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Travelers: Rhea and Geoff
Type: Domestic travel
Budget: Midrange ($1000-$5000)
Where did you go? We chose to go to Orlando, Florida because one day I said “Hey, Geoff, can we go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for our honeymoon?” And he said “Um, of course!”
I am obsessed with Harry Potter and thought it would be a perfect vacation. We waited until after my school semester was done and made it our first Christmas/New Year’s together and our honeymoon. Plus Legoland had just opened, and that’s Geoff’s obsession, so it was super-perfect timing!
What did you do? We rode roller coasters almost every day and our favorites multiple times in that day, our hotel was a seven minute walk or a cute little water taxi ride away from Universal and Islands of Adventure.
We had a nice and delicious Christmas dinner at Emeril’s Tchoup Chop. We spent New Year’s in Harry Potter world because it’s beautiful at night, then went up to the room and drank the champagne we chilled in our sink. Classy.
We found a beer tour at Orlando Brewing. They had amazing beer and were super knowledgeable, and they are also certified organic! We watched the New Orleans Saints games in bars where we found other fans or rivals who were super nice and we had fun teasing with.
We went to Legoland and learned everything possible about Lego. And we spent as much time in the Wizarding World as possible. The food was really good there.
What would you have done differently? I would have had asked more strangers to take pictures of us. We had a tripod but it was hard to bring anywhere (even though it was small) so all of our pictures are at arms length. Other than that, which isn’t a huge deal, it was perfect.
What’s your best travel advice for other offbeat travelers? Take lots of pictures, even of inanimate objects that you liked. Dress comfortably and pick a location you’ll always remember and maybe will want to take your family to one day.
Enjoy every moment, even if the weather’s bad, your head hurts, or any other thing that happens, because once it’s over you’ll miss it!
We were just at Harry Potter-Diagon Alley in Universal Studios about two weeks ago! We went and celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary there! We spent hours in the Harry Potter section and had SO MUCH FUN! Glad to see other “Potterphiles” enjoying the park for special occasions!
I just learned that the Universal Studios in LA is building a Wizarding World. HOLY SHIT, I’m excited.
I am going to Universal Orlando in just a few weeks! I can’t wait!
So much fun!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
We are newly married, but went to Universal on a family trip in mid-December.
We also stayed at the Royal Pacific, but did not go to Tchoup-chop. I made fun of the frog butts in the hotel’s Islands restaurant.
It was my first resort style vacation, and there were definitely some perks, while expensive, to staying at a Universal hotel. Complimentary “Express Lane” passes allowed us to jump more than a few lines and maximize our short stay. I loved the water taxi. It was easy to roll out of bed one morning and be in the park first to head straight to Hogsmeade. I seriously could have just hung out in the Hogwarts areas all the time. I also bought the interactive wand and got to be a super duper adult and drink hard cider while performing “spells.”
Hubby is not a huge HP fan like I am, but he knows we’re going back. It was awesome. I can’t wait to see what else they do.
And that fire-breathing dragon. SO COOL.
I want more butter beer 🙁
Wow she is such a fuck pig!
What a combination. We should always enjoy the life. Christmas and honeymoon really a great Idea. I have also replicate this combination from Pune in 2015.
Thanks for sharing ! Ultimate fun