I remember it well. I was 7 years old, dressed in my finest robes of the time, on my way to see the premier of the film, that would soon be the cause of thousands of overly obsessed children, teenagers and fully grown adults in desperate need of a healthier hobby. Yes, there was not a child, (or strange adult with too much time), that didn’t know the name – Harry Potter. I knew from the start that I was destined to have a similar future to Harry. Fighting evil was obviously my calling. But my eleventh birthday came and passed, and the only evil I’ve been fighting in the last 8 years is my inner Taylor Swift-loving Diva.

But at long last I made it to Hogwarts. Well, the closest an unfortunate muggle like myself will ever get. Located in Orlando, USA, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the most fun a girl can have without taking her robes off. Joined by my new found South Beach friends Ren, Sophie and Zoe, it was the perfect day trip to celebrate Zoe’s 8-year-anniversary of not getting accepted into Hogwarts. Yep, happy 19th Zoe!

It was a 5am pickup and it was not magical. Instead of the glamourous train ride filled with laughter and candy we had an 4-hour bus ride filled with dementors tourists, desperate attempts to catch up on sleep and one moody, moody aircon (that we would all hate more than Voldemort on the journey home…)

What seemed like a lifetime later, we had made it. Well, to Adventure Island, the Theme Park that is home to Mini-Muggle-Hogwarts. After a quick Starbucks fix the adventure really began. We were as excited as wizards at the World Cup.

Trust me when I say it is worth the horrible horrible bus ride. Harry Potter World is SO. MUCH. FUN. As soon as you enter Diagon Alley you are overwhelmed with the desire to see everything, touch everything, smell everything and maybe even taste everything – At least the Butterbeer and Every Flavoured Beans…

There’s the Hogwarts Express, The Three Broomsticks, Ollivanders, Zonkos and of course, the CASTLE.

The rest is a blur of childhood dreams coming true, and the loss of all the sanity and maturity I thought I had developed during my transition to adulthood. We strolled through the finest Candy Shop in town, we modelled some brand new house robes, we had a great pub lunch at the Three Broomsticks – with plenty of Butterbeer and finally, we explored Hogwarts itself.

The highlight of the park is the main ride inside the castle. The simulated rollercoaster is honestly the best ride I have ever been on in my life. Keeping in mind I may be a bit biased as a huge fan of the series, but I think even the most cynical muggles can enjoy it. Even the line for the ride is exciting. With interactive portraits, moving objects and holograms of the Golden Trio entertaining you during the wait, the line is just the beginning of an amazing adventure.

I have flown on planes and I have flown on helicopters but there is nothing quite like flying on a broomstick. This ride makes you really feel like you are zipping through the Hogwarts airspace on a household cleaning appliance, following Harry around turrets, under bridges, past dragons, and even avoiding a few narrow misses with the Whomping Willow. It is truly magical.

But Adventure Island isn’t just the home to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it turns out Hogwarts is actually located next to some other pretty cool locations. Being a diehard Dr. Suess fan, I was having way more fun than the young children appreciating the simpler joys in life. Who doesn’t love a spinning Cat in the Hat train or a food stand which actually sells green eggs and ham, (the eggs were actually green. I didn’t even ask). The Marvel Superhero section was also super-fun and the Hulk rollercoaster really did wake us up first thing in the morning and the Superman ride was a great way to end the day.

There was a lot to do and it was a very full day. We were extremely lucky with the weather and the sun seemed to be reflecting our excitement right up until our last ride, when we were suddenly reminded that we were indeed in Florida. As well as being God’s waiting room, Florida is well-known for some of the craziest tropical weather. No, I am not about to make any bad jokes referring to a certain hurricane which I may share a name with, but when it rains in this state – it pours.

Have you ever noticed how the Harry Potter films never show the train ride home? Well if it’s anything like our trip home I completely understand why it doesn’t feature on the big screen. Completely drenched from the random spurt of Florida rain we missed our pick-up from the park. We desperately caught a taxi to the bus station, just in time to get the bus back to Miami. I am not kidding when I say DRENCHED. Dry clothes were a distant memory of the past. Even our backpacks, and the entire contents of them were dripping. It was the same bus that delivered us at the beginning of the day, which meant the same AIRCON. I don’t think any of us had ever felt so cold in our lives. At least the Nightbus had a cool talking shrivelled head, all we had was a crazy man in the seat in front of us who decided to sing, tap and whistle for four hours.

As soon as the bus dumped us back in South Beach, the pure joy of the day returned. Yes, we had drunk Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks, yes, we had virtually flown on a broomstick and yes, we really had defeated our inner adult evils. Well, not really – My inner Taylor Swift-loving Diva lives on, and after a day that magical, she really was feeling eleven twenty-two.