Chapter 52
Wheres the Foam?

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(Originally posted October 20, 2012)

We continued looking around at the shop windows, and I kept trying to take pictures.

The problem is that these windows have the most reflective glass Ive ever come across. I suspect that there is some sort of glass they could have used that would have enabled people to see into the windows better. The issue wasnt even just in pictures; when you stand in front of the windows, you see your reflection more clearly than whats inside!

I took a couple more pictures of the architecture, which is just so well done.

Next, we headed into The Three Broomsticks.

We walked through the mostly empty queue toward the registers and admired all the fun touches on the walls of the restaurant.

It was still well before lunchtime, so it wasnt very busy. We made it to the front and ordered the signature drink that we were thrilled to try againa frozen Butterbeer. We paid and moved along to the window where you pick up your orders. Unfortunately, there appeared to be a problem with the Butterbeer machine. One of the essential elements of Butterbeer is the foam that they put on top of it. Some sort of chemical concoction whose ingredients I’m probably better off not knowing, it is absolutely delicious! When the woman behind the counter was serving up ours, however, the foam machine was apparently in need of refilling. We only got a little dollop of foam. Disappointed, but not really seeing anything we could do about it, we got our Butterbeer. The foam spread out, but was runny and not up to par.

Now, the Butterbeer itself was excellent! It was everything we rememberedcream soda with flairand the frozen version is by far superior to its liquid counterpart.

We grabbed a table in The Three Broomsticks so as to enjoy the air conditioning and the theming while we split our drink.

The Three Broomsticks is another of the buildings in the Wizarding World that seems to have so much wasted vertical space. Theres so much room above the dining area, but its off limits to guests. I wish they would either put more seating up there or at least allow you to walk around.

After finishing up our drink, which didnt take too long, we stepped outside onto the restaurants patio to enjoy the views of Hogwarts from that corner of the park.

The water here is nice to look at, but it does clash slightly with the Wizarding World theme as were clearly back in a tropical climate.

At least some of the angles you get to see are unique and really cool. I loved being able to see the bridge that crosses into Hogsmeade.

From this vantage point, it really looks like a village!

Coming out of the restaurant for now, we went back to exploring the village.

At some point, I assume we must have gone to the bathrooms, which is notable in the Wizarding World because I love that they have a track of Moaning Myrtle talking while youre in there. The next experience that we got in line for was one that we had missed on our last trip. The line for the Ollivanders experience had been over an hour and a half during that opening week in 2010 and we just couldnt convince ourselves to wait in it. Today it was still 45 minutes, but since we had basically done everything in Hogsmeade EXCEPT this, we decided to wait.

Luckily, the sun had passed behind some clouds, and we were able to lean on walls or sit on the ground for a majority of the wait.

As the queue went past Dervish and Bangesabout 30 minutes into our waitthe sun came out from behind a cloud and everyone in this portion of the line groaned. We had so been enjoying the temperatures being a little lower with our shade.

We finally made it to the front of the line and were ushered into the dark wandmakers shop. This experience is really well done. The effects are great and Ollivander does a really good job. We were jealous of the little kid who was chosen. Its one of those experiences like the Jedi Training Academy that I wish had been around when I was the right age!

While we werent chosen to receive a free wand, after the Ollivander experience, we headed back to the cart outside the Forbidden Journey ride and made our first purchase of the day. We got a Hedwig pin that wed had our eyes on.

And now, it was back to our wanderings. In case you didnt notice, the theme of this day was taking it pretty slowly. We didnt really plan to have our easiest days (Hollywood Studios and the Wizarding World) back to back and at the end of the trip, but it was probably good unintentional planning. By this point in the trip, we were generally more tired and wearing out a little easier, so it all worked out for the best! In case anyone out there is getting bored by our slow day, however, be prepareda meal is quickly approaching. Hopefully impending food pictures will keep your attention!

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