The Wizzarding World of Harry Potter from a Teacher’s Point of View

This summer I took a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood to visit the Wizzarding World of Harry Potter.  As a teacher, there is often the opportunity to read Harry Potter to/with your class.  If not, there is a GOOD chance that your students are reading Harry Potter independently.  I wanted to visit The Wizzarding World of Harry Potter to take photos to then share with my students!  I know we all have our imagination and the feature film to make this book series come to life, but I think there is something SO SPECIAL when a teacher can show the photos THEY TOOK to their class.

Upon entering the land through the archway, Hogsmeade bustles to life with the same vitality of a quaint local village: merchants hard at work, a train conductor welcoming new arrivals and my personal favorite… the constant Harry Potter music that is playing throughout the land.

There is something so magical wandering through the cobblestone streets gazing a the British-styled buildings with the snow-capped roofs!

Of course I had to pose with the conductor for a photo in front of the Hogwarts Express! 

Ok.  If you get the chance to visit the Wizzarding World of Harry Potter YOU MUST TRY the BUTTERBEER.  You guys, it is the sweetest and yummiest thing I have ever tasted!  It has a butterscotch undertone that is delicious.  

Something super special about The Wizzarding World of Harry Potter is there are 15 different interactive “magic wand experiences” in which you wander the land and can “cast spells!”  They sell replicas of each character’s wand, in which you can purchase to practice cashing spells throughout the land!

Here are a list of the shops and restaurants that you can visit at The Wizzarding World of Harry Potter:

Three Broomsticks™ and Hog’s Head 

Magic Neep and Butterbeer™ carts.

Honeydukes™

 Ollivanders™

Owl Post™

 Zonko’s™ Joke Shop

Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment

 Dervish and Banges™

 Gladrags Wizardwear and Filch’s Emporium™ of Confiscated Goods.

Each one of these shops or places to eat is overloaded with details to make the experience so special.

My favorite shop was Owl Post… you walk in and there are hundreds of packages stacked up in the rafters and dozens of mechanical owls moving their heads, ruffling their feathers and hooting! It was so magical! 

When walking near the end of Hogsmeade there is this moment when you turn the corner and catch a full and perfect view of Hogwarts Castle.  It is kind of breathtaking and such a special moment to see something so BIG and look so REAL.  I can’t think of any other type of attraction where you can see something from a book in person that exceeds your expeditions.  

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to The Wizzarding World of Harry Potter and I would recommend and encourage you teachers out there to visit if you can! I am excited to show these personal photos to my class the next time I read them Harry Potter or if  I see a student reading it independently, it will be so special to have my own story to tell!

Thank you, Universal Studios Hollywood, for having us!

And as a random PSA- take a picture of where you parked so it’s in your camera roll and easy to find when you need to remember where you parked!