Photo Potpourri: July 2021

Saturday, July 31, 2021

Orlando theme parks, Part VII:
Harry Potter at Universal Studios

In the weeks before we took off for the Orlando theme parks tour, Lee Ann prepped me for the visit to the Harry Potter area of Universal Studios by having me watch each of the Harry Potter movies in the series. I'd never seen even one of them before that.

I didn't mind the films, but it was fortunate Lee Ann and her daughter Lea were there with me to explain all the confusing stuff I wasn't understanding. But as my oldest son -- also a Harry Potter fanatic -- told me several times after I told him I'd been watching the movies, I'm sure I would have been much better prepared if I had read all the Harry Potter books first. Yeah, well ... if I hadn't felt interested in seeing any of the movies before this, why would have I read all the books?

But my son was right (and in her defense, Lee Ann had told me the same thing): on just the issue of having adequate context, I would have been better off having read the books first.

Still, watching the movies enabled me to grasp at least half of the things I encountered while walking through the Harry Potter area at Universal. For instance, I know about the dragons. Which is why I chose to lead off the post with a picture of one of them. But the theme park goes beyond just showing you a life-size (read: huge) dragon on top of one of the buildings. Every 15 minutes, it roars and breathes fire (see photo immediately below).

For the sake of children, it's a good thing the dragon is as far away from the pedestrian paths as possible!

As always, to view a larger, sharper version of an image, simply click on it. To view a full gallery of images from the Harry Potter area of Universal, click on the link in this sentence.

Above: Almost immediately after you enter the primary thoroughfare of the Potter section, you can spy the dragon atop the building in the distance.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank is operated by goblins in London. Universal's Harry Potter area has a life-sized but animated goblin seated behind a desk at the bank (above and below).

Above and first two below: Just like in Diagon Alley South Side in the Potter stories, the Universal Potter area has a wand shop.

There's also a shop to get robes and graduation gowns like those worn in the movies (above and first two below). In the five photos below the robes and gowns are some of the store's more familiar merchandising products, such as like shirts, mugs, etc.

Above and first two below: I don't recall the Potter movies mentioning the region's favorite beverage, butterbeer (must have been a book thing), but Harry Potter Town had a tavern that served a variety of beers, including butterbeer. It's pretty good -- and not alcoholic.

While visitors made their way through the inside of Hogwarts Castle to take the ride that launched at the top, they are "entertained" by a Potter-related show that appears on the interior walls and/or in photo frames therein. The segment above featured beloved Hogwarts head master Dumbledore.

Above: Potter fanatics will recognize the name of the witch Bellatrix.

Above and below are likenesses of various meals on the menu of The Leaky Cauldron restaurant that prospective diners can view while waiting in line to get into the eatery.

Above: Visitors supposedly can prompt a water spout to engage with the wand that this gal has in her hand, presuming they lift it in the correct way. She didn't have any luck on her attempt, but I did see other succeed. There is a similar attraction elsewhere on the grounds (near The Leaky Cauldron); if one correctly uses the wand, it makes water fall "like magic" from the umbrella pictured below.