We were led through hundreds of talking portraits, Dumbledore's office, the defense against the dark arts classroom, and then the Gryffindor common hall.  It literally was amazing walking through the halls of the Hogwarts Castle!

The main ride "Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey" was pretty incredible.  It was a good mix of virtual and reality.  The goal is to make the person on the ride feel like they are truly on a flying broom in all the different situations (i.e. a quidditch match, escaping dragons and dementors, etc.)  It was such an amazing ride, we couldn't just go on it once, so we went on it another time along with a castle tour.

The outside of the castle was also amazingly designed.  It made me feel like I was back at Disneyland outside Sleeping Beauty's castle, especially when the lights came on at night.  

While relaxing in the sun, we were able to see a replica of the TriWizard tournament from the fourth book.

I'm so glad I got the chance to visit Harry Potter World, especially with Tracy since she is such a big fan as well.  We had an incredible time, even suffering through the sweat and heat with our Butterbeers. If you get the chance to travel to Orlando, make sure to visit Islands of Adventure and give yourself lots of time to live it up in Harry Potter World!