Monday 27 Oct Harry Potter and the best dragon of all!
Part 1
Finding it very hard to cull photos for this part of the TR-so much detail to take photos of for a first time visit!
I plan to post all the photos we took in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade today even though we visited Diagon Alley each of the 3 days. Our first day was spent mostly there and in Hogsmeade in IOA so it makes sense to group pics; besides I honestly have no idea without looking at numbering which we took when.
Our day started at the early hour of 5.30am when the alarm woke us up. A quick breakie of cereal and coffee and we were down at the boat dock at 6.30am. We were the only ones there, it was still pitch dark, and it seemed like it was so much earlier than what it was. Our Captain even seemed to doubt what we were up to! It was still dark when we disembarked but as we approached the entrance of Universal Studios we were reassured others (but not many!) were hurrying through. It was almost surreal following shadowy people in front of us through the deserted streets of New York with occasional CMs (easier to use WDW lingo) directing us and making sure no-one slipped away into other areas before opening. It was also very realistic!
No time to stop and stare or take piccies, through Leicester Square station we were hurried and accompanied by the grinding of bricks we emerged into Diagon Alley.
To give a sense of geography to the tale here are some pics taken after the ride and after we re-entered properly.
We headed straight for Gringotts with everyone else (and since no shops were yet open, what else would you do!), put our gear in a locker and so got to walk straight through, lingering whenever possible to take photos of the amazing décor of Gringotts bank. We had the new little camera with us which zipped into a shirt pocket for the ride. The goblins are as good as they look in the pictures; the chandeliers are sparkly and authenticity is 100%.
Down the lift, through the passages past interesting doors, piles of newspaper with the headlines and moving photos of Harry and Dumbledore
and into Bill Weasleys office with the goblin banker Blordack where you get an intro as to why today is not a good day for visiting the bank vaults!
Then the ride which is amazingly fun for a HP lover with only a tiny coaster effect at the start really, riding in Victorian-style open carts (tiered and you definitely do get slightly different impressions of the ride from different seats)-see this nicked from the internet pic.
For those who have never been to Universal, these type rides remind me a little of Indiana Jones though a bit less rough and jerky plus you have the 3D screen elements which makes it a whole lot better. Indiana Jones done in this way would have been awesome!!
Back to EFG there is brilliant 3D footage (aka Superman or Transformers but I think better again), you are cursed by Belletrix, have an encounter with Voldemort and Nagini, watch Harry, Ron and Hermione escape on the back of the dragon up through the ceiling...its perfect.
The photographers cant take a picture for love or money though (no on ride pics as you are wearing 3D glasses). Our effort - having been tweaked in Photoshop to amend the over exposure.
When we emerged the sun had come up, the wait time was tiny, our locker was still good, so round we went for a second go. I might have done a third but DH declined. We spent the next 2 hours exploring quite a bit of DA including watching a wand ceremony in Ollivanders before heading out to see the London waterfront but this TR I will take you through it logically so cue the next post: the London waterfront.
