Day 4- HP World- Hogsmeade

 We didn't get to ride the Hogwarts Express into Hogsmeade but we still saw it!

It was warming up quite nicely in the afternoon, but the snow-capped shops of Hogsmeade made it look much chillier than it actually was. 

We quickly made our way up the main thoroughfare to the Hogwarts Castle!

Emma designed this shirt and had it specially printed out- her one of a kind Hogwarts shirt in front of Hogwarts!

There are three rides in Hogsmeade, and we were excited to check out the first one- Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey! The ride queue took us through all of Hogwarts- past the mirror of Erised, 

through the herbology classroom, 

(notice Leah's shirt of choice for the day)

past the Griffin door of Dumbledore's office, 

past the moving portraits 

and the sorting hat, 

and the pensieve. 

The ride itself was.... not great.  I think Daddy, Leah, Adam, and (mostly) Emma liked it, but Noah was terrified and I was just motion sick as we made our way on an enchanted bench through Hogwarts, past the Whopping Willow, through a Quidditch match, past Aragog the giant spider and his family, and narrowly escaping a horde of dementors. It was super fun in theory, but boy I just can't do those motion rides like I used to, and we all sat for a few minutes on a regular bench afterward while Noah calmed down and I tried my best not to lose my butterbeer (I succeeded). 

Once we were all recovered we made our way over to get our main meal of the day at The Three Broomsticks!

We all wanted to try everything, so we got fish and chips, shepherds pie, roasted chicken, ribs, and cornish pasties... and it still wasn't enough!  I think we all would have all happily split another plate of fish and chips.  Again, a notable difference as our kids get older, splitting meals is not quite as desirable as it was when our kids were little bird eaters. Everyone is happy to eat their own plate of good food now, and this was by far (BY FAR) the best meal we ate on the entire trip. 

We had a pretty sweet view too!

After lunch we cast more spells 

and checked out all of the shops- more chocolate frogs at Honeydukes, 

creepy little potted mandrakes, 

Hermione's winter ball gown, 

and all of the packages, owls, and wands in Ollivanders.  

Noah and I spent a LOT of time in here while everyone else rode what I think they would call the top three best rides of the entire trip- Hagrid's Magical Motorbike. 

It must have been really awesome- they rode it three times!  Given the description, I'm not sure Noah would have liked it but I think if I hadn't lost my desire for rides for the day in Hogwarts I would have enjoyed it too.  Next time we'll all go on it together!

But this time, Noah and I had a lot of fun just the two of us!

We treated ourselves to some more butterbeer, too!

Blue skies, butterbeer and my best little boy- no ride could beat that!

We did all go on the last ride of the park together- Flight of the Hippogriff was a fun and less intense than the Slinky Dog coaster, but we all decided that once was enough for us. 

As we were climbing up and up, the kids were all telling me to put my phone away, but I couldn't resist getting a picture of the best view of Hogwarts!

What a magical place!

More smiles, 

more spells, 

-look at that concentration- 

and more sweets!

This time we got some fudge, a cauldron cake, a witch hat cupcake, and just enough Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans to have some fun!

With the sun (and our energy) going down, we settled in by the castle to enjoy our treats!

.Funny story about that little nook that the girls took turns sitting in.  At one point Noah exclaimed, "There is a lizard behind you!" and we all thought he was joking, but sure enough, the rock was home to a cute little lizard that was perfectly happy to share his space with us for a while. 

If the Three Broomsticks meal was the best of the trip, this might have been the silliest moment of the entire trip.  

The kids had way too much fun trying all of the different flavors of beans, and I'm pretty sure they got more toothpaste, grass, and vomit than any of the good flavors. 

I've rarely heard them laugh quite like this before.

"I think I got toothpaste.  It's pretty good" and "It tastes like a brown apple" are my favorite lines from this clip. 

Then it just got weird. 

We did pause the silliness to take a picture!

The castle transformed as the sun went down. 

And the night show was spectacular!

Once it was over the big kids and Daddy went on Hagrid's Motorbike one more time, which mean more wand inspecting for me and Noah. 

And then we made our way out of the park. 

Happy, full, and filled with the magic of the wizarding world!

Overall, this was one of the best days of our trip.  It was so fun to experience something so new and different from Disney World, but also to immerse ourselves in a world that we already know and love because we've read the Harry Potter books so, so, so many times. It wasn't a perfect day- not a single day of the trip was perfect- but overall we made wonderful memories and had such a great time!

We'll definitely be back some day to visit the wizarding world again!