The Tea Monologues | The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

*Queue Hedwig's Theme Song*

Hello from Hogwarts!

First of all, if you are a Muggle I apologise for not being able to see the perfection that is the Hogwarts Castle in that photo. You really are missing out.

Welcome, to Hogsmeade! (Completely unintended brilliant Jurassic Park crossover - geddit, Universal Orlando goers?)

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, are the tip-top of the amazingness that is Universal Studios.

Completely shameless confession: I cried the first time I ever saw it back in 2012.

Potterheads, rejoice!

Come, walk through Hogwarts with me.

As an extremely loyal Slytherin I am a tad miffed that Gryffindor are miles ahead on their House Points. 

The walk through Hogwarts just happens to be the best themed queue line I have ever seen in my life.

Without needing a mention, this is the queue to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

You can have a chat with the Fat Lady and enjoy the Sorting Hat before getting on the ride.

Of course, following the clearly excellent bonding in the Triwizard Tournament, both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons schools make an appearance for photo opportunities.  

Now then, Butterbeer. You can get Butterbeer all over the shot at both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

I first tried it at the Warner Brothers tour in London. Confession, don't kill me, I don't like it. It has a butterscotch flavour that I am just not keen on.

You can now get Butterbeer in both hot and cold drinks, fudge, ice cream, sweets...the list goes on.

Honeydukes has a selection of every wizarding sweet you could imagine. From chocolate frogs to cauldron cakes, and from Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans to licorice wands. 

Hogsmeade has some of the nicest views.

As you can see, it was very busy. Then again, this was August so the new year at Hogwarts was starting. Clearly everyone was filling their trunks for next year.

The Hogwarts Express can take you between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, providing you have park hopper tickets as they do scan them on entry.

I adored this ride. There aren't words to say how immersive it is.

Pulling up at Kings Cross makes you feel like you really are in London. 

Here you can see 12 Grimmauld Place. Knock on the door and look at the window...someone comes to greet you!

The side of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes has a good spot of advertising.

It would appear that a dragon seems to have escaped. Better get the Goblins on that.

Obviously, you cannot go to Diagon Alley without checking in at Gringotts. 

The whole experience, from the queue line, to the lift, to the ride itself, is fantastic. 

Let's not get any ideas!

Pay a trip to the Daily Prophet if you don't get yours delivered by Owl Post.

The dragon really gets angry when it is stuck up there for so long.

Ollivander's is the only place to get your wand from.

If you are lucky you will be chosen to go through the whole process. Remember, the wand chooses the wizard.

If you take a slight wrong turn, or have a slight mishap in the Floo Network, you might end up in Knockturn Alley. 

Try not to run into any Death Eaters down here, they're only looking for trouble.

Seems Trader Sam has been here. Two of his heads for the price of yours? Sorry, wrong park...

Luckily, I didn't get my eyebrows burned off, nor did I go for a dragon joyride, but I did manage to get this awesome shot.

Back to Gringotts, you need to check in with the Goblins to make sure your account is in check. They will provide you with your chosen amount of wizarding money to last you the day. Or you can just take it home.

In case you get lost, the Knight Bus is there to pick you up. You can go and have a chat with Stan Shunpike. Lovely guy. Not a Death Eater.

This is definitely the alternative to etching "Harry woz ere" on a table. Forever leaving Headwig in the middle of the queue.

Please remember only wizards can go through to Platform 9 3/4. Muggles must be supervised at all times.

You can't joyride the Gringotts dragon, but you can challenge some!

Dragon Challenge takes you on a high-speed chase full of twists and turns. Choose either the Chinese Fireball or the Hungarian Horntail as your dragon!

This is where I must bid you goodbye. 

I hope you enjoyed this quick-fire tour around Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the go-to for any Potterhead out there.

There is no other way to keep the magic alive than immersing yourself in the magic itself.

I can't wait to see what new things keep coming to this part of the parks. 

I still stand by the fact that this area would be perfect for Halloween Horror Nights. I have so many ideas that would be amazing! 

Stay tuned for next time as we visit Islands of Adventure.

See you later, Snitches.

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22 love stories better than Twilight

Everyone loves a good love story, and rom-coms must be the most heavily made movies of all time, and there have been some incredible love stories in our time. But I think it's safe to say that some of them just aren't up to scratch - I'm looking at you, Twilight. 

After the extreme success as my previous post, 22 fictional deaths I'll never get over, I thought it was about time I did another one!

Now, before you go mad at me I have seen and read Twilight, so I do actually know what I am saying! Don't get me wrong, they aren't awful films or books (mostly), but that "love" story is shocking. I won't go in to the whole thing, but it is just awful. 

There are so many better love stories out there, so here are 22 of them!

1. Ellie and Carl | "UP"

 Ellie and Carl have the ultimate love story, I don't think anything beats this. Their love story doesn't even have any words all throughout it yet it can reduce even a grown man to tears. This has to top the list for pure brilliance.

2. Snape and Lily | "Harry Potter"

 There is one word I need to say to sum this up - always.

3. Romeo and Juliet | "Romeo and Juliet"

  Romeo and Juliet cannot be denied as an awesome love story. Both of them die, but it still beats Twilight - at least they were both alive at some point.

4. The Cookie Monster and Cookies | "Sesame Street"

 No one loves cookies more than the Cookie Monster. Even Edward and Bella can't beat this soul mate pairing, and one party is a food.

5. Ross and Rachel | "Friends"

  Ross and Rachel had a better love story even when they were on a break!

6. Emmet and awesome | "The LEGO Movie"

 Emmet loves awesome more than the Twilight Emmett loves Rosalie. I don't think stupid shiny vampire Emmett would pay $46 for a coffee for Roaslie now, would he?

7. Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy | "The Muppets"

 Kermit and Miss Piggy's wedding day didn't end with a killer vampire baby...

8. Gnomeo and Juliet | "Gnomeo and Juliet"

 A rip off of the traditional Romeo and Juliet is still better than Twilight...and they're freaking gnomes!

9. Hazel and Gus | "The Fault in Our Stars"

 There aren't words to describe the love story here. Okay? Okay.

10. Katniss and Peeta | "The Hunger Games"

 The whole thing was fake at the start, yet it was still better and cuter than vampire love. They managed to survive the Hunger Games too, try that one sparkly vampire!

11. Hermione and Ron | "Harry Potter"

 They might be the most predictable, yet wrong relationship during Harry Potter, but I still prefer it to Edward and Bella. I mean, they were friends for years and didn't meet over the fact that she dropped an apple in the school canteen.

12. Captain Jack Sparrow and rum | "Pirates of the Caribbean"

 Yup, still better than Twilight.

13. Drogo and Daenerys | "Game of Thrones"

 Oh gosh, I love this one. The moon and the stars, not a spider monkey.

14. ET and home | "ET the Extra-Terrestrial"

 ET wants to go home to escape the ridiculousness of the Twilight love story. I don't blame you, dude. 

15. Rocky and Ginger | "Chicken Run"

 Animated chickens learning to fly > badly CGI'd vampires.

16. Carrie and Big | "Sex and the City"

 The biggest "will they, won't they" couple of Sex and the City is so much better than Twilight. He even jilted her and I prefer it to that weird garden wedding scene.

17. Edward and Vivian | "Pretty Woman"

 He picked her up off the side of the road, she was a prostitute. He was a pale person who couldn't go out in the sun, and she was a terribly grumpy bitch. I know which one is better. Do you?

18. Harry and Ginny | "Harry Potter"

 Harry and Ginny's first kiss was significantly less awkward and cringy than Edward and Bella's whole 4 movie relationship crusade.

19. Gollum and the ring | "The Lord of the Rings"

 Gollum adores the ring so much that he would die for it. Edward tried to kill himself because he is a crying little bitch. Even Carlisle couldn't revive the awfulness of Bella and Edward's relation-shit.

20. Ron and Lavender | "Harry Potter"

 Their whole relationship was because of a love potion yet it still worked better than a vampire and a human.

21. Kristoff and Anna | "Frozen"

 Well aren't they unbelievably cute?! He saved her life completely selflessly, and she is a Princess. Need I say more? No.

22. Homer and Marge | "The Simpsons"

 The ultimate TV power couple makes Edward and Bella seem like a silly schoolgirl crush. Oh, wait....

BONUS. Draco and Hermione | "Harry Potter"

 Photo credit: Judy Depp on DeviantArt

 This isn't even a real thing! It doesn't exist! Yet their fictional relationship within a fictional relationship is just completely flawless. 

Well there we have it, 22 love stories that completely blow "Twilight" out of the water. If you have any more then let me know in the comments below!

As always thank you for reading.

All my social media is over on the right so get following!

Until next time, my lovelies.

DISCLAIMER: I own no images in this post, credit is given to those of the originals, however all edited images come from Tumblr and the corresponding accounts.