06 Apr

Day 3 – Back to Harry Potter World

 

I was actually asleep when my alarm went off at 8!  Woot!  I had a great night’s sleep over all.  Stephen had just messaged me to say he landed.  He was not as rested as the rest of us!

I realized we had not eaten anything since our fish and chips around 3:00 the day before and I was starrrrving.  I do not miss meals!  My clock must have really been messed up.

I checked in with the girls and they were up and showering.  We were meeting Dad and Mom at 9:30 for breakfast.  I didn’t know if I could make it that long, but I guess I had no choice!

Stephen made it around 9.  He was not as rested as us.

He showered and we left to find breakfast at 9:30.

There was an adorable café right by the hotel.

I had a croissant and Coke Zero!

Erin gave a thumbs up to her tiny little coffee (latte? Frap? No idea, I don’t do coffee).

Erin also had this amazing waffle which I should have ordered.

We decided to walk to a different Underground station then we’d been using, which may have been a mistake.

We could not figure out where the entrance was! We finally found “an” entrance, but it was almost certainly not the quickest way in.

We were meeting our friends and running way late. We used Jeb to let them know we were running behind. Jeb rocked. On the Tube–

We’re here!

It’s amazing how elaborate the Undergrounds/Tubes/Metros are in Europe.

We were on our way to King’s Cross this morning!

Stephen and Erin had not seen Platform 9 ¾ before. Our friends were waiting there. Unfortunately, so were about 500 other people. The line for the luggage trolley picture opp was about an hour long.

Nope! The sign would have to do!

And the store. The store is always fun!

King’s Cross!

Then we were off on the Tube! We had tickets to the Sky Garden which is an observatory that’s free, you just have to pre-book a time.

We took the elevator had to the top. 38 stories! It was so pretty inside!

And look at these views.

Girlies:

Dad, The Pneumonia, and our friends the Andersons!

We took some selfies:

We did a sad face to send Chase:

And I have no idea what this one was…

Hi girls!

At this point, there was much hanger happening. I don’t even think it was like “I’m starving and must eat now hanger.” It was more, “You don’t know where we are eating and we may not find anything for a long time and I am getting hungry and you should have a better plan and I am not happy with you hanger.”

Very complicated.

We explored a little more:

Then we left in search of food. Found a pub! Woot!

A pub that was out of fish and chips. Whaaa?

I had skewers that were very good!

We shopped a little in nearby stores and then took the Tube to Harrods.

Stephen was really dragging at this point, and wasn’t very excited for more shopping, so he went back to the hotel for a nap and we set up a meeting time later. Thank goodness we had Jeb and could separate with reasonable assurance of being able to find each other later! Jeb was a rock star at this point.

Did anyone else think for just a second that this stood for Disneyland Resort?

Harrods! Yay!

The chocolate section. My favorite.

Ally went for a pyramid.

The toy section is spectacular.

As is the Jimmy Choo section.

This little girl’s dress though.

There was a Wild West Café! Toy Story style!

We had split up in the store and were late for our meeting time when I saw the rest of the Disney Store area. I had to run through!

There was a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!

Then we were back out and shopping a little more.

After we finished, we split up from the parents and our friends. We had tickets to the Harry Potter Studio Tour! Ally, my parents and I had done it before, so my parents were going out to dinner with our friends. Ally and I were all for going again though, so we were taking Erin and Stephen!

We said goodbye and took the Tube to the stop where we were meeting Stephen. A Tube stop where you’re meeting someone who is coming from another direction is always a risky proposition. But we had Jeb, and we had a backup plan if we somehow missed each other. We waited for about 15 minutes when Stephen came! Success!

We had learned last time we were going to the tour that there were express trains that took you there, and there were normal trains. Last time we were on a normal train which took almost three times as long and almost made us miss our time! We were much more careful this time and found the express train. Yay!

It was still a good 30-45 minutes. The girls didn’t make it, lol:

See Jeb in that picture? We all caught up on social media while we sat there. We were fully supporting Jeb at this point. Jeb for president was our new motto!

After the Tube, you catch a short bus.

We’re here!

I love this place soooo much. I posted a bazillion pictures in that last trip report, so I won’t post as many this time. Still A LOT, but not as many.

We got dinner before we went in.

Look at these adorable cupcakes!

Okay, here we go!

Harry’s room!

After the introduction, the first stop is the great hall. And it is great!!

Then you walk into a giant warehouse that is stuffed to the gills with props and sets! I won’t waste time telling you what these all are, because if you are a Harry fan, you know, and if you’re not – well you don’t care!

Erin tweeted this. Hilarious!

This was horrifying.

Then we were out on Platform 9 ¾! Yay! Another photo op!

The line wasn’t too bad, so we hopped in:

Then you are outside for a little while between the two warehouses.

I love the bridge so much.

Privett Drive was open!

On the bridge!

Goofballs!

Back inside!

*Sniff*

Freaky:

Hogsmeade in paper:

And this is the piece de resistance. There are no words for how amazing this is. And how giant.

After being sufficiently amazed, we were out to the store.

We also texted my parents and friends. We were going to try to meet them for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London, but there was no way we would make it. We told them not to wait, finished shopping and headed back downtown! Big Ben!

It was bedtime! No wait, I was starving. Hunger drove me to become a stereo typical American, and I walked down to McDonalds!!

Not going to lie, that was one of the best burgers and fries I’ve ever had. Hunger may have had something to do with it.

After stuffing my face, and battling off family members who suddenly decided McDonalds was not the craziest thing they’d ever heard and tried to steal bites, it was bed time!

Boarding day tomorrow! Yay!

 

The First Ever British Isles Cruise with Disney Cruise Line!

Day 1 – The Eternal Day of Travel 
Day 2 – Staying Awake in London! 
Day 3 – Back to Harry Potter World 
Day 4 – Boarding Day 
Day 5 – First Sea Day! 
Day 6 – Newcastle! 
Day 7 – Invergordon and the Search for the Loch Ness Monster 
Day 8 – Kirkwall 
Day 9 – Sea Day Part Two 
Day 10 – Edinburgh (A City to Which We Must Return)
Day 11 – Liverpool! 
Day 12 – Dublin
Day 13 – Sea Day Part Three 
Day 14 – Sobering Day in Normandy 
Day 15 – Last Day – Guernsey