Gringott's, Hippogriffs, Olivander's and Butterbeer...

For all the Harry Potter fans out there, you have got to see the castle here! It is unbelievable! As soon as we walked through the gates, it was if you'd stepped into the wizarding world of Harry Potter and all things magical. The people were dressed exactly like you imagine them. The accents were perfect! The Hogwart's Express seemed to have just arrived carrying it's young crew. Ollivander's was amazing! In fact, Parker was chosen to be the muggle for whom a wand was chosen. The third wand picked matched him perfectly! 11 1/2 inches and made of vine. He was told that with it, he would accomplish great things and be loyal to all those around him. We really felt like we were there. The roller coaster was amazing! Your feet hang above that ground! The actual car that Ron and Harry flew in was there in the whomping willow. The Nimbus 2001 flown by Malfoy hung in Dervish and Banges. We tried Butterbeer which is more heavenly than you can imagine. The froth on top....yum! We ate in the Three Broomsticks and got some treats in Honeyduke's. Moaning Myrtle was in the bathroom. We saw the Mirror of Erised and Dumbledore's bowl of memories in the castle. Dumbledore was there too - on video reminding us that the time was soon coming when we would have to "choose between what is right and what is easy"... We did not want to leave! But, there was so much more to see!

Islands of Adventure was a great adventure. The Jurassic Park water ride and the Popeye and Olive boat ride were both right up Hannah's alley and she delighted in seeing everyone get soaked! Except mom, who insisted on wearing a rain poncho. :) Being wet provided a perfect excuse to buy some new clothes - notice the Thing 1 and Thing 2 attire! Little did we know that the real soaking was yet to come... Suessville was very neat. Unfortunately, the kiddie ride of Cat in the Hat did in a few of us with it's abrupt twists and turns! Who knew? The Incredible Hulk roller coaster was ...incredible! We had no lines anywhere! After riding it a few times, it was over to Universal to see what was there.

We watched a cool 4D movie on Shrek and Fiona defeating Lord Farquad...again! In it, your seats moved and jostled when Shrek was riding a horse and when donkey sneezed at you, you got sprayed with water. It was so cool! Then we rode the biggest roller coaster any of us ever had. Hannah was a couple of inches too short, so her siblings helped her pile her hair a little higher on her head (Thanks to Uncle Jim's example at Calaway Park... :) ) and she walked on tip toes in her shoes - and they let her on! It was amazing! You can see it behind her in the photo. Also, the poncho because as soon as we got off, the rains came! Actually dumped! Even with our ponchos on everyone, we were drenched! Cool thunderstorm!

Matt had a great suggestion - get out of the rain and go eat at Golden Corral - a family favourite that we have not been able to eat at in quite some time as the one in Great Falls burnt down. Everyone was in agreement and we headed there. Sara summed it up perfectly. Eating at Golden Corral is like playing Tetris. You have to eat it all in the perfect order to make it all fit in your belly because there is so much more to eat at the buffet bar. Everyone ate and ate - including Matt who ate his meal then went back for more, then ate dessert, then had macaroni and cheese, a little more dessert, then asked Sara to get him some nachos. Maybe it's a good thing we haven't been there in awhile. :)

We had tickets to the 8pm show of Blue Man Group. Dave tells me that part of the magic behind it is that you're not supposed to tell specifics of the show to others and that's what makes it so much fun. So, I guess I won't say much other than that we loved it! The Captain Crunch, marshmallow and toilet paper scenes were highlights. There, that's all you're getting out of me. The humour was so funny and random! We highly recommend it to everyone if you ever have the chance. For those of you who take cheap flights to Vegas periodically, they play there on a regular basis.

So, tomorrow has been declared a sleep-in day! We'll see how well we have "down time". I'm sure we'll be out and about by noon. Look out Orlando - the Stewart's have way too much more to try and see before we leave you in peace!