Lived to Tell the Tale

After spending the night at the Snider's and eating breakfast,

or as Eva put it, "dining and dashing" 

Alexa and I left for our fictional reality: Harry Potter World. 

[She's a gator, she just couldn't help it] 

The weather started out not so bad,

but it quickly heated up. 

Plan of the day: start with Harry Potter, end with Harry Potter,

Eat our packed lunches, and don't pay for anything. 

Good plan.

I brought three cameras: 

Water proof - for the water rides, 

Disposable - for inside the Hogwarts castle 

[they don't let you take big cameras onto the ride - it has to fit in your pocket]

and my digital - for everything else. 

The park was super packed. 

so. many. people. 

Even the single rider lines were long. 

People are catching on. 

After going through the park once, we made our way over to Universal. 

Hands up for two park passes. 

Alexa rode Rip Ride Rocket for the first time. 

That's the one that goes straight up - like vertically up - like towards the sky - up 

and then comes down. 

There was this girl in front of us, asking her cool 6th grade friends if this was the ride 

that goes straight up, like straight up - and pointed up. 

I didn't know there were other kinds of straight up. 

I guess it could've gone horizontally straight up. 

what? no.

 

I rode jaws for the first time. 

I understood why Alexa cried on it when she was younger. 

A big plastic Shark swims around and splashes. 

and there's fire. 

I'm surprised she wanted to relive that. 

Scary stuff. 

I was a first timer on E.T. too. 

[I know right - it's my sixth time coming and I still haven't been on some of the rides - 

but I could literally just sit in HP World all day] 

You give them your name before you get onto the ride, 

so naturally I said, "Harry." 

Alexa wasn't as cool - she gave her real name. 

Lame.

It was nice to sit, those bike seats are comfortable - for real.

at the end of the ride - E.T. said, 

"Goodbye Harry" 

So. Funny.

I know, I'm pretty rad.

I was eating pretzels filled with peanut butter so I couldn't smile normally 

and Alexa is such a good photographer, she was able to capture me in 

the process of trying to get it out of my mouth. 

I usually don't like when photos are focused on the background instead of the foreground. 

But, for some reason - I like these. 

Props Lex.

Anyway, this shop window was way cool - full of antique cameras. 

but now, for the Alexa model session: 

After going to the 3D Matrix show

[kind of dumb]

We went back to Harry Potter World, to re-ride everything and say our goodbyes.

Dueling dragons. Front row. At night. 

Incredible. 

So fast.

I've never done so many "Woolooolooo's"

[from the song The Wolf by Fever Ray- top 10 of the week]

When we went to re-ride the Forbidden Journey 

[the ride in the castle] 

We went in the single rider line and a witch telling all the muggles to move forward stopped me 

and told me to take the elevator to the third floor - walk out and take the next elevator to the loading 

station back on floor two. 

What?! 

Explore Hogwarts?! 

A once in a life time opportunity - and guess who had their disposable camera on them because 

of their new rule to a.l.w.a.y.s. have a camera on them? 

Me.

It was every bit of a real life dream come true!

I got to explore Hogwarts. 

The witch put me in the elevator [by myself] and pressed floor three. 

Truthfully - I could have not listened  and gone walking around - probably gotten caught and put in Azkaban.

But instead, I just walked really slowly taking it all in

- and then ran a little because I was so excited.

I took two photos on my way to the second elevator - I was just in a long hallway 

with candle lit torches on each side, probably near the Hogwarts kitchens. 

I will never get over this - I was trusted to go in the secret passage ways of Hogwarts!
I think I almost died of pure joy.

When I got off the elevator 

there was a woman with her elderly wheelchair bound mother and a teenager.
The woman said, "mom look - it's Harry Potter"
in reference to me, I mean - it just doesn't get any better than that.

We all got in the cart and another witch was telling us we would be put on the track in a few minutes. 

So, taking advantage of having my camera on me again,

I asked her to take a photo of us all locked in the cart. 

I got to sit next to grandma. 

[film to be developed asap]

I hope the photo moves. 

On the ride -I was still in awe about what happened to me that I didn't even know what was going on. 

All I could focus on were the "Oooohhhs" and "Ahhhhhs" from Grandma. 

I started cracking up when she would say, "Get'em Harry!" and "We can do this!"

and then at the very end "I loved it, I'm not getting off."  

I hear yah grandma, 

except she had to get off - and me and the other teenager got to ride the ride again to take the cart 

back onto the main track. 

Amazing. 

I guess I just have one of those faces.

This was the best 6th Harry Potter visit I've ever had.