Eventful Easter Weekend

I'm so happy I finally work for a company that gives me Good Friday off. I've worked for 2 large companies before the one I'm at now and neither of them observed Good Friday and I always had to work while everyone else I know had it off. It was great to have the day off since H's parents had been down visiting us all week and we were both able to have the day off and spend it with them. They treated us to a day at Universal, so I was super excited that I was finally going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. (If you don't know by now I'm a MAJOR Harry Potter dork...  umm fan!) The park was incredible! They really did an amazing job of replicating the movie sets. Hogwarts looks just like in the movies from the outside sitting up high on a huge rock. Once inside the castle, you walk up the grand staircase where some of the pictures move and talk like in the movies, you walk through the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Dumbledore's office, the Gryffindor common room, and then when you see the Sorting Hat you're about to enter the Room of Requirement which is where the  Forbidden Journey ride is located.

You can read more about the simulated ride here: http://themeparks.about.com/od/darkrides/fr/Harry-Potter-Ride.htm

And here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Forbidden_Journey

The Forbidden Journey ride was amazing to say the least, however after suffering from a bad bout of labyrinthititis this year, I was unable to enjoy it to it's fullest and probably never should have gotten on the ride. But my obsession and curiosity got the best of me. The ride is a constant conveyor belt that takes you into a simulated journey following Harry while he flies through several different scenes including a quidditch match, fighting off dementors, dragons, Aragog (Hagrid's giant spider), and over the Black Lake back to Hogwarts. You're constantly swaying up and down as if you're flying at high speeds. Not so great for those who are recovering from inner ear damage. I had my eyes shut for most of it, but I opened them right when there was a giant dementor hovering above us and yelled out with much enthusiasm "Expecto Patronum!" When the ride ended, I got off and realized I couldn't walk and stumbled with help from H over to a bench where I grasped onto his waist for dear life for the next several minutes until my equilibrium straightened itself out. I was so bummed for two reasons, I missed something I knew would be amazing for any Harry Potter fan, and I am obviously still very sensitive to certain motions. I've come a long way, and if all I can't do is some amusement park attractions then I'll take it. I can go shopping without feeling sick due to the lighting and noise in large stores, I was able to fly back and forth to Omaha for work, and my next test is my cruise in August with H and some of our friends. If I can resume these activities, I'm not going to complain about not being able to go on rides anymore.

H's parents LOVED the ride even though neither of them have read the books or seen the movies. They loved it so much that they went on it twice! They couldn't stop talking about it, and said it was their favorite ride all day!

Big kid excited to go to Hogwarts

Magnificent! Just like the movies.

Hogsmeade

Butterbeer was delicious! It tasted like cream soda with a whipped topping with butterscotch flavoring.

H trying butterbeer

Butterbeer mustache like Hermoine sported in The Half Blood Prince

Inside Dumbledore's Office

The Sorting Hat right before entering the area for the Forbidden Journey ride

Hagrid's House alongside the Flight of the Hippogriff rollercoaster

Flight of the Hippogriff

I did ok on this ride, but still not great. Gosh I really miss going on rides without thinking twice.

Testing out a Nimbus 2000

H and I with Hogwarts in the background

It was a great day, but definitely hot out. I can't imagine how people come to these parks in the middle of the summer heat. I made the suggestion that they should have small public pools throughout the park for people to dip into and cool off instead of those misting fans because it's just not enough. H's parents left the next day so we were by ourselves for Easter. I went all out and cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner, and felt it was too much work and money for just the two of us to do it again for Easter. So, we went to church this morning and then relaxed by the pool. I came back and cooked a pot of sauce for dinner which was thoroughly enjoyed by both of us. It wasn't hard to spend the holiday away from home, since H's parents were just here for the whole week and we got to enjoy them up until yesterday. I stayed festive and painted my nails in Essie's Nice is Nice instead of coloring Easter eggs. 

Hope you all had a Happy Easter with your families and friends and aren't in a "ham coma".