Does The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Live up to the Hype?

Being a nerd, I am very hard to please.  Things have to be just right and if they are off or are different than the image in my head, I hate it.  I love the Harry Potter books, and the movies upset me because they left so much out.  They did a good job bringing the look of the world of Harry Potter to life, but I felt like they didn't catch me like the books did.  The movies were good for something,  however. They led to the creation of the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and it's expansion, Diagon Alley.  Both parks exceeded all of my expectations, and I literally burst into tears the first time I saw the Hogwarts Express parked in Hogsmeade.  I was crying because I felt that I was in Hogsmeade.  Not some muggle half-assed recreation, but the real macoy.  Below is my breakdown and guide of some of the attractions in both parks.

2014 Favorite Moments: I'm a God Damn Wizard.

My lovely wife and I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter this year. One of the things they sell is wands - in previous years, they were just fun little accessories, but this year they were actually part of the show - at different points in the parks, if you waved them in the correct way different magical things would happen, like water falling from the sky or store windows lighting up. It's a really cool thing.

IAAPA Day 2: A Trip to a Wizarding World

Check out Part 1 of my Visit to the Theme Park Tradeshow Here.

The head cold is still well in effect. So I take my Dayquil with coffee and breakfast and get ready for the day.

Boss Man wanted to use his connections get us some free passes to the parks out in the area, but things don’t always work out the way we want. The passes ended up being for Sunday… travel day. So, what is a clever professional to do? Company credit card. We call Big Boss, he Okays the whole deal, and after one swipe, we’re suddenly inside Universal Studios Orlando.

J.K. Rowling Has Written a New Harry Potter Story!

In honor of the World Cup, or possibly just because she likes tantalizing us, J.K. Rowling has made her first return to the world of Harry Potter since the end of the seventh book. Die-hard Harry Potter fans have been playing with the website Pottermore for years now, solving puzzles and reading pieces of the book in a new way. Today, Rowling paid off their patience by releasing a new work of fiction, staring the grown-up, 34 year-old Harry Potter.

Motion Control wands coming to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Later this year, the fine folks at Universal Studios Orlando are expanding their Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. Now taking up a piece of both the original Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, the Diagon Alley expansion will add a Hogwarts Express to dart between both parks, a brand new ride through Gringotts Bank, and a ton of new shopping opportunities. But - it turns out, that's not all. One of the most fun experiences at the parks has always been getting chosen for a wand at Ollivanders (pictured above with some lady), and it turns out, the wands are now getting an upgrade.