[Stephanie Bower, from Seattle] I have to say, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando is pretty amazing. I met my second cousin there last year, and we spent the day wandering around, drinking butter beer (honestly, the sweetest drink I’ve ever had), and going into shops and on a few of the rides.
All in all, it is SO well done, with a great attention to detail. You visit DiagonAlley on one side, then take a train to another spot with Hogwart’s Castle and the “snow” covered village of Hogsmeade. The shops were great fun too, especially the Weasley’s fun shop with toys and gags, and the CANDY shops with Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans among the goodies.
The view above was sketched during lunch at The Three Brooms. I have to say, it was really odd being in 100 degree heat and sitting in a world covered with “snow”!!! You can see how hot it was by the blotchy watercolor in the sky, as everything dried so quickly.
This sketch is during our second lunch (!) at the Leaky Cauldron. Even the food was in character. And at the end of the space is in fact a giant cauldron with a huge crack.
And below is the sketch I did first, sitting on my stool just inside the famous brick wall that marks the entry to DiagonAlley. It was a tough spot to sketch, and the view was really complex! Lots of tilting walls, signs, windows, all leading you back to the dragon atop Gringotts bank at the end of the street. He erupts fire and roars every few minutes!! The orange windows on the right are the Weasley brothers’ fun shop!!
All in all, it was great day and a fun place to sketch!!
