Unfortunately, I did not receive my green-inked letter, and to my utter astonishment and very real disappointment, I have never met anyone who has. 

So when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened and I heard that Universal was planning on building Hogwarts, I decided I would have to settle for the amusement park experience of our favorite magical school.  A visit to the park is considerably shorter than seven years of Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and History of Magic, so I suppose that’s a plus. 

What I was not expecting was Hogwarts to be presented to the hoards of Potter fans as a ride entitled Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

Gee, J.K. Rowling, why didn’t you name one of your seven highly acclaimed books that?  I can’t for the life of me see why. 

Anyway, so Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey;  first you walk through the dungeons, which are pretty artfully done, and then you proceed through a line that meanders about the Herbology greenhouses.  When you finally enter the castle, you find yourself in rooms that incorporate one of the best features of Hogwarts—talking portraits!

The paintings are adorable.  They bring to life several characters that you will surely remember from the books, and the magic starts to come to life.  They are followed by various statues, the entrance to Dumbledore’s office, the Fat Lady, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and several other artful touches that will enchant the true fan and the casual movie watcher alike. 

The Trio makes their appearance before the ride begins of course,  and when you board the ride you are hoisted into the air by one of Hermione’s spells—because nothing is complete without the genius witch’s wandwork!

What then follows is an absolutely ingenious conglomeration of the first four Harry Potter books which includes the Chamber of Secrets, a dragon, Aragog, dementors, Quidditch, and the stunning usage of bubbled screens that truly make you feel like you are flying with Harry himself. 

It was unlike any ride I have ever been on, and it was an absolute thrill.  My sister and I described it as crazy amazing—it was a bit crazy in that neither of us really knew what was going on, but amazing in its effects and ability to bring the series and the grounds of Hogwarts into stunning clarity before the awed visitor. 

So, despite my skepticism, it was a bloody brilliant ride.  It avoided all the elements of the series that I disliked (the entirety of the last three books) and rejoiced in the bright and exciting adventures of Harry in his early years.   Is Hogwarts finally accessible at Universal Orlando? Of course not.  But the Forbidden Journey offers us Muggles a superb taste of the magic that will always be just beyond our reach.

Since we bought our villa at Davenport 10 years ago there has been all sorts of development on the US 27, even so, there are still vast open spaces to visit.

Driving along the 27 towards Clermont one day we spotted a sign for Lake Louisa State Park. We stopped to pick up a leaflet and decided to come back another day. There are log cabins in the park so you can actually stay there, there is also an RV park - we were amazed at the size of some of those vehicles but what a fabulous place to stop.

We were just out for the day though to go walking. Obviously being on holiday we didn’t have our walking boots, we were just in trainers but the trails were well defined, flat and easy to walk in trainers. You just need a back pack of some description to carry drinks.

We were there for about 8.30am which was a good move because some parts of the trail were out in the  open and it was very hot as the morning went on. There are a number of routes to choose from depending on how far you want to to go.

We parked at the head of Lake Louisa and walked for a couple of hours from there. The trail takes you through woodland, close to streams and smaller lakes and the scenery is lovely. It was also very quiet and peaceful, we didn’t see another soul all the time we were out.

The trails are clearly signed and easy to follow. When we got back to the car park we went out to the edge of the lake and found that there was a beach and picnic area which would have been really nice, we’ll know for next time. There are also toilets and water fountains there. There are primitive campsites in the park, you can also go horseriding, cycling, fishing and canoeing or just hiking as we did.

Busch Gardens have now opened the new Sesame Street Safari of Fun. It is more for the little ones, which we believe, is needed as there are limited kiddies rides at a lot of the Parks. The height restrictions imposed at the parks can spoil the family day as the great disappointment for the little ones when they are turned away brings the whole family down.

The music filled area with the African dance tunes keeping everyone’s feet tapping while the kids can enjoy the kid size rides, water fun and lots of surprises waiting!!

Elmo’s Tree House is great climbing fun and Grover’s desert ride has the children all screaming with joy. They have now introduced the Dine with the Characters experience, this added with all of the Bigger rides helps keep all of the family well and truly entertained.

Aquatica’s Omaka Rocka ride has brought lots of comments from the guests at our villa and they are all GOOD!! Evidently, you get the same experience of snowboarding and skateboarding as you speed down the water slides into massive funnels, experiencing weightlessness as you can ride the curves up and down and even go backwards. Everyone can join in and enjoy the ride without being professional, even a Granddad has improved his ”Street Cred” with his family!! which he couldn’t help but mention in our guest book.

Larry & I are certainly looking forward to taking our grandchildren ( he needs some “Brownie Points of late!!) 

Have fun

Mary & larry

Do not let your holiday go by without a visit to Fort De Soto Park just south of St Petersburg off the I275.

We were told about this gem of a place by some residents in Florida. It takes about 90 mins to get there from the Disney Area down the I4 and then onto the I275. There are a couple of tolls that you have to pay (50 cents and 35 cents).

When you arrive via Tierra Verde then is the opportunity to visit Fort De Soto itself. There is some history to be had here. Then onto the beach. We headed for North Beach where there is ample parking.

The advantage is that there is shade under the trees as well as the opportunity to top up that tan. When we visited in late July the sea was a mild 88 degrees. The beach is great for kids as the sea is shallow and depending on the breeze not very choppy. For those who want to watch the world go by you can sit in the shade and look out onto the Gulf of Mexico and if there long enough catch the sunset.

Don’t tell everyone and don’t forget to take a picnic. You will not be disappointed with your visit.