Travel and Anniversaries

[heidi]

So as you may've seen from my Tweets yesterday, I was in Orlando for some of the fun surrounding the announcements about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter aka HarryPotterLand. Now, I've been a Disney fangirl since birth, and I do still love it there, but working with Universal Studios in the lead-up to infinitus2010 next July has been an amazing experience because of the love they have for the books (and the films) and how much they want all of that to be evident in every visitor's experience in walking through Hogsmeade OMG we get to walk through Hogsmeade! With Hogwarts right overhead! And then we get to go in!

We're going to go into Hogwarts. All of us.

And we can go to be an outpost of Ollivander's and The Three Broomsticks and you can get Extendable Ears and Butterbeer and they're re-opening the unicorn roller coaster which I've always loved and turning it into a ride on a Hippogryff and the ride inside Hogwarts is going to be amazing and I know this because Dan Radcliffe said so at the HBP premiere and we still can't share what he said because Universal asked me to embargo it, but it's all fantastic.

Yes, I am giddy. And of course there's going to be some major commercialization of things like the foods and confiscated items from the books and I don't know if Horcrustaceans will actually be on sale or not, and a visit to Honeydukes might include purchases of muggle rice crispie treats the likes of which you would never find in a Hogwarts common room, but you'll walk around with your wand, and the hat you brought - or purchased on-site and you'll be at Hogwarts.

Wow.

Also, the sticky toffee pudding that the folks at Universal's on-site catering company makes? Is so, so good. And so were their sweet pumpkin pasties, or so I was told.

Ten years ago, when the HP fandom was a nascent little thing, could we have ever imagined something like this? A place where all Harry Potter fans could go - where on your worst Muggle day, you could plan for your next trip to Hogwarts, and know that it's possible to actually (kinda sorta) go.

Ten years ago... when HPforGrownups started. Well, it's ten years ago tomorrow. Keep an eye on the Yahoogroup tomorrow and through the weekend for some semi-off topic frivolity and reminiscing.

[Poll #1458500]

Comments

[aome.livejournal.com]

I met you when you came to FanForum to promote FA when it first opened. :)

[abigail89.livejournal.com]

I was on the list for like a month. I got 5-10 DIGESTS A DAY from that group. I couldn't keep up! So I got off it.

Everything was about ships. I kept asking myself, "What the hell is this 'ship' thing?"

[zorb]

I think I'm still technically subscribed, but on web-only. And I never actually go look at it. :-/

[smilie117.livejournal.com]

This would be me too - though it was handy to be all signed up when, way back when, people used to references posts and I could look at specific ones. *feels old in fandom*

[lexicon-bel.livejournal.com]

You ARE "old in fandom", Sabs. =P
Miss you.
Heidi, LOVING hearing about the WWHP. Can't wait to be there myself!

[smilie117.livejournal.com]

You ARE "old in fandom", Sabs. =P
---Well, I never denied that I am - I was just feeling it. :)) And if I am, then so are you, yes? ;) Miss you too. Hope all is going well with you and Trish! :D

I want to wait a year before going to WWHP so the kinks get worked out - then again I may change my mind as a HS friend just told me today she wants to plan to go together so will see.

[evajames.livejournal.com]

OMG!!! I am so excited for HarryPotterLand!!!! Your post pretty much summed up how I feel about it. Yay!!

Also, fandom has been around so much longer than all of this hype. It feels good to know that there were people who loved the HP Universe far more than the "experience" fans of today do. We were there at the beginning of it all! Go us!

[pingviini.livejournal.com]

I met you in connection with FA - I think it must have been on LJ via some other FA people (like aome or owlman).

[sophie10.livejournal.com]

I was on HPfGUs pre-GoF but I was an ickle bit of 16 and everyone tended to treat me as such, which to me was madly annoying. Especially when I was getting told that I didn't know what I was talking about when I said Hermione had to be older than Harry and Ron because that was how the British schooling system worked. Hmmm seems I'm still a little peeved about that :D

[hmrpotter.livejournal.com]

I honestly think I might cry once I walk through the doors at WWoHP...and I'm dead serious.

As far as HP for GU, I joined a few years ago, but never really actively participated. I mostly received emails from the group in regards to Chapter by Chapter discussion, but my lack of patience has never allowed me to take part in something like that. Maybe I'll try it again soon. I do tend to get tired of going to forums where the big topic is "what hp character would you do?"