Ilvermorny House!

While I work for Disney, I have LOVVVVVED Harry Potter since I received the first book as a birthday present when I was about 7. My dad would read them to me at first, but by the time the 6th book came out I read it in a fury the day it released so nothing would be spoiled. I have long claimed Ravenclaw as my house and even sport a Ravenclaw case on my iPhone.

What's awesome about this world that JK Rowling created is that it still resonates with so many people and it is continuing to be expanded on. One of the exciting parts of the new Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie is that she has begun to flesh out the wizarding world in America. While I have to be honest and wasn't the biggest fan of what was released a few months ago about magic in the US, I have to say that with the new information about the American schools for witches and wizards, Ilvermorny, and it's founding has at least partially restored my faith and excitement. The history of the founders and how the sorting ceremony differs was so exciting and was something that I connected much more with than the seemingly poor research on Native American history aspect that had previously been released. There is even a new sorting ceremony on Pottermore for the school, so naturally I had to take it to find out what house I would be in. The result is...

Thunderbird!!!

As Pottermore states, "Named by Chadwick Boot after his favourite magical beast, the Thunderbird, a beast that can create storms as it flies. Thunderbird house is sometimes considered to represent the soul of a witch or wizard. It is also said that Thunderbird favours adventures."

I have to say at first I wanted to be sorted into this house because it had the coolest sounding name, but once I read the history of the houses I felt a little torn that as a Ravenclaw I should have gotten the Horned Serpent. However, the more I think about it, I think that Thunderbird does represent me well. I do love knowledge, but I am not one to sit upon that knowledge. I love exploring to see what else I can learn and experience, but I can also leave a bit of a storm in my wake as I sometimes get defensive or argumentative when I don't think that people are acting rationally or challenge my intelligence. I also really value the intentions of individuals and I often feel guilty myself if I don't do things for the right reasons so I think the soul aspect fits since a person down to their core is important. Plus I am so interested in why people do the things they do and what life experiences have shaped them to where they are or if the way a person acts is because of their base deep down. Therefore, I think in someways with the limited information out there about the American houses, I think that in some ways Thunderbird might fit me even more than Ravenclaw does (but I guess that partially happens when an author leaves a lot up to their readers imagination to fill in ;) )

Now if you are even just a casual Harry Potter fan I would say to get over to Pottermore and read the new info on the founding of Hogwart's American counterpart, Ilvermorny, and get yourself sorted!

A Universally Good Time

Dana and I had been in contact with Josh about going to Universal on our day off this week. Since I had just done pretty much all of Universal Studios with my mom a few weeks ago, I really wanted to conquer Islands of Adventure. The only things I had done in the months since I had gotten my Universal pass was Hogsmead.

Dana and I headed out around 10 and on our way there we saw two gators! One was hiding in a pond and only I saw him. The other was HUGE and was out of the water sunning by a pond near a CVS. Dana luckily was able to catch a glimpse of him too without crashing.

We got there much earlier and started off in the direction of Seuss Landing. We went through the If I Ran the Zoo play area. We had super fun. lol. Then we went over to the Cat in the Hat ride and had to fight off the urge to by the things (especially mugs) in the gift shop. Then we went on the One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish ride. It shoots water out as you go around so we tried to avoid it. I unfortunately was on the side with the water and I got wet. Next we headed off to the Caro-Seuss-el. Dana had her eye on this pink elephant. As she was taking a picture of it, two girls pretty much pushed her off of it. So we found another elephant and I got on a flying fish. Last we finished out journey in Suess Landing by going on The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! It was cool since it went over the whole land and through one of the dining areas. They only were using one side and I want to know what the other side is like. Before we left, I got some pop.

The next land was The Lost Continent. Poseidon's Fury had a long wait so we decided to skip it. We also checked out the price of Mythos Restaurant (which is very highly rated) wasn't actually too overpriced. We checked and The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad Stunt Show was going to start in a few minutes so we decided to check it out. It wasn't super awesome. It was cool too see but wasn't really worth seeing again.

We were walking through Hogsmead and Josh and crew were supposedly nearly there, but Dana and I were hungry, I was in the mood for burgers, and Dana knew that they had some in Jurassic Park. I was so happy since I love that movie!!! Josh and his new girlfriend Amber and her friend Allie (I think...) met us and got some food too. I got a combo which came with fries and a shake and I paid to get some cheese. Totally delicious and worth it. Next we headed back to Harry Potter Hogsmead and rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and we actually got to see the bubbly snow in the charms classroom. Flight of the Hippogriff had a bit of a wait so we skipped it and headed to the Dragon Challenge. Josh didn't want to do it so he held all of our purses while we went on the last row of blue coaster. I haven't ridden the red coaster so I will have to do that next time. We debated going to take the Hogwarts Express over the Diagon Alley, but the wait was 20 minutes and I still wanted to check out more of Islands of Adventure.

We decided to head back to Jurassic Park and rode the Jurassic Park River Adventure which Amber and Allie hadn't gone on. It was pretty good. I would totally go on it more often, but it is a water ride. I totally got the least of the water, but the drop was so worth it. So much better than the Splash Mountain drop and a better lead up, too. Pteranodon Flyers looks awesome but you have to be a kid or the parent of a kid to go on it. :( We decided we were going to pay some parents to let us borrow their children. We skipped the next two rides Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges and  Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls since they were both water rides. I totally want to do them sometime though.

The last land was Marvel Super Hero Island. First was The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. It is a lot like the Transformers Ride in Studios. Next Allie, Dana, and I went to Doctor Doom’s Fearfall. The shoot up was pretty cool but the drops were super lame. Josh had run into someone we knew and had given him and Amber some free hot dogs (apparently weren't good) and I got a free coke refill. Last up in marvel we went to The Incredible Hulk Coaster Amber and Josh skipped out again. It had a ton of loops. It was crazy. No one wanted to go on  Storm Force Accelatron besides me so I'll have to go back. We checked to see if Captain America had come out so Dana could get a picture with him, but his line as closed. I luckily got the last picture with Woleverine, though.

Allie really wanted to go on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, but that is Amber and Josh's "no" ride so she had never gone on it. So even though Dana and I were ready to leave we headed over to Studios to go on it with her. It was down when we first got there so we headed over to The Mummy which is Amber (or was it Allie's?) and Dana's favorite ride. It confirmed that some of the effects weren't working right when we went on it. We headed back over to Rockit and it had a bit of a wait, but it was even better than before. I wasn't as tight so I had a more free ride. I even thought I was going to fall out at the beginning. I chose "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence. It was a good song choice.

It was a great day. We did almost everything in the park, so I think with another day I can finish everything from both parks I haven't done yet. So pumped.

I'll add pictures later.