My weekend with Rachel had to come to a close, but no way to go out than with a bang! We spent her final day with me at…Universal Studios!

Sunday, 7/10/2016

Today was going to be an exciting day for a big reason: Rachel had never been to Universal! No, not just Harry Potter World, but had never been to the park EVER. I’m going to call myself a pseudo-expert now, so I couldn’t wait to show her around! We decided to have a bit of a later start, as it was literally just a 10 minute drive away. I wore my brand new Deathly Hallows tank top with a white sweater (my shoulders got a bit burned at Disney the day before, despite my lathering on sunscreen four separate times) that I pinned my Hufflepuff badge to. Rachel wore a shirt I got for her, which read “Cake Wizard.” We were ready to embark on yet another magical day!

First order of business was breakfast. We hopped into “Honeyduke’s” and grabbed ourselves some delicious pumpkin pasties! After gobbling them up, we stepped into the line for “Ollivander’s Wand Shop.” As you may know from previous posts, I am OBSESSED with my wand, made of Holly wood and containing a unicorn hair core. Rachel was eager to have her wand select her. But as we waited for the wand ceremony to begin, the wandmaker chose me. Oh yes. She. Chose. Me.

Overwhelmed by this turn of events, I tried to hide my already-purchased wand that I had placed in my pocket. The wandmaker had me try a few spells until selecting a wand just for me. I was kind of hoping that it would be the same wand as the mine, but it was not. Beautiful as it was, I already had a wand, so I went with Rachel to select hers. The oak wand selected her, and adorably our wands were displayed next to one another in the shop.

Showing off our magical prowess! The witch we asked to take this Boomerang video was confused by our muggle phone application.

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Next, we purchased some lovely butterbeers and headed to wait in line for “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.” Although the wait was about an hour, I told Rachel that once inside the castle, the wait was worth it, as there are so many magical memories from the books and movies!

The ride was fun as usual, and fortunately my stomach held up. We bought ourselves some Prefect badges at “Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods” and ventured out to get lunch in Simpson’s land.

We ate tacos and then purchased ciders from Moe’s Tavern before riding the “Studio Tour” around the backlot. I will never not ride that ride again without a drink in my hand. Way more entertaining!

Afterwards, I had hoped to show Rachel the lower level of the park, but it was too long of a wait for all of the rides, so we headed to the “Despicable Me” ride, which I’d never been on.

We then headed back into Hogsmeade to ride “Flight of the Hippogriff,” which I assured Rachel was not worth more than a 15-minute wait. She agreed. Then it was time for another new thing for both of us: “The Three Broomsticks!” Known in the books as the fun pub to gather with friends during Hogsmeade visits, I was excited to try some of the food, as well as see the interior. I was NOT disappointed! The decor felt very authentic, and the food was very flavorful! We ordered a plate of fish and chips to share, along with a glass of pumpkin juice (which we couldn’t finish, as it was way too sweet).

After eating our fill at The Three Broomsticks, we headed into Honeyduke’s one more time, where I finally purchased a chocolate frog! It was solid chocolate inside, I was thoroughly surprised once I got home and opened it up. Check out my holographic Rowena Ravenclaw card.

We then went and watched the animals show, which was thoroughly entertaining, and finally said goodbye to Hogsmeade for the day.

Although the most crowded I’ve seen it, this was definitely the most fun I’ve had at Universal! Rachel is kind of the best, and I was very sad to see her go. But I can’t wait for our trip to New York at the end of September! Stay tuned!

-Girl in Los Angeles 🙂