Thea Awards for Harry Potter/Universal

I have to confess: I wasn't familiar with those awards. Good for Universal!

Disney did get a mention at the bottom though...I'm still trying to decide if I'll ever do HP. I want to, but I'd hate to spend that much $$ and be disappointed. Maybe we'll win tix

I want to go so bad! A girl I work with is a huge HP fan but she said it was really small & was impressed but felt like they could do much more. Overall I'm not sure if we'll go this trip.

Hogwarts was impressive. Butterbeer was delicious. Three Broomsticks food = yum. All else = fail. It was tiny and Olivander's was lame. The two roller coasters were old revamped ones I'd been on. Take a day to do it if headed to Disney but certainly don't just plan a Universal vaycay!

Yes - that's my big concern. I rode Dueling Dragons (or whatever it's called now) before IOA even opened like, 10 years ago, at a sneak preview of the park! I just think they could have done more and bigger. I wished while they were building it that Disney had had the rights...because I think they would have done a more thorough job of it. But I have to admit (begrudgingly) - when I didn't visit IOA forever ago, there was some amazing technology. Don't know if it's kept up, but I was impressed back then.

Overall...if someone treats me or if I score tix, or if I could get them at a discount, I'll do WWoHP. But other than that, I doubt it. I will look for a butterbeer recipe and make my own, though. Or maybe just some hot buttered rum (It's cold here today!)

What...you know...happens at Olivanders? I'm not clear on what it is.

Yes! Ollivaner's requires you wait on line forever, You go into his wand shop. He picks a child in the room and gives him a wand. Kid waves it, a crash noise sounds. Gives him a new wand and something else goes wrong. Last one make a mystical sound come out. He says the wand has chosen the wizard and has you exit into the gift shop. All toll, you wait online for an hour and are in there for 3.5 minutes. It's only fun if your kid gets chosen......also, that kid doesn't get the wand...they make the family buy it.

"The wand has chosen a wizard (assuming the parents have $29.95)"

So it's kind of like extortion, eh?

Can you buy a wand even if you aren't the kid that is chosen?? That sounds like it would be much more impressive once the hype dies down and you can walk in and walk out. If that ever happens.