Universally Photographed

 Here are some pictures from Universal Studios...starring the Brown Family.

People in Front Might Get Wet

Velocicoaster!

Welcome to Skull Island

Who Invited Grandma?!

Headmaster's Office

The Great Sorting Hat

Hagrid's Cottage

Welcome to Hogsmeade Station

The Platform is There. Really.

Diagon Alley

It's a School Day

(Sorting) Hats Off to Universal

Being a Disney Family, the parks are etched in our minds. The sight of Cinderella's Castle, the twisted rails at the peak of Expedition Everest, "now paging Mr. Tom Morrow," the haunting 40's music entering in the Hollywood Tower of Terror.  These sights and sounds - and smells - are as familiar to us as going to grandma's house as a kid.  However, we are a little Disney'd out lately and the opportunity presented itself to go to Universal Studios for the first time in over ten years. In that time they have built, with no missed detail, the World of Harry Potter and nailed it.  

First, the thrill rides that we wanted to go on, Velocicoaster, King Kong - Skull Island, and Rip Rock It Roller Coaster were fantastic. I love a good roller coaster and several, especially Velocicoaster and Hagrid's Motorbikes, were amazing. They were perfect for a 14 and 11 year old who are not afraid of rolls, dives, or inversions. Luckily, everyone, including Lisa, were up for it.  Universal relies heavily on projections and 3D, and some of that needs a 4k upgrade, but they surpass Disney for adrenaline.   

Leading up to the visit the boys read the Harry Potter books, watched the movies, or listened to audio books to learn all about the Boy Who Lived and his world.  Rounding the corner into Hogsmeade Village, it was clear that Universal set a high bar on attention to detail. While I might not be a fan of the books or the movies, I do enjoy being transported to another place with some carefully placed forced perspective and a lot of attention to detail. 

Hogwart's School was as massive as it was impressive. The first day we were there the ride it houses was not operating but the "school" was open for tours - meaning you walked through the queue and out a side exit.  Universal's "magic" rivaled Disney's.  The portrait gallery, Dumbledor's office, the vaulted ceilings; around every corner was something even more interesting to see.  

I will reiterate that I truly suspended disbelief and took in this "real" place. Lisa - a Harry Potter fan - knew every place. She knew every shop in the village because they were places in the books. Add to this spectacle were children of all ages who, after forking over $60, used there own wand to cast spells in front of the windows of the shops. The items in the widows would react to the spell and would react to the young (and old) magicians. The world just pulled you into it.  

We took the Hogwart's Express out of Hogsmeade Station. The train was real. The movement from one park to the other was real. The scene unfolding outside the train car was not. With the movement of the cars, the images outside the "window" showed us leaving one station, passing through the woods and country and eventually coming into London.  We exited the train into King's Cross Station at platform 9 3/4. By now I was truly impressed.

Exiting the station we passed through a broken brick wall into Diagon Alley, a side street in London know only to wizards and witches. It all looked real. Right down to the fire breathing dragon sitting on top of Gringott's Bank.  

Lisa and the boys pointed out places that were in the books and movies; stores, alleys, buses, creatures, and more.  I walked through without a solid frame of reference but still with that suspended disbelief and a nod to how amazingly real the place appeared.  

Crazy muggle.

Wedding Day Joy

A great moment in the family passed last week.  The first wedding of the next generation of the Brown family lineage took place down in Orlando, FL. My niece, Alyssa, was married to Ricardo at a lovely outdoor ceremony on a warm, bright February sunset.  The bride looked lovely and not at all flustered – she clearly owned the moment. The groom looked proud and confident as he waited at the altar.  

Alyssa grandparents are all passed. I could not watch her and the family without thinking about how excited my mom would have been and how my dad would have beamed.  This year mom would be 80 and dad would be 89.  So strange how so much life has happened in our family since their deaths. It is still hard to be without them – fifteen years on now.  I was honored to bring pictures of them with me for display at the reception. 

My brother did a great job as the Father of the Bride. He gave a good, impromptu toast to the bride and groom, and generally kept it together considering all of the potential-for-drama in the room.  It was very sweet seeing him dance with his daughter.  

The boys were not into the reception at all.  I really thought they would get out there and dance up a storm.  I really thought they would get into the spirit of the moment. Mostly, they kept their heads down and sat at the table, not once getting up to be silly. TJ did not look around at the twenty-somethings who wore low cut or high slit, glittery dresses – even when I called them out to him.  I was an embarrassed teenager too but next year his reaction might be a different story. 

At least Lisa and I got to dance.

The best part was that the boys dressed up in good clothes.  Good clothes that were measured, fitted, pressed, and worn well.   To my shock, it was Grant who really wore the outfit well. It may have been the shock of seeing him out of shorts and a t-shirt and dressed up but he looked so mature.  

The last wedding in the family was ours back in 2005. Lisa and reminisced about our special day and how that whole weekend unfolded.  They are still wonderful memories.