One last hurrah for this family before the school grind starts again.
Last summer we started reading Harry Potter with T1 and the whole family has really jumped aboard the Hogwarts Train! Don’t be mistaken, our Jedi hasn’t given up the Force, but being a Potterhead has certainly helped him have something to chat about with his classmates.
We spent our final summer weekend at the Warner Brothers Studios in Leavesden. Known locally as “Harry Potter World”!
We went all out and found a HP-themed accommodation, which was so fun! They had scavenger hunts and photo props and lots of thoughtful details to discover all over the apartment!
Grandma and Grandpa had gifted T1 with a HP Monopoly game, which we played until I had mortgaged all my Common Rooms and was about to lose my broomstick to Gringotts. Yikes.
The next morning we headed to the studios! It was all really amazing, I’m not going to lie. I know it sounds cheesy to call it “magical”, but it really was fabulous! The kids were awed to be in the “real” places they had read about and seen in the movies.
And there were a lot of fun things to interact with at the studios. We took full advantage of the green screens too!
Politics aside, it’s really mind boggling to think that all of this started within one person’s imagination. Then, thousands of other creative minds combined their talents to create something incredible. Love or hate Harry Potter, you still know who he is. He is completely ingrained in world culture. We lingered in the art department of the tour to emphasize with T1 that all of this started with sketches created by artists. And those artists were once kids like him who sat with a pen and paper for hours and created images from their thoughts. Just like he does.
The tour ended with a huge model of Hogwarts, which magically transitioned through the seasons. We even experienced dozens of Dementors and got goose bumps as the-voice-that-needs-no-face shouted “Expecto Patronum!!” It was so cool!
Both kids are already asking when we can go back!
It has been a really special summer and I am going to miss having my little adventurers with me every day. But time marches on and even children get older. So it’s time to “sail through the changin’ ocean tides”. I know the kids are looking forward to managing some mischief with their friends next week.
Use Your Accent 