Harry Potter - Lili on the Loose

14 10, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Candy from Harry Potter Part 1

By Lili|October 14th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2012, 2016, Albus Dumbledore, Florida, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Honeydukes, Islands of Adventure, lemon drops, Magical Weekend, North America, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, sherbet lemons, sugar quill, Universal, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|0 Comments

For the next few weeks I'm going to share my favorite candy you can get at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! This week I'm sharing my favorite Honeydukes branded product, sherbet lemons! Well actually the more just Lemon Drops, but I share this affinity with Albus Dumbledore. At Honeydukes you can buy these pre-packaged, or empty ones that you fill up. Another sugary candy is the Sugar Quill. This is another one mentioned in the books. This version is a lolly pop, but if you dip the black part in water it will let you write for a little bit.

19 08, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Butterbeer Mugs

By Lili|August 19th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2012, 2016, Butterbeer, Diagon Alley, Florida, Fountain of Fair Fortune, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Islands of Adventure, Magical Weekend, mug, mugs, North America, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Universal, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|1 Comment

At Universal Orlando, there are actually two types of Butterbeer mugs you can get. The original version (shown on the right) is found in the Hogsmeade section and is more of a stein shape. But if you head over to the Fountain of Fair Fortune at Diagon Alley, you'll find this mug with an elevated and curved shape. At either area you can get traditional Butterbeer, or my favorite the frozen kind! Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

27 05, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Olivanders Wands

By Lili|May 27th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2012, Birch, Diagon Alley, Florida, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Islands of Adventure, North America, Ollivanders, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Universal, Universal Studios, USA, Wand, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|0 Comments

Every Harry Potter fan dreams of getting their first Ollivanders wand. I picked the above Birch wand for its natural look and good grip. I also picked up the Ginny Weasley character wand. It's a nice sleek wand with a grip that is both simple and ornate at the same time. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

22 05, 2017

Travel Missteps: Shop Till You Drop

By Lili|May 22nd, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2016, Diagon Alley, Disney, Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Florida, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hollywood Studios, Islands of Adventure, Magic Kingdom, Magical Weekend, North America, Orlando, shopping, Universal, Universal Studios, USA, Walt Disney World, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|0 Comments

Like most of my travel mistakes, this one is due to trying to do too much in too little time. Last year when I had a business trip in Disney World, I decided to try to do as much Disney and Universal in just 2 days. On Saturday, I did a whirlwind visit to Disney Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney World until I could bearly walk. I also did a lot of shopping, and had it sent the next day to my hotel's store for pickup. The problem was, you could only pick it up when the hotel's store was

27 01, 2017

Firebreather

By Lili|January 27th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2016, Diagon Alley, dragon, fire, Florida, Gringotts, Harry Potter, Magical Weekend, North America, Orlando, Photo Friday, Universal, Universal Studios, USA, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|0 Comments

Harry Potter Celebration in Orlando kicks off today. I've always wanted to go, but at least I got to visit Diagon Alley last year for a quick day trip! Although it took me ages to get this photo. Each time the dragon breathed fire I could never get my camera ready in time! Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

1 01, 2017

2016 Year in Review

By Lili|January 1st, 2017|Categories: Year in Review|Tags: 2016, California, Disney World, Florida, Harry Potter, Las Vegas, Leaky Cauldron, Magic Kingdom, Neon Museum, Nevada, North America, Orlando, Penn & Teller, roller coaster, San Francisco, San Jose, Three Broomsticks, Universal Studios, USA, Winchester Mystery House, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter|0 Comments

Travel After my dream trip in 2015 to Egypt, 2016 felt like a bit of a mild year in comparison. I didn't travel internationally, instead I had 2 quick business trips (Las Vegas and Orlando), a road trip to Santa Fe, and then a proper little vacation to San Francisco over Christmas. I'd never thought I'd... Visit the Winchester Mystery House. We were driving down the coast when my mom remembered she had visited it 50 years ago. I got really excited when I could prove to my parents that it was on the way back to San Francisco and

3 12, 2016

November 2016 Recap

By Lili|December 3rd, 2016|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups|Tags: Election, Fantastic Beasts, Harry Potter, Skyrim, Thanksgiving|0 Comments

This was a pretty quiet month. I started out incredibly sick, then felt shitty due to the Election, but then turned it around with 3 Thanksgivings! Recommended Reading Lili on the Loose My favorite Travel Misstep this month was the time I learned my ancestors betrayed their countrymen. And I started to get in the Christmas spirit by sharing photos of this lovely Manger Market in Munich. Other Blogs I stumbled upon a list of the top 10 best dinosaur museums from CNN. Take a gander at this stunning stargazing photography at ancient sites from National Geographic. The New York

9 11, 2016

October 2016 Recap

By Lili|November 9th, 2016|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups|Tags: 2016, Designated Survivor, Disney World, Florida, Harry Potter, holly, Magical Weekend, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, Notorious, Orlando, panel show, Walt Disney World, Wizard, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Would I Lie To You|0 Comments

It was a tough month, my childhood dog Holly passed away at nearly 16 years old. She had a good last day, sunny, with walks and tons of treats. Travel I had a last minute work trip to Orlando, FL and decided to spend the weekend going to Disney World and Universal Studios. It actually was great to help get my mind off of Holly. Highlights I went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and had so much fun! Fewer people, not long lines. I saw the Hocus Pocus Sanderson Sisters show, met Jack Sparrow, and road some roller

2 06, 2016

Dueling Dragons Queue Theming

By Lili|June 2nd, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2012, Champion, Chinese Fireball, coaster, dragon, Florida, flying car, Flying Hippogriff, Ford Anglia, goblet of fire, Hagrid's Hut, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Hungarian Horntail, Islands of Adventure, line, Ministry of Magic, Movie, North America, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Photo Essay, queue, roller coaster, Theme Park, Travel Thursday, Triwizard, triwizard cup, triwizard tournament, Universal Studios, USA, Witches, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Wizards|0 Comments

I'm afraid of heights. While sometimes I will test this fear, one thing I just cannot handle is very fast roller coasters, or ones that make you go upside down. But when visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter I decided I had to see the Triwizard Tournament Dragon Challenge theming for the Dueling Dragon coasters, even if I wasn't going to ride it. On my second day I had early admission so I entered the queue and slowly walked through it, waving others past me. First you'll see the banners for the 4 champions. As you walk you'll see the

9 05, 2016

Travel Missteps: Not the Hogwarts Express

By Lili|May 9th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2002, 2012, Backpacking it in England and Scotland, Costa Rica & Orlando Adventure, Edinburgh, England, Family, Florida, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Express, Islands of Adventure, Kings Cross, Kings Cross Station, North America, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Platform 9 3/4, Scotland, Tain, UK, United Kingdom, Universal Studios, USA, Witches, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Wizards, York|0 Comments

England had some pretty disappointing train trips. I traveled there in the summer of 2002. I remember being a Senior in high school, and dashing through Kings Cross station late at night, to try to catch a glimpse of the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Why? Because I wanted to act out and take a photo pretending to gain access to Platform 9 3/4! Imagine my surprise and disappointment to find that platform 9 and 10 are in separate areas! (Now they actually have a photo op elsewhere in the station, but it was dark times for early fans.) So,