It's my birthday and I cry if I want to...
Eip, päeval nutmiseks põhjust ei olnud. See laul tuli lihtsalt millegipärast meelde.
Drury Inn hommikusöök oli jälle selline harjumuspärane - helbed, munapuder, vorstid, vahvlid. Pakkisime ennast päevaks valmis ja väljasõit võis alata.
Kus veedab üks HP fänn oma päeva? Drumm-roll... Floridas, Orlandos, Universal Stuudios. Selleks, et parkimise pealt kokku hoida, kasutasime Uberit. Esialgu tekkis väikene segadus, kas olin piletid ilmaasjata ostnud, sest parki saime sisse ilma mingisuguse kontrollita. Tegime Universal maakeraga pilti ja jalutasime edasi.
Mina olengi see tüütu reisija, kes tahab kõike täie raha eest😁 Seega olime kohal enne avamist. Parki sai päris pikalt ilma piletita aga kokkuvõttes saime väikeses järjekorras seista ning lõpuks kontrolliti ka pileteid. Pärast seda sai veel lindi taga oodata ning siis juba eesmärgi suunas liikuda.
Kõigepealt Ernie Prangi Knight buss (kuhu sisse ei saanud). No, tegelikult näi kõigepealt King's Cross jaama aga kohe sellest üle tee jäi lilla buss ja Dre kokkutõmbuv pea. 
Selleks, et ikka õiges järjekorras liikuda ja HP maailma vanematele tutvustada, alustasime Diagonal Alleyst, nagu raamatuski. Läbi telliskiviseina ja olimegi kohal. Kohe avamise järgselt oli inimesi õnneks veel vähe.
Ohh. Nagu olekski päriselt seal kohal. Värvilised poeaknad. Piilusin sisse Leaky Cauldroni, söömiseks oli veel vara. Gringottsi katusel oli pirakas draakon, kes vastavalt tujule tuld purskas. Ikka korralikult tulist. Hagridi motikas.
Pargis on vist igale detailile kohast tähelepanu pööratud. Lisaks poodidele (ja tualetile) on Diagonal Alleys 1 atraktsioon, mis asub Gringottsis, ja sellest alustasimegi. Pangas loomulikult goblinid. Järjekorras seistes liikusime pangas, taustal liikuvate piltidega ajalehed. Õnneks läks järjekord päris kiiresti, varsti liikusime liftiga (või tegelikult ei liikunud?), ronisime trepist üles ja asusime lahedale VR sõidule.
Tagasi väljas võtsime pakihoiust koti ja kaamera, jalutasime ringi. Loomulikult maitsesime ära või-õlu. Meh. Esimesest kohast ei öeldud, aga jooki ei tohi segada, muidu pidi õige maitse ära kaduma. Kokku on külm ja soe variant. Külm on parem.
Pärast maiustustepoodi otsustasin, et kui juba kohal olla ja ainult üks atraktsioon, siis sõidame ühe korra veel. 
Selleks ajaks oli aeg enam-vähem sinnamaani jõudnud, et asusime Leaky Cauldroni lõunasöögile. Tellida tuli läbi äpi, mida mul ei olnud, ja mis pärast alla laadimist tööle ei hakanud. Ahjaa, nett oli Airalo e-simiga nagu Jaapanis. Pärast mõningast katsetamist asusin ikkagi inimesega suhtlema ning selgus, et ma ei olnud ainuke, kellega äpp koostööd ei teinud.
Söök oli selline meh. Briti toidust jääb kaugele. Karjase pirukat ei olnud, selle asemel loomaliha Guinnes hautis kuivas saias. Oleksin pidanud traditsioonilise kala-kartulite juurde jääma. Võtsin teise või-õlle. Ikka meh. Hinnad pargile kohased.
Eeltööd tehes lugesin, et kummaski pargis läheb päev ja peaks kindlasti kahe päeva pileti hankima. Me küll sõitsime Gringottis 2 korda, käisin peaaegu kõik (jätsin Ollivanderis käimata. Sinna sai ükshaaval. Ma ei tahtnud 55 dollari eest võlukeppi ega 63 dollari eest selle interaktiivset varianti osta. Lihtsalt vaatama ei tahtnud minna) poed ja tänavad läbi, sõime ja olime umbes 1ks valmis. Ei kiirustanud, midagi vaatamata ei jäänud. Küll aga olin ostnud pargist-parki pileti, mis lubas kasutada Hogwarts expressi.
Rongijaamas oli puudu platvorm 9 3/4😧 Vat see oli üllatav. Rongile saime väikesesse vagunisse ning sõidu ajal sai vaadata meenutusi filmides ning loomulikult dementoreid.
Nii nagu õige järjekord, liikusime Diagon Alleyst Hogsmeade. Hogsmeadis sillerdasid majad lumekatte all. Inimesi oli massides. Nagu kunagise koolibussi tunne tekkis.
Hogsmeadis on lisaks poodidele ja söögikohale kokku 3 atraktsiooni. Jätsime asjad uuesti pakihoidu ning asusime Hagridi motikasõidu järjekorda. Õues oli soe. Päris väga soe. Järjekord liikus päris rahulikult. Mõnes üksikus kohas olid jahedama õhu puhurid.
Järjekord kulges õuest sisse, kus temperatuur läks natuke paremaks. Aga ma ei ole kunagi niiii pikas järjekorras seisnud. Iga uue pöörde taga oli lootus, et äkki oleme lõppu jõudnud aga ei. Kokku siis natuke üle tunni. Saime motikate selga. Motikad kihutasid ja manööverdasid päris kiiresti. Jõudsime tõusva raudtee tippu.. ja tagurdasime alla tagasi. Tagurdasime koopasse. Eee. Ja siis me seal koopas ootasime. Selgus, et meie sõidukil oli mingi viga ja tunniajane ootamine päädis pooliku sõiduga😂
Tervele meie seltskonnale pakuti võimalust uuest sõita. Pooled loobusid kohe. Vanemad otsustasid pakihoidu minna, mina jäin ootama. Aga ega siis kohe sõidule ikka ei saanud ja andsin ka lõpuks alla.
Nagu juba öeldud, õues oli ee.. soe. Käsime ühes poes ennast jahutamas ja siis jätsin vanemad varju puhkama ning jalutasin veel veidi ringi. Vaatasin Durmstrangi ja Beauxbatonsi esinemist.
Kusjuures Hogsmeadis on samad poed, mis Diagonal Alleys. Ja kui loss välja jätta, siis Diagonal Alley on kindlasti huvitavam.
Viimasena võtsimegi ette Hogwartsi sõidu. Järjekord läks läbi tuttavate ruumide. Soovide peegel, herboloogia, punktide kogumise anumad, Dumbledore keerdtrepp, rääkivate portreede sein, mustade jõudude vastane klassiruum ja loomulikult kübar. Sõit ise oli huvitav aga rahulikum kui kaks eelmist.
Hogsmeadis küll kuidagi tervet päeva ei lähe. Isegi, kui tund aega Hagridi sõidu järjekorras seista.
Edasi Jurassic Park (tegime ühe meh veesõidu), värviline koomiksimaailm. Käisime veel mõnes jahedas poes aga hinnad noooo.
Siis jätsin jälle vanemad varjulisse kohta (koos veega ikka) puhkama ning käisin kahe aarde järel. Ühe jaoks tuli Universali maakera juures asju loendada (nii mõnus veeaur. Seisin silmad kinni ja nautisin) ja Rock Cafe taha jääb tükike Berliini müüri.
Siis veel Charlie šokolaadipood. Ja kuna oli see päev ja mulle makroonid maitsevad, siis pigistasin hinna suhtes silma kinni ja ostsin paar tükki.
Õhtusöögi võtsime Bubba Gumpis. Kes on Forrest Gumpi näinud, see teab. Meie teenindaja oli rõõmsameelne ja tegi ooteajal Gumpi viktoriini. Toit oli hea, mul krevetid ja lõhe, emal supp ja isal salat. Magustoiduks key laimipirukas, mis oli meh. Soovituslik tipp nagu ikka, 18-22%. Heh. Ma suutsin enamasti nii nahhaalne olla, et ei tippinud. Seekord ei teinud mu kaart koostööd, kuigi eelnevalt ja ka mõned hetked enne, šokolaadipoes, ei olnud mingit probleemi.
See selleks. Parkla-alal tellisime uue uberi ja õhtu lõpetas bassein.
Mul olnud õnn veeta 19. juuli Londonis, Dublinis, Roomas, Clovellys, Lake Districtis, Moheris, Cornwallis, Bledis, Skye saarel, Snowdoni tipus, Capril, Jurmalas, Pariisi Disneylandis, Barcelonas, Naras & Osakas ning nüüd lisandus Orlando, Florida💗
It's my birthday and I cry if I want to...
Nope, there was no reason to cry during the day. That song just came to mind on that day for some reason.
The Drury Inn breakfast was the usual – cereal, scrambled eggs, sausages, and waffles. We packed up for the day, and the adventure was ready to begin.
Where does a Harry Potter fan spend their day? In Orlando, Florida, at Universal Studios. To save on parking costs, we used Uber. At first, there was a bit of confusion, as it seemed we could enter the park without anyone checking our tickets. We took a photo with the Universal globe and continued walking.
I’m that annoying traveller who wants to make the most of every penny 😁. So, we arrived before the park officially opened. You could walk quite far without needing a ticket, but eventually, we stood in a small queue where our tickets were checked. After that, we waited behind a rope, and then we were off toward our main goal.
First up was Ernie Prang’s Knight Bus (which we couldn’t enter). Well, actually, it was King's Cross Station, but just across the street was the purple bus with Dre’s shrunken head.
To follow the right order and introduce my parents to the Harry Potter world properly, we started at Diagon Alley, just like Harry did in the books. Through the brick wall, and we were in. Since it was right after opening, the crowds were still thin.
Ohh. It really felt like Diagon Alley. Colourful shop windows. I peeked into the Leaky Cauldron, but it was still too early for food. There was a massive dragon atop Gringotts, breathing fire now and then. Hagrid’s motorbike was there too.
It seems like the park designers paid attention to every little detail. Besides the shops (and the toilets), Diagon Alley has one main ride, in Gringotts, so that’s where we started. Just as they should, the bank was staffed with goblins. As we waited in the queue, we moved through the bank, where the newspapers with moving pictures were on display. Luckily, the line moved quickly, and soon we were in the lift (or were we really?) before climbing the stairs for a cool 3D ride.
Back outside, we retrieved our bag and camera from the lockers and strolled around. Of course, we tried Butterbeer. Meh. In the first place, they didn’t mention it, but apparently, you're not supposed to stir it, or the "true" taste disappears. There’s both a cold and a hot version, and the cold one is better.
After visiting the sweets shop, I figured since we’re here and it’s just the one main attraction, why not go for a second round?
Naturally, there’s also Knockturn Alley, with its shadowy streets and shops. Borgin & Burkes, naturally.
By then, it was about time for lunch, so we headed to the Leaky Cauldron. Orders had to be placed via an app, which I didn’t have, and after downloading it, it wouldn’t work anyway. Oh yes, my Airalo e-sim worked as it did in Japan. After some fiddling, I ended up speaking to a person, and it turned out I wasn’t the only one having trouble with the app.
The food was pretty meh. Far from authentic British fare. There was no shepherd's pie; instead, I got a beef Guinness stew in a dry bun. I should have stuck with the traditional fish and chips. I had another Butterbeer too—still meh. The prices were what you’d expect at a theme park.
Planning for the trip, I read that each park could easily take a day, so a two-park pass is recommended. While we did ride the Gringotts ride twice and visited nearly everything (I skipped Ollivander’s. They only let in one person at a time, and I didn’t fancy buying a $55 wand or its $63 interactive version. Just looking didn’t seem worth it.), by 1 p.m. we were pretty much done. We didn’t rush, and nothing was left unseen. I had bought a park-to-park ticket, though, which allowed us to take the Hogwarts Express.
Oddly enough, platform 9 ¾ was missing at King’s Cross 😧. That was surprising. We boarded a small carriage on the train and, during the ride, watched clips from films, and, naturally, dementors.
Following the correct sequence, we moved from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade. Houses in Hogsmeade glistened with snow-covered rooftops. The crowds were huge. It felt a bit like being on an old-school bus.
In Hogsmeade, besides shops and dining, there are three attractions. We put our belongings back in the lockers and joined the queue for Hagrid’s motorbike ride. It was hot outside. Blazing. The line moved slowly, and in a few places, there were cool air blowers.
The queue snaked outdoors and then indoors, where the temperature was a bit more bearable. But I have never waited in such a long line. At every turn, I hoped we’d reached the end, but no. After more than an hour, we finally climbed onto the bikes. The ride was fast, zooming and weaving through the track. We reached the top of the rising rail... then reversed back down. We reversed into a cave. Umm. And then we just waited in the cave. Turns out our ride vehicle had a malfunction, so after an hour of waiting, our ride ended abruptly 😂.
The entire group was offered another go, but half of us declined immediately. My parents decided to head for the lockers, and I waited for a bit but eventually gave up too.
As mentioned, it was hot outside. We cooled down in a shop, and I left my parents to rest in the shade while I wandered a bit. I watched performances by Durmstrang and Beauxbatons.
Interestingly, the shops in Hogsmeade are the same as in Diagon Alley. And, apart from the castle, Diagon Alley is definitely more interesting.
Lastly, we did the Hogwarts ride. The queue took us through familiar locations: the Mirror of Erised, Herbology, the House Points hourglasses, Dumbledore’s spiral staircase, walls of talking portraits, the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, and of course, the Sorting Hat. The ride itself was fun but calmer than the previous two.
Hogsmeade really doesn’t need a full day. Even with the hour-long wait for Hagrid’s ride.
Next, we moved on to Jurassic Park (we did a meh water ride), then explored the colourful comic world. We popped into a few more shops to cool off, but the prices were, well... you know.
I left my parents in the shade again (with water, of course) and did some geocaching. One cache involved counting things at the Universal globe (the mist was so refreshing; I closed my eyes and savoured it), and behind the Rock Cafe is a piece of the Berlin Wall.
We finished the day at Bubba Gump’s. Anyone who’s seen Forrest Gump will get the reference. Our server was cheerful and quizzed us on Forrest Gump trivia while we waited. The food was good—I had shrimp and salmon, Mum had soup, and Dad had salad. For dessert, we had key lime pie, which was meh. The suggested tip, as usual, was 18–22%. Heh. I mostly managed to avoid tipping. This time, though, my card didn’t work, even though it had been fine just a moment earlier at the chocolate shop.
Oh well. Back at the parking area, we called an Uber and finished the evening with a swim in the pool.
I have had the blessing to spend 19th July in London, Dublin, Rome, Clovelly, Lake District, Moher, Cornwall, Bled, Isle of Skye, on top of Snowdon, Capri, Jurmala, Paris Disneyland, Barcelona, Nara & Osaka and now Orlando, Florida💗
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