Happy Christmas Harry

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Amelia M.

As Christmas draws closer it only seems appropriate to talk about the other happiest place on earth I visited this year: Hogwarts.

LA was uncharacteristically overcast that day, which was perfect for imagining we were in the UK.

The Hogwarts Express

Don’t forget your luggage.

Snow-capped rooftops all year long.

Hogsmeade and Hogwarts street signs

PLEASE RESPECT THE SPELL LIMITS.

First order of business? Butterbeer, of course. I’d heard a lot of fuss about the butterbeer and it did not disappoint. You could get regular butterbeer, frozen butterbeer, and even a butterbeer cream dessert. I tried all three, you know, purely to be thorough in my comparison and reporting.

There was also gilly water [Which I didn’t sample], pumpkin fizz juice [Which I did, not bad, but not near as good as the butterbeer], and a variety of other wizard beverages to try.

These were the drink options at The Three Broomsticks.

We wandered all around Hogsmeade.

See that little Hermoine with her wand on the right? You could buy wands that interacted with the window displays. I believe in this moment she was trying to summon a chocolate frog.

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Owl Post

My favorite was probably Honeydukes [Zonko’s joke shop was nearby and basically a part of this shop as well].

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I took home some chocolate frogs and ended up with a Godric Gryffindor card.

I also loved seeing the wands of all the characters at Ollivanders. While we were in there we spotted Angela Kinsey [The actress who play Angela on the office]!

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Hermione’s wand

Borrowed Hermione’s wand for a minute.

You could also buy other wizard items like a rememberall, quill set, quidditch apparel, or even a Weasley sweater.

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sweaters

The infamous monster book occasionally tried to bite people.

Of course, if you needed money for any of these things, you can always visit Gringotts. My own muggle bank found itself very confused with my visit, which led to me taking a short time out from the merriment to let them know there was no fraudulent charges to my card, I was just on vacation. However, just to be safe they had me verify my last few charges were legitimate. Flitwick’s emporium? Yup, that’s me. Butterbeer cart? Yup, that’s me too.

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The Forbidden Journey ride was amazing. The line itself was an attraction. It winded you through Hogwarts, taking you through the outside greenhouse, classrooms, and corridors. Talking portraits and young Hermione, Ron, and Harry greeted you along the way.

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Found the Weasley’s car.

The ride was even better. You glided through a convincing quidditch match, faced real life versions of the Forbidden Forest spiders, dodged the whomping willow, and found yourself up close and personal with dementors.

There was also a second coaster that took you past Buckbeak’s nest and Hagrid’s Cottage. Not nearly as elaborate, but still fun.

Buckbeak coaster cars

Eventually, despite all the butterbeer, we worked up an appetite, so we headed over to the Three Broomsticks. I had the beef stew. We tasted all the desserts. Everything was good, but we especially liked the toffee pudding.

We had a flight to catch so we couldn’t stay too long, but it was a wonderful escape into the world of Harry Potter. I hope I have the opportunity to do it again sometime [Orlando & London, look out].

Thanks Jo, I had the time of my life. And I owe it all to you.

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All the staff stayed in character and some congratulated me on winning the last Gryffindor match. This was very cute and not at all awkward and traumatizing. Unlike the time a guy cornered me by the soda machine while interrogating me about quidditch scoring technicalities when I went to see Fantastic Beasts [This was especially traumatzing because they were also out of the diet Dr. Pepper I wanted].

No muggles here.

Currently: Wrapping presents and watching [made for tv] Christmas movies.

Disney Queen

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Amelia M.

I may have started off the trip as a naive first timer [they gave me a pin and everything], but by the end I’d learned a thing or two. I’d ridden the rides, found the good food, seen the secret Indiana Jones Eeyore and Mary Poppins. I’d EXPERIENCED things. Just look at this comparison.

Before:

Getting ready for my first ride, Toy Story.

After:

DON’T EVEN TRY TO TELL ME WHEN TO USE MY FAST PASSES, CARS GUY.

Some Disney essentials I learned on this trip included: Embrace the fanny pack lifestyle. Buy your t-shirts before the trip, but buy your ears at the park. Find a hotel within walking distance. Don’t be afraid to pin trade. Bring extra hair ties. Have fun people with you to keep you entertained in line.

On some things though, we just got lucky. Like that time I lost my fast pass, but they let me on anyway. Or the time people just gave us five fast passes. Or the first night we were on the storybook land canal boats as the fireworks went off. They stopped the ride and we got to watch them from the boats. If you can manage to do this on purpose I recommend it, they’re pretty great seats for the show.

In fact, one of the biggest surprises to me was how fun Disney was after dark. Even though I was always starting to get tired by that point, there was something extra fun about the atmosphere at night. I mean just look at these California Adventure neon signs.

One of my trip highlights was seeing the World of Colors Saturday night. It’s an amazing lights and water display by the pier.

Here’s a picture of the pier by daylight.

Here’s a picture of the pier all lit up for the light show. These pictures in no way do it justice. The show itself, I didn’t even attempt to capture photographically, you’ll have to see it for yourself.

While I feel a little bit older and wiser and after this whole Disney experience, I do realize I still have much to learn. I mean It’s A Small World was closed. There’s no way I can consider myself an expert yet. I guess I’ll just have to go again. Till’ next time Disney!

BUT I LOOK LIKE A PRO, RIGHT? I mean, check out that fanny pack.

Currently: Watching iZombie while getting pumped for Christmas, as contradictory as those two activities are …

Minnie Mouse Club

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Amelia M.

Enter the skeptic. A woman eroded by time, the woes of modern life, and the 10 o’ clock news. Yet, somehow this girl found herself sitting on a plane to the “happiest” place on earth. Yes, me, on my way to Disneyland after 28 years of ignorance, indifference, and suspicion toward the big castle, Don Mickey and his loyal consiglieres [read here for more details]. Sure, I’d been told of the delight and the dole whips, but I also couldn’t turn a blind eye to the the crowds and the costs. Maybe Disney is a game best left to children and nostalgia riddled adults. Maybe it was too late.

But there was one brave soul who made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

A Disney veteran so invested she’s practically a mouseketeer. But she couldn’t do it alone. I was extremely fortunate to be surrounded by people who knew what to do, where to eat, and how to guide me through said crowds. They took this little skeptic and showed her the time of her life. We dubbed it Ghouls Weekend 2016 and had 72 hours of greatness.

Why Ghouls Weekend? Well our trip happened to fall on Halloween weekend. We didn’t go to Mickey’s special Halloween party, but even so Disneyland was no slouch when it came to Halloween.

Even the cups were Halloween themed. Seriously, aren’t they adorable?

Some of the rides also got in the Halloween spirit. The Haunted Mansion was taken over by Nightmare Before Christmas and Space Mountain was Ghost Galaxy.

Every ride I went on seemed better than the last. In the end my top rides were the ones that combined an immersive experience with a little bit of thrill. Indiana Jones stole the top slot, but Pirates of the Caribbean and Cars were also great contenders.

Living our best lives on the Cars ride.

Tomorrowland

Sam and Taylor on Peter Pan. This was a ride that really surprised me. It’s not very fast, so I didn’t expect it to live up to the hype. But there is just something magical about flying over starlight London.

Jungle Cruise Crew. At first thought our driver was kind of quiet, but she turned out to be hilarious. She had a very dry sense of humor.

This wasn’t a ride, but I couldn’t pass up a picture of a tribute to my favorite Disney Princess, Ariel. I did go on her actual ride later and witnessed some weird animatronic hairstyles.

I also learned that Disney has no end of Mickey shaped treats and food to try. And can I just say, THE CHURROS GUYS, THE CHURROS.

Of course, one of these treats included the infamous Dole Whip.

Heidi, Ben, and I had to EARN these pretzels. There was quite a long line since the both that sold them was also the place you could buy beer.

We also ate at a restaurant in the New Orleans part of the park, where I had a delicious Monte Cristo sandwich.

Emily with the infamous Monte Cristo.

It was fun checking off all the classic Disney things I’ve heard of and so many things that I hadn’t ever heard of. While I will probably never match the level of enthusiasm of my die hard Disney friends, I can honestly say I had an amazing time and would recommend it to others, even the skeptics.