Whew! Finally home from vacation. We had a really good time in Orlando, Florida. We were able to visit Sea World for the first time and Universal Studios. If you have never been to either, or even if you have, I highly recommend a visit in your near future. Despite all the fun we had, I was still able to be a little productive and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
Family Vacation
My family has visited Disney World several times, and don’t get me wrong, we love it. But, it was time to change things up, so we loaded up and went to Sea World and Universal Studios. I had never been to either and went in only with the expectations of visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Sea World did not disappoint. The park was very easy to navigate and they had excellent roller coasters. The dolphin and whale shows were fantastic. I wish we would have had more time to check out the other shows, but we only had one day to hang out at Sea World.
Next up, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. Let me just say, if you have any ounce of fantasy nerd hidden in your body, this place will draw it out of you. The detail that they put into recreating Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade makes you feel like you are really there. Turn down a side street and suddenly everything goes dark and you realize you are standing in front of Borgin and Burkes. It was by far my favorite place in the park and I have not even mention the Hogwarts Express yet.
If you have a Park-to-Park ticket, then you can take the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 3/4 from King’s Cross Station in London to Hogsmeade Village and visit Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The trip there and back are different with new scenes and audio to enjoy on the way. Plus, a few well known characters make special appearances during the journey.
All of the rides are amazing. There are several roller coasters and many motion car 3-D/4-D rides that are a lot of fun. But, if you want to know the best roller coaster to run to as soon as the gates open, I will be more than glad to tell you. The Hulk. That baby shoots you out of the gate at top speed and your heart won’t stop racing until well after disembarking. The best non-roller coaster there is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey followed closely by The Escape From Gringotts.
Sorry if my inner nerd slipped out somewhere between the first paragraph and here. Let me tell you a little secret. I even bought an interactive wand. Not for my kids. For me. Of course, my oldest daughter got her own and my youngest got to use mine for all the interactive spell locations, but deep down, that wand is mine. But I digress. If you want to check out pictures or posts about the trip then check out my Facebook and Instagram pages.
Novel Progress
Our Orlando trip was more fun than a barrel of monkeys, but I did mention that during all that fun, I was able to get a little work done. While we were gone, I wrote about 2500 words in a new novella that will be a prequel for Reborn. It will follow Riehner’s life from when he first entered Iradell to how he eventually became High King. Once it is finished, you will not want to miss it.
After I got home, I was able to get a few chapters typed up in the edit of Reborn. I wasn’t able to do any of it while I was gone because the file is on my desktop. It is softball season and I am helping coach my daughter’s team and between work and family time, my extracurricular time recently has been limited. I promise that I am working on the novel and it will be out to beta readers soon. I have military duty this weekend and I am hoping to work on it some in the evenings.
Recommendations
Just a few recommendations before I go. If you are looking for a great spot for a vacation, and if you’re like me and a bit of a fantasy/Harry Potter nerd, then Universal Studios may be for you. Every fan of Harry Potter should check it out at least once. My daughter has been reading the books and is love. She wants her room done in Hufflepuff colors.
She got a quill and ink while we were there and she has started writing letters. I have done some research online and you can find brass wax seal kits on Amazon. I am thinking about getting her one. They look really cool. If this is something that you are interested in, then you can find them here.
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