Harry Potter Arrives in Orlando

I've been enjoying the world of Harry Potter with my Kid for over a decade. We've waited in line at bookstores for each book, queued for hours for tickets on opening night of the movies and had Harry Potter themed parties for almost every book and movie release. My son has dressed up as Harry Potter for Halloween, bought Bertie Bott's jelly beans, owned a wand and asked for his very own Nimbus 2000. My son was just 5 years old when the first Harry Potter book was released in the US in 1998 which was also the first year I took him to Orlando to experience the magic of Disney. My son has grown up with Harry Potter and I've enjoyed every minute of sharing it with him.

Now that my son is a teenager with interests more suited to sports than witchcraft and wizardry, he humors me with my continued love of Harry Potter. He will attend my final 2 Harry Potter movie parties as the films are released in 2010 and 2011, although my friends will far out number his. He thought it was cool when I walked the halls of Oxford's colleges, the inspiration for J.K Rowling when she created Hogwarts School. I even think he was a little jealous as I stood in the exact spot where they filmed the movies (the dining hall see pic above) and waited at the top of the stairs like Harry did before he was placed in Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat (see pic below).

Well now Harry Potter and his World are opening to Muggles and Wizards alike in Orlando. There are still family packages available to be one of the first visitors at Hogwarts. If I can talk the Kid into going for his 17th birthday (the Park opens 3 days after his birthday) we will definitely be there. Visit Universal's site for more info. And here's a review of the Park on MSNBC.

I will be a little sad when the Harry Potter franchise ends with the final movie next year. My Kid has been reading the books since he learned to read and we've watched the movies over and over on weekends and sick days and Christmas mornings. It's been a kinda of magic to share it with my son and now that's he's grown up, a trip to Orlando will be the perfect ending.