On May 24, 2001, I was stunned. I waited all day by the window anxiously but no owl arrived with the news I was longing for – I was not accepted to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

At the ripe age of 11, I knew that I could never be a witch. Despite this disappointment, I let the magic live inside of me by reading all the books, seeing all the movies, and by purchasing a wand with the hopes that I could make objects come to me when I was too lazy to get up (Accio laptop!).

When the Ionian embarked to Orlando for the ACP conference, I knew I was going home – to Hogwarts that is. We landed at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday, quickly dropped our bags off at the hotel, and we were homeward bound!

Running on 2 hours of sleep each after a hectic deadline the night prior, we consumed as much coffee as possible and cast many spells of Renervate (to wake each other up, of course!), and we bolted to Universal theme park to enter the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

In the 80 degree weather, we gazed at the snow lined houses of Hogsmeade, the looming Hogwarts castle in the distance, Zonkos, Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks, and the Hogwarts Express.

As I stood beside the Hogwarts Express, I envisioned that 11 years ago, I boarded with my other schoolmates and we exchanged Chocolate Frog cards while playing a game of Exploding Snap.

I would anxiously wait for the sorting hat to declare my house in the Great Hall (Slytherin, of course) and then roam the hallways to my new common room.

Well, I didn’t have to wait long for that dream to come true.

We roamed the streets with the other witches and wizards (old and young, American and British), and came to a stop outside the entrance of the castle. A Slytherin girl was directing the Muggles to the entrance of the ride, and we walked through passageways containing Professor Sprout’s Greenhouse, the Gryffindor common room, portraits of Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw discussing the triumph of Harry Potter, Dumbledore directing the students and holograms of Hermione, Harry and Ron.

Finally, the sorting hat proclaimed that we must be 48 inches to enter the castle ride (which is at least goblin sized.)

I won’t spoil the ride for any Harry Potter fans out there, but needless to say, we took advantage of the short lines and got on the ride twice.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was more magical than I expected – from the snowcapped houses down to the H’s inscribed on the concrete pillars and walls. No detail was overlooked by the creators of that wonderful place.

This experience has changed my feelings of disappointment about not receiving a letter to Hogwarts to one of contentment. I’m no longer angry at the Headmaster for not admitting me into Hogwarts, but rather I am content knowing that Hogwarts will forever live on in the Muggle world through the theme-park, books and movies that I grew up knowing and loving.

And to all I say, “Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”

To contact The Ionian’s Heather Nannery e-mail her at [email protected]