The Skinny On Me Week Five: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

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Hey, y'all!

It's time again for The Skinny On Me Series, the day where I open up the doors of my life and give y'all a peak inside.

If you read last week's posting about our sweet baby Kittle Cattles, then you also got a small glimpse of my obsession with the little wizard with the lightening bolt on his head.

Today, I'm going to do as promised and tell you about our trip to the incredible Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The weekend began on October 31, 2010.

That's right...HALLOWEEN (which is totally another obsession of mine which you will learn about later on this year). 

My best friend, Twin, and her new hubs had just gotten married the night before and we all packed into my car at 6am and made the drive down to Orlando.

Yes, we went on their mini-moon with them, and so did her other best friend from MA. Is that weird?

Maybe, but we are weird like that.

When we first got to the park, tears filled our eyes, and we were overcome with emotion.

Again, we are weird.

But, in order to understand that breakdown, you have to understand the two of us.

We call each other Twin b/c, well, our souls are practically identically matched. She is my soul twin through and through. We love the same things, we hate (almost) all of the same things, and we are deeply passionate about everything in our lives. We don't just dislike things or love things...we loathe things or are obsessed with things.

When we dislike something, (our old heartless bosses for example) we don't just hate those things like normal people. Oh no...we hate them to the point of exile and stone those things with venomous words and insults. We cackle back and forth and back and forth, feeding off of each other's feelings and fueling the fire that smolders under the witch as we burn them at the stake.

On the flip side of that, we *adore* the things that we love and become completely and irrevocably emotionally involved with these things. Books are the best example of that.

Which brings us back to Harry Potter.

The best way I can explain my adoration for HP and his friends is by pulling an excerpt from my senior thesis (yes, I wrote about HP in my senior thesis, and I got an A BTW):

"One of my main influences, as childish as it may seem, is J.K. Rowling, author of the famous Harry Potter series.  This woman created a world that was so magical and so beautiful that it made me jealous because I wasn’t a part of it.When I first discovered her books, I became a hermit, locking myself away from my family and friends, becoming lost in her creativity as I read the entire series in two short weeks.    

It wasn’t necessarily her writing that intrigued me, but rather, the scope of her imagination, her genius insight that recreated Greek mythology and Christian ideals, morphing them into an even more miraculous world.  I admired her because she was able to make this world her own.  When I finished her books, I knew, I just knew that I had finally figured out what I was supposed to be doing with my life. I found a faith that told me that all of the poems, stories, and streams of consciousness that I had spit out over the years were not written in vain.  I understood that I could create characters, situations, themes, and scenes as easily as I could put on my mother’s fancy dresses and cheap glittering baubles.  Instinct, I soon learned, is the shimmering white angel of a writer’s conscience."    

 

Understand a little more now?

Ok, so as soon as we walked into the door of the park, we were absolutely overwhelmed.

We saw the Hogwart's Express

Honeydukes...

A wizard with an owl

The Three Broomsticks...

Again...it was incredibly overwhelming.

As you walk deeper into the park, you get a full blown view of the castle

The castle was the most emotional part for me. I literally streamed tears as the hubs pushed me through it (I was in a wheelchair...I hurt my foot really badly and could barely walk). 

It was the most amazing feeling...actually being a part of the Wizarding World is something that I've dreamed of for years. So, in a way, I felt as if my dream had come true.

By the time we were done walking through the castle, we were close to our turn for the best ride I have ever been on in my entire life. It was *awesome* and I HATE rides, including roller coasters. I can't stand the feeling of my stomach going up into my throat.

But this ride wasn't like that.

Not one bit.

It was more like a tour almost, moving through different story lines and scenes, while your "cart" gently flipped you upside down, backwards, forwards, and to and fro.

We loved it so much we rode it twice!

There was one part that was incredibly terrifying though...and that's when I of all people, the girl who is exceptionally arachnophobic, got spit on by an acromantula.

*shudders*

I don't have a picture of that, and even if I did...I wouldn't post it! (PS. An acromatula is a gargantuan spider that apparently spits)

After the ride, we ate lunch at The Three Broomsticks, drank Butterbeer, and toured Honeydukes, Zonko's Joke Shop, and the owlery.

This trip was was by far one of the best vacations I've ever taken. We enjoyed every second of it, and can't wait to go back again!

Cheers!

Getting to know you...

Have you ever been spit on by an acromantula?

Have you ever had Butterbeer?

What is a book that you love with all of your heart and soul?