Muggles, wizards and earthworm jelly beans

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J K Rowling has been my literary hero ever since I read the first Harry Potter book when Lily was a baby. I admit I read the Philosopher's Stone out loud to Lily every night to try and get her to sleep. (And anyone who knew Lily as a baby will know I was there a while!) I got hooked on JK's vivid imagination and wonderful storytelling. She is such an inspiration to me both in my writing and the way in which she has influenced the next generations of children to develop a love of reading. Not only did she grip the imagination of children, she led the way for other writers and we saw a huge surge of children's and young adult novels being published following her success.

To enter her magical world in real life is an amazing feeling and walking into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (especially with Lily the complete Harry Potter nerd) feels just like you're stepping into the pages of the books.

A new section of the theme park has opened which incorporates London, Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. Stepping into Diagon Alley whisks you straight out of the Muggle world and right into the heart of the wizarding world. We exchanged some money into Gringotts Bank notes at Gringotts Bank and then proceeded down to the vault to enter the Escape from Gringotts ride. A mix of roller coaster and 3D simulator, we followed Harry, Ron and Hermione as they escaped with the Gringotts Dragon.

Back outside in Diagon Alley we wandered through the shops including Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Madam Malkins Robes where Lily tried on some Slytherin robes. We found our way into Knockturn Alley where Bruce tried to give me a heart attack in Borgin and Burkes, sneaking up on me with spiders and snakes and leaving me jumpy for the rest of the day!

After refreshing ourselves with some frozen Butterbeer, we made our way to Kings Cross to ride the Hogwarts Express from platform 9 3/4 to arrive in Hogsmeade for lunch at The Three Broomsticks. We shared a feast platter for four which was delicious and then tried not to throw it all back up on the rides that followed.

Our last stop was Honeydukes to buy some Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans - jelly beans of alsorts of weird and wonderful flavours including ear wax, vomit and freshly mown grass. Apparently earthworm is the worst of all the flavours - I'll take Lily's word for it as I don't even like normal fruit flavoured jelly beans.

We left the park via Islands of Adventure which is a big disappointment after spending time in such a magical place. We had a quick ride on the Rip Saw Falls - a log flume that soaks every inch of skin! It was a lovely way to cool down after a very humid day. Back to the villa for a dip in the pool and a few drinks in the spa - a beautiful way to spend the evening.

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Comments

[Janet Snowden]

Harry Potter
Once again another exciting ride in your adventure, and loving every minute!