My favourite place in the world...

Hogwarts Castle - Islands of Adventure

Did you guess where my favourite place in the world is...? None other than the magical world of Harry Potter of course, hidden in the depths of Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. My expectations were about as high as you can get for this place, being a Harry Potter obsessed muggle who is still totally convinced that my acceptance letter to Hogwarts got lost. I have been dreaming of visiting Harry Potter World ever since its opening in 2010. The closest I have got was visiting the Harry Potter studios when I was 19 with my poor unsuspecting parents for my birthday. We were advised it would take around two to three hours to look around and there I was, six hours later, still admiring every artifact from the film, and reading every sign available. I was so proud of my parents that day (neither of which are particular fans of the books or films), as not once did they ask me to hurry, or even sigh as they twiddled their thumbs waiting for their daughter to end their torture. I forget how damn lucky I am sometimes. Anyway, back to Orlando...

Gringotts Bank - Universal Studios

This stop felt like the beginning of my solo travels as it was the first time I would be on my own for the foreseeable future, having spent the past few weeks with friends and family. Unfortunately there were no hostels in Orlando within close proximity of the parks, so I had to opt for a hotel. This meant no friends for me and I would have to brave a theme park on my own, something I would never have dreamt of doing before this trip!

I had only planned to visit Universal studios as I had believed that was where all the main Harry Potter attractions were, however upon arrival at the hotel I discovered that it was spread between both Universal and Islands of Adventure. Universal featured Kings Cross and platform 9 and 3/4, as well as Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, whilst Islands of Adventure had the Hogwarts Castle and Hogsmeade. Well what was a girl to do? Obviously I had no choice but to buy two tickets to both parks on alternate days, completely blowing my budget, but convincing myself it was a once in a lifetime treat. As I was spending such a huge amount on just two parks I naturally believed that this would include riding the Hogwarts Express, because who visits Harry Potter World without travelling on the most famous train in the world?! But oh no... you had to pay even more to have a park to park ticket, which would mean I could visit both parks on both days and ride the Hogwarts Express. At this point I just thought f**k it, YOLO, and bought the whole damn package... thank god it was at the beginning of the trip when I clearly thought I had money to burn! But in all seriousness, despite the huge hit to my savings, it was worth every penny!

Me at my happiest posing in front of Hogwarts Castle

On Friday (18th May) I took an Uber to Universal Studios as I missed the shuttle due to being too busy scoffing my face with breakfast to notice its arrival, and I was not wasting a whole hour waiting for the next one. As I walked into the park it was the first time on this trip that I had started to experience anxiety from going somewhere on my own. As I looked around all I could see were friends and family happily chatting away in big groups, excited for the day ahead. I could not spot a single person on their own. It reminded me of how mum would always take the boys and I to theme parks every year as a family treat (dad stayed behind due to a severe disliking of any rides, even the flying pink elephants that I would force him on as a child). Those days were always filled with so much fun and laughter as we are all theme park ride fanatics. It made me so sad to be on my own unable to share it with my brothers, mum, or even a friend. I started to get paranoid that people would be staring, thinking how sad it was that I came alone. Eventually I took a deep breath and told myself to get a grip (which probably only attracted more stares) as I decided that I would not let my own fears and anxieties ruin something I had been looking forward to for eight years. I ignored all the horrible feelings bubbling inside, and fought the urge to get a taxi straight back to the hotel. I marched straight to Harry Potter World, convinced that if anything was going to make me feel better, it would be a butter beer. 

Nothing a Butterbeer could not fix!!

As soon as I entered Diagon Alley I was in pure heaven. All my worries fell away and I was ready to soak up every minute whilst I was there. I actually voice noted Rim (my friend from University) on Whatsapp as I was desperate to voice my excitement to someone. She replied wishing she was a fly on the wall so she could see my face and how ridiculously happy I was, on my own, exploring Harry Potter World! I also messaged Rachel (my home friend) describing everything I could see and sending photos and videos as we are Harry Potter fanatics together, and I knew she would have loved it as much as me. I spent the next two days hopping on and off the Hogwarts Express, riding all the available rides multiple times and occasionally making friends with people in the queues without a care in the world, and all negative thoughts had vanished. Once I had gotten over the initial fear of doing things on my own and had realised just how much fun it could still be, I felt so empowered to carry on as a solo traveller and do all the things I wanted to do, and stop worrying about what others may think. And this was just the beginning...

Lucy B x

All aboard the Hogwarts Express!!