Hogwarts Highlights

[Photos by Sara]

This is the Hogsmeade train station where the Hogwarts Express arrives from King's Cross London's Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Of course, it works the other way round too (*sheepish laugh*) where you leave from Hogsmeade Village for King's Cross Platform Nine and Three Quarters. This train station is the new thing at The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter and this particular photograph is taken outside the entrance to Hogsmeade Village at the Islands Of Adventure (old existing park). Platform Nine and Three Quarters at Kings Cross is the other new extension of the park where you get to see Diagon Alley. So, the Hogwarts Express takes you to Universal Studios - basically - a ten minute ride if you board from Hogsmeade. Welcome to Hogwarts everybody! Bestie & I call it home.

I must give Sara super special credits here for the amazing-ness she did with this photograph. This was photographed beautifully at night, and I must say the castle looks enchanted in this one. I love what the clouds are doing to the ethos of this photo. 

Filch's Emporium is the shop at the foot of the castle that sells Wizarding World merchandise. This is a photo of the check out counter. The Hogwarts crest and the emblems of the four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, sit right there on the console on the wall. 

The entrance to the castle is basically the entrance to the 3D ride The Forbidden Journey. Those gates are so classic. The wild, winged boars sit on top of the pillars of the wrought iron gate. The queues to the ride begin right at these gates. They go all the way inside the castle from here. Some of the wonderful artifacts and findings inside Hogwarts are:

The Phoenix elevator to Professor Albus Dumbledore's office

The hall of talking photographs

Talking portrait of The Fat Lady

Statue of a wizard

Mirror Of Erised

Artifacts from the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom

Gilderoy Lockhart's collection and other artifacts

The Sorting Hat

up the side of the castle and wind around in multiple lanes at a Herbology greenhouse at the back end,  extend all the way from inside the castle, wind several times around in multiple lanes at the greenhouse under the other foot of the castle, go through the Jurassic Park sidewalks (that's the park next to the Wizarding World), and come right out