Chocolate Frog, Butterbeer, etc.

Can you guess which book/movie this frog is from?

Yep, Harry Potter. When we visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I immediately had 2 things in mind - this chocolate frog, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!

Like in the movie, this treat came with a wizard card inside. I was hoping to get Dumbledore (or even Godric Gryffindor), but I got Rowena Ravenclaw instead. I wouldn't have minded, if not for the scowl on her face. Couldn't she have smiled for posterity's sake? And UNlike the movie, Rowena stayed put in my card. So Ron Weasley's dialogue "you can't expect him (HER in this case) to hang around all day, can you?" does not work in the muggle world. ;-)

Why the scowl, Rowena?

Chocolate Frog, $9.95

Speaking of muggles, the servers at Three Broomsticks kept calling us "muggles". I didn't take any offense (I imagine some will), in fact I found it quite humorous. Especially since those servers didn't really deliver our drinks on flying broomsticks. ;-)

Of course, a trip to Hogsmeade wouldn't be complete without Butterbeer. I have always imagined how it would taste like, as they mentioned in the book that it would make house elves drunk, but not humans. Well, butterbeer will NOT make even house rats drunk. It tasted like soda with butterscotch, and it was DELICIOUS! However, you can only have one mug. It is overly sweet and unbearable if taken in large quantities.

Butterbeer is served in two ways - frozen, and liquid. We tried both, and we agreed that liquid is better. Frozen is more expensive, though. It was $2.99 for liquid and $3.99 for frozen, but if you want the commemorative cup (like in the pic), it is $9 and $12 (not sure as of time of writing!). Oh, and the frozen would give you brain freeze. ;-p

frozen and liquid butterbeer in their commemorative steins

I was pretty impressed with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. From the "moving portraits" to the curios and merchandise - they were very authentic and made me feel transported to the world that I thought would only be possible in my books and the movies. The Forbidden Journey ride was amazing and state-of-the-art, though I felt like I just ate Puking Pastilles from Zonko's afterwards. You can even hear Moaning Myrtle in the restroom! I am a true fan - I have read all the books and watched all the movies - and I am very impressed with the park. My only complaint was that we didn't stay long enough to explore everything! That, and I wasn't able to buy Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. 

The pictures talk and move!

This looks just like the wall in Sirius Black's house, right?

The Sorting Hat. It talks and actually gives orders instructions.

Ollivanders. The finest wand maker.

P.S. I found a website that contains better pictures of the theme park. Click here. (He was able to take pictures of the holograms and such, and had interesting things to say about the park, too!).