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I either love or fear corporate Christmas parties. Mark’s company, being in the hospitality industry, always has awesome Christmas parties. This year was no exception – a private party in Universal Studios with an overnight stay at the super elegant Protofino hotel.
Party, Party! Since we were in a theme park, which requires a lot of walking, most folks dressed down for the evening. I passed up my usual short cocktail dress in favor of pants and a blouse, although others were comfortable in their jeans. A buffet dinner was hosted in Sound Stage 33, a building located between the Mummy ride and the big roller coaster. I noticed there was not a dessert bar. Hmmm. The group was ushered to King’s Cross station and we took the train to Hogsmead. By this point the park was closed to guests, and we had the entire Harry Potter village, including rides, to ourselves. The dessert bar was located here, and I was delighted to find we had unlimited butterbeer and non-alcoholic beverages. My sweet tooth was in heaven! Mark and I went through the Olivander’s experience, and both of us got to participate in the wand ceremony. There
was no one else in the room except the cast members, and it really felt like we had stepped into the story. When the holiday event was over, I went back to the hotel and Mark and friends made their way to City Walk to keep the party going.
Did I mention, free admission? As if a holiday party in a theme park wasn’t cool enough, Mark’s company gave everyone a 2-day pass to Universal Studios. Day one we explored on our own, starting in London. There was so much Potter universe to explore! Mark chatted up the shrunken head on the Omnibus, and we spotted Kreacher peeking from the window of Grimmauld Place. On to Diagon Alley, prompting Mark to randomly shout "Diagonally!" We poked in and out of the shops and caught the last part of a Deathly Hallows performance. In Olivander's shop (they have it in both parks), I was again selected to perform the wand ceremony! The Gringotts walk through was great; you can go through the entire queue up until you board the ride. We had lunch in Moe's Tavern in the Simpsons part of the park, and had a character
greeting with Crusty and Sideshow Bob. Glad he didn't try to kill us. After that, we walked to Islands of Adventure and strolled through the different lands. Our final adventure of the day was the Raptor experience – you get to meet and have your picture taken with a real dinosaur from Jurassic Park. I know it’s not really real – but that didn’t stop me from getting nervous when it sniffed the back of my head.
The second morning we met Ronald and friends for breakfast in Hogsmead. Did you know that they sell hot butterbeer? It’s like a creamy latté. We casually wandered through the rest of the parks. Not being much for rides, Mark generously watched over our bags while the rest of us went on the Mummy, Dueling Dragons, Gringotts, and Spiderman. There was usually a seating area beyond the ride exit where he was able to wait for us. By mid-afternoon, we kind of just wanted to be home, which sounds silly, but we like being in our own space. The entire weekend was fantastic, and I cannot wait to see what happens next year!
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