A few weeks ago when we flew to Los Angeles for a few days, we got off the plane, and headed directly to Universal Studios with a singular destination in mind- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We’ve done the Harry Potter Studio Tour, so stepping into the life size Harry Potter world presented at Universal Studios kind of felt like our second visit to the magical world. That being said though, as fantastic as seeing the real life sets was, they cannot compare to walking through the full scale Hogwarts castle or actually shopping for sweets at Honeydukes rather than them being scaled down models or facades.
We walked up to the entrance of Hogsmeade giddy with anticipation.
We were starving, so we popped into the Three Broomsticks for a bite to eat.
We were so hungry, we contemplated ordering The Great Feast, but came to our senses and opted for the roast chicken platter (Shelbs) and the soup and salad (Ash).
And obviously a cold frothy glass of butterbeer to wash it all down.
Taking our butterbeer to go, we set off to explore the village of Hogsmeade.
Weaving our way through the crowded village streets, we set our sights on Honeydukes for a bite of something sweet.
Sweets in hand, we wandered through a few more shops, stopping dead in our tracks at our first glimpse of Hogwarts.
We joined the line of Muggles entering the castle, and met up with Harry, Ron, and Hermine and took a little adventure. (Side note- if you are susceptible to motion sickness, avoid this ride).
Parched, we stopped off for another butterbeer before heading down to Hagrid’s hut where Buckbeak gave us a fun (but very short) ride around the castle grounds.
Sadly, the end of the day was drawing near, and we didn’t want to be stuck on the edge of the Forbidden Forrest after dark. On our way out, we ducked into the owlery to send a quick note off to our Mom, said one last fairwell to the village of Hogsmeade, and boarded the Hogwarts Express off to our hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
It was a really fun afternoon, perfect for adults and kids alike. For me personally, I think I preferred the studio tour in London better, mostly because it was a little more interesting to an adult. However, if I hadn’t of had the experience of the studio tour, or was a little kid, I would be in complete awe over the attractions at Universal Studios.
Would love to know your thoughts! Have you ever been? If you’ve been to Universal in Florida, how does it compare?
-Ash xx
P.S. You can see more about our Harry Potter adventure in our L.A. Travel Diary vlog