This post was written by Anthony J. Adubato from AAA Mid-Atlantic.

It's been a long time in the making, but the Wizarding World of Harry Potter celebrated its grand opening June 18.  If you haven't heard about it, I don't know where you've been hiding, but I'll do my best to catch you up.  I was lucky enough to be one of the first visitors to the Universal Orlando Resort attraction and I have to say I was in awe of what they've managed to create. 
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a new section at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park.  This new attraction is the one and only place where you can experience the Harry Potter books and films in real life.  When I first entered this section of the park, I found myself in Hogsmeade Village, and was immediately drawn into Zonko's Joke Shop. It was a prankster's dream come true.  Zonko's is connected to the famous candy store, Honeydukes.  The shelves were lined with chocolate frogs, market fudge flies, and Bertie Bott's beans... I myself purchased more than one chocolate frog as a souvenir for friends and family. 

After spending my fair share of coins at Honeydukes, I headed out towards Olivanders wand shop, but couldn't ignore the massive barrel of Butterbeer in the middle of the street!  I stopped for a quick drink (it's non-alcoholic, mind you) and was fully impressed by the flavor.  It tasted like a mix of shortbread cookies and butterscotch. 

Fully refreshed, I continued my walk back towards Olivanders, one of the two places I was most looking forward to visiting.  Entering the shop, I found myself in good company with about 20 or so others waiting anxiously to have their wands choose them.  The show began and 10 minutes later, Olivander had paired a woman with her wand though he had plenty of cleaning up to do after her first wands did not agree with her.

I finally marched through the gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry.  I have one word: WOW!  The castle is both a recreation of Hogwarts and one of the most unique rides I've experienced at any theme park.  I couldn't believe they recreated all of the talking portraits, Dumbledore's office, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom... it was never-ending joy for a Harry Potter fan. At the end of my walk through the castle, I found myself boarding Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  It's not a roller coaster, but it's even more thrilling!  For the ride, you get harnessed into a seat with three other passengers and Hermione appears to cast a spell on you to start your journey.  The ride itself is fast-moving and uses custom video featuring Harry and others, while twisting and tossing you all over as though you're flying alongside Harry.  I was confronted by Aragog (the king of the spiders), a fire breathing dragon, and Dementors!  By the end of the ride I was so ready to go out casting spells and fighting monsters - but my friend reminded me that as real as the ride seemed, I was not a student at Hogwarts.  I'm not speaking to her at the moment.

I can't say enough great things about my experience at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  It was one of a kind and I'm trying to figure out when I can make my way back to Universal Orlando Resort to experience it.  I do have a few tips for those of you planning a trip in the near future:

1.  Get to the park early!  The lines to get into this area are fairly long, but absolutely worth the wait whether you're a fan of Harry Potter or not.
2.  Remember your AAA card for a 10% discount on candy and merchandise.  Most of these items can only be found inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and can't be purchased elsewhere in the park, so you'll want to stock up for all the fans back home.
3.  Don't expect a soda.  All of the food and drink inside this section of the park are authentic to the books and you won't find outside cuisine here.

Anyone else have a Wizarding experience to share?