New Year at Universal Studios Orlando

Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)

I was looking for a photo to post today and I ran into this one. I am always trying to keep it varied. At a certain point, I imagine people get tired of seeing different versions of the same place. Anyhow, this photo was taken in the Harry Potter section of Universal Orlando's theme park. It was new year and the place was as crowded as seen in this photo. I was not able to enter a single ride. Frankly, it seemed to me there were less rides. They were torn down to make room for all the Harry Potter stores.

They omitted all the cool interesting things about the book and just focused on the shopping aspect. I read the books, and Harry Potter only spent like 10 pages, per book at most in Diagon Alley. However, one spends far longer in this alley than the central area of the books. Hogwarts was just a hollow castle, with as much substance as the castle in Disney world. The only reason why I was not bored stiff was because of Pokémon Go. Thank God for that game. It made everything boring and banal  a little more interesting. 

Also, they chose to recreate the Diagon Alley of the later movies. Originally, the place was bright and cheery, but it got darker as the movies progressed and changed directors and Dumbledores. I know it sounds like I only got bad things to say about the place and I am sorry. It wasn't the best new year, and I went home with a cold. Crowded theme parks are a good place to get the Flu. So, if you are looking for the Flu and standing in line for like 3 hours, Universal Orlando is the place to visit.