Disneymoon Adventures: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

So of course, because we're us, we had to take a little break from Disney for a morning to head over to that other little magical place in Orlando...

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

We promised ourselves that we would literally only visit this one section of Islands of Adventure so we could get back to Disney as quickly as possible.  We hung around long enough to ride both of the big rides, send a postcard via Owl Post, try some butterbeer, and grab lunch at The Three Broomsticks.  And also take a ton of pictures!

This was a really awesome park, honestly.  However, my advice to die-hard Potterheads like us who visit this park- remember that it's based on the movies and therefore the employees have a limited range of details that they're knowledgeable about (not that Universal is anywhere near as in-character as Disney, but they sure try awful hard).  For example: as you see above, U-NO-POO and other Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes are being sold in Zonko's.  Mr. Geek asked a salesperson, "How'd y'all manage to start selling Weasley products here?" and she responded with a confused, "Uh, I think we carry a couple...?"  Yeah.  She had no idea what he was talking about.  And while the ride inside Hogwarts was really thrilling and super fun, I couldn't help but think, "Gee that was unrealistic."  You know, in terms of canon.  Urgh, I'm ridiculous.  My point is, don't get too caught up in the details or you'll just get frustrated.

Anyway it was fantastic!  We geeked out the whole time!  After we took pictures next to our House banners, somebody asked if we wanted a picture together.  The Gryffindor and Slytherin banners were hanging together, and the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw banners were hanging together.  We looked at each other for half a second, then back at the kind stranger, and said, simultaneously, "No thanks."

Yeah, we're total nerds.

What's your favorite bit of the Wizarding World?

Much love,
The Geeks

*all photos are personal*

Disneymoon Adventures: EPCOT

Hey everybody!  Still not done recapping our Disney honeymoon :)  Today I've got some scenes from our time in EPCOT- Walt Disney's Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow!

Mission: Space was EPIC, y'all...I'm so glad I didn't chicken out after all those warnings!  Other than the food (obviously), I think our favorite bits of EPCOT were the geeky bits- The Sum of All Thrills, where you use physics (!!) to design your own rollercoaster (!!!) and then ride a simulation of it (!!!!); Turtle Talk with Crush, where the audience interacts with an animated Crush and he answers your questions about sea turtles; and this cool exhibit in the Japan pavilion that shows how many anime characters and storylines are based on ancient Japanese mythology.  (Oh, and we both tried hot sake for the first time...my reaction is shown above.  That stuff is strong!)

So what are your favorite things to explore in EPCOT?

Much love,
The Geeks

*all photos are personal*

Disneymoon Adventures: Hollywood Studios

And now: Disney's Hollywood Studios!  We spent a lot of time here because there was a lot to see and I'm really glad we did.  It was also much emptier earlier in the week, giving us the opportunity to ride the big rides- including the Rock 'n' Rollercoaster which we did twice back-to-back- before the crowds showed up.  So without further adieu: pictures!

Oh Muppets, you're so funny :)  One Man's Dream was basically a museum of Walt's life, and it was Mr. Geek's favorite attraction at Hollywood Studios.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm definitely a museum person, but nothing beats Toy Story Midway Mania- that game/ride was INSANELY awesome!  (Take the Buzz Lightyear ride in Magic Kingdom and multiply it by INFINITY.  I'm not even exaggerating.)  We got to the park as early was we could to ride that one- not quite at opening, since it was a few days in and we'd taken to sleeping in a bit (as late as 8am!)- and we had every intention of just standing in line and waiting without bothering with Fast Passes as it was really the only major thing we wanted to hit that day.  As it turns out, the wait time had not been calibrated recently, so our wait was only half as long as what was listed!  (I have a tips-and-tricks post coming up with a bit of wisdom on lines and wait times that we learned on this trip- stay tuned!)  The Rock-n-Rollercoaster was certainly epic for both of us- we rode it three times and each time it was accompanied by a different song!  (We didn't know they changed the songs, as I'd never ridden it before and he'd only ridden it once.)  The Tower of Terror (or ERMAHGERD THE TERR OF TERR as we started calling it) was also awesome and we rode that one twice throughout the course of the week- and I was sorely tempted to buy a Hollywood Tower Hotel bathrobe or "do not disturb" sign, though I resisted the urge.

So what is your favorite attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios?

Much love,
The Geeks

*all photos are personal*