It was Spring Break of fourth grade in Naper School, and I was heading to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. At 5 am my family decided to leave the house and go to the airport. The lines in OHare Airport were long and winding, but once I boarded the plane, the flight was a short 2 hours. Walking to grab my bags, I saw my dad call for a cab, and we were soon on our way to Cabana Bay, a resort of Universal Studio. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I remember checking into the resort and seeing my mom buy the tickets, the Express Pass. After I threw my bags into my resort room, I grabbed my sun hat and sunglasses, ready to board the Universal bus.
As I anxiously waited in the long winding line, I could not believe I would finally get into the castle of Harry Potter. This is the castle that materialized the imagination that I created in my own mind as I read every Harry Potter book in the series. I visited Universal studio once before, but 2 years prior I did not match the minimum height requirement to get into the ride. As we got closer to the line that twisted and turned like the body of a snake, I could see the entry point, a welcoming eagle, the symbol of Ravenclaw. Walking into the dark structure, I felt I was in the books myself, a student at Hogwarts. From the talking images on the wall in the paintings to the chemical lab with test tubes full of magical potions to the eerie music in the background, I felt that every part of the castle was reminiscent of different aspects of the Harry Potter series. Next, it was time for a rollercoaster ride hidden in 3D graphics. I flew into many other scenes from several books, including the spider scene, meeting the characters like Dumbledor and Hagrid, and helping Harry Potter fly in the sky and grab the ball in the game of Quidditch. I felt like I was flying like a wizard, a student of Hogwarts.
My family enjoyed this ride, and we looked forward to exploring more of the Harry Potter lands at Universal. After the ride, I drank butter beer and bought a wand, the wand of Voldemort. After eating in a dining hall right out of the book, I sat on a dragon roller coaster, visualizing the entire park as the rollercoaster was at its peak before racing down into a spiral. Next, I headed to the Hogwart Express, the train connecting the 2 regions of Harry Potter regions in Universal.
I saw a fire-breathing dragon in this new area and entered another ride, the rollercoaster for the Flight of Hippogriff. Here I walked into Hogswart’s Bank and then went past a corridor where I waited until I could get into the line, going up a long winding staircase past characters of the newer books of Harry Potter. When I was strapped on this rollercoaster, the ride began with rotating the rollercoaster and using 3D technology to make it seem that everyone was going to fall out. This ride was very different as I was in a cave and witnessed scenes from Harry Potter movies through the stops on the ride. Even though I enjoyed the first ride in the castle of Harry Potter’s Forbidden Journey better, this ride was also exciting.
As we continued throughout the park, I enjoyed so many other worlds. The world of Aladdin with delicious food and an entire section decorated with the movies. I walked past Cat and Hat Land where I did enjoy the train ride and the candy factory. Going to the Despicable Me section, I had fun in the 3D minion ride. The Marvel section had an exciting Spiderman ride. Moreover, the Transformer section had a 3D transformer ride. The section on Shrek had a 4D movie, connecting characters from the Shrek movies. Overall, I enjoyed Universal Studios because the passages and the layout of the buildings were reminiscent of the movies and I felt I was in them. Most of the rides used 3D technology, as my family wore special glasses and took advantage of computer animation to make everything seem real.
After spending 2 days in the parks, I enjoyed some relaxation playing mini gold and even went bowling in the resort. After 3 days, it was time to head home, and as I departed back to Chicago, I hoped I would go back and enjoy more rides one day.