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Monday, March 24, 2014

Top Ten Things On My Harry Potter Bucket List

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I have decided to put my own little spin on this week's theme, Top Ten Things On My Bookish Bucket List - Harry Potter style!


1. Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Orlando
(or at Universal Studios Hollywood when construction is completed)


2. See the Harry Potter Studio Tour at Leavesden Studios


3. Watch all of the Harry Potter movies in one day
(this would take about 20 hours... actually, that sounds pretty unpleasant)


4. Listen to the audiobooks
(I never have before! Now I only need to decide between the award-winning narrator Jim Dale or the inimitable Stephen Fry. Thoughts?)


5. Brew my own Butterbeer


6. Have a wand choose me at Ollivander's


7. Try to force my way through Platform 9¾ at King's Cross


8. Backpack around Scotland trying to find Hogwarts


9. Introduce a new generation to Harry Potter


10. Meet my Queen, J.K. Rowling
(yeah, I wish!)


53 comments :

  1. Brewing your own butterbeer could be a lot of fun. I have a buddy who home brews and he's been trying to come up with one, but even the fails are delicious.

    My TTT

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  2. I'm going to have to plump for Jim Dale. I haven't listened to the Steven Fry version, so I can't speak for it, but Jim Dale was phenomenal. And terribly, terribly, terribly hard to beat. But, hey, maybe you can do both?

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  3. I"ve done #3 and #4. It was... kind of silly watching all the films in one day but still great. And I listened to Jim Dale read the series. I was training for a fun run and listening to him when I exercised made it easier to want to go walk around and get fit!
    Best of luck achieving your list!

    My TTT

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  4. I love your list this week :-) I've visited the Studio tour and it is SO brilliant. I hope you get around to doing these things!

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  5. Okay I LOVE all your points. No. 1 is on my list too ;)
    Wasn't starbucks making a butterbeer-type concoction?
    Last year, what I did was this - Read all of the HP books after putting all other books on hold. Then watched all of the movies in one weekend. It was crazy and I drank too much Red Bull.
    My bucket list

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    1. Mmm, I'll have to check that out Starbucks drink then!

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  6. Oh and I forgot STEPHEN FRY is the way to go! But really, what you can do is listen to him and then re listen all the books by Jim Dale! That'll make all Potterheads proud of you! =)

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  7. I cannot believe this is my first finding your blog... AMAZING! All of this is AMAZING and we have a few similar bucket list items and a few that would totally be on my list if it wasn't only a top ten! I have actually watched all the the Harry Potter movies in one day. In High school a group of us would have movie marathon days.... Lord of the Rings, The Borne Trilogy, Star Wars etc, It is a lot of fun and we obviously start really early and watch through out the day and friends would come and go and it was just constant fun. So.. maybe do it in a group..

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  8. My vote is Jim Dale. He uses several different voices and accents that sound very similar to the characters in the movie, which makes me question what came first: the chicken or the egg? The audio book or the movies?

    The HP babies are toooooo cute!!

    And I think I just fell in love with your blog.

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  9. I want to go 1 & 2, too. 2 is more do-able for me at the moment, living in England. But the prices for tickets are expensive...maybe on my birthday. It would be amazing meeting J.K. Rowling, I would be speechless.

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  10. Meeting the Queen <3 I really hope my children grow up to be HP fans, I will try my best to make that happen later. I MUST visit those places and I'd love to backtrack in Scotland. I'm so going to do a HP marathon. I recently found out that some friends haven't seen the movies, so I need to change that of course.

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  11. Oh my god Aylee, look at those little faces with their Harry Potter glasses!!!! *dies of cuteness* They are adorable. I'm sure you wouldn't be alone in trying to force your way onto platform 9 3/4, so I think that would be a fairly simple one to check off your bucket list. Once you got to London of course:) And how amazing would it be to meet JK Rowling? I can't even.

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  12. I've done #3, it was so fun. I wish I could do #6...But I also recognize that the power might make me go darkside...There's a few people I'd like to hex.
    And I have #10 on my list too!
    @Get Lost in Lit

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  13. YOUR LIST! It's on my list now too! Seriously, all these are perfect! I love love love HP, thus my blog name. Phew, this is the best list I've come across so far! I was gonna follow you, but GFC won't let me! I will certainly re-visit your blog to follow! :)

    TTT: Bookish Bucket List
    Dress Up That Cover #1 - If I Stay

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  14. OH WOW! This is such a great list. I want to do so many of these things. Backpacking through Scotland is such a fantastic idea! Besides the idea of finding Hogwarts it will also be fantastic and beautiful hiking. LOVE IT!!!
    Cassi @ My Thoughts Literally

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  15. I so want to go to Leavesden studios. I've been to the Florida park, which was great. I really want to go back when the expansion is done.

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  16. Love this! I am dying to visit Harry Potter world in Florida, and if I ever make it to England (some day!) I totally want to do as much HP themed things as I can. My friend and I had a Harry Potter themed party once where we made cold Butterbeer (non-alcoholic) and it was so great. I'd also like to listen to the audiobooks. I LOVE Stephen Fry, but I hear the American versions are great.

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  17. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this list.
    I totally want to go to the studio.
    I'm totally going to the theme park this coming December. (I was going to go last December but decided to wait for the new stuff to open)
    I can not wait to introduce Little Miss Whimsy to Harry and make butterbeer!

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    1. Oooh so lucky you get to go to the theme park!! Please post lots of pictures!

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  18. #8 btw is a totally brilliant answer!!!

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  19. Awesome picks!!! :D I'd love to do all of these, too!!! :D If you need a buddy, I'm totally up for joining you in the ones that I can! ;D And for the audiobooks...I say listen to both!!! :D

    Fantastic list, Eilidh...I'm definitely going to have to share this awesomeness! ;D

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    1. haha, yeah a buddy would be great!!

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    2. haha maybe we'll have to plan to do at least one of these sometime soon..maybe the butterbeer! It's an easier place to start! :D

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  20. These are amazing! I have done 1 & 2 and they rock like crazy!!!

    I love how this is a Top 10 Tuesday! You may also want to link up to the original Bookish Bucket List, too!

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  21. We share a few bucket list items! I'm actually listening to the HP audiobooks right now (I'm on book 3) and I absolutely LOVE Jim Dale! I'm not a big audiobook person but decided to try the Potter ones after a few friends raved about them. Jim Dale is phenomenal! I had only intended to listen to the first book but now I've decided to go ahead and listen to them all.

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  22. Omgosh I love your blog! & your edition of this Top Ten, AWESOME! I want to do all these too!! #8 sounds pretty Epic to! Get a bunch of Potterheads together and this would be a grand adventure!

    Also #9 I am in the process of doing. My 4 year old son has recently been watching the movies with me. He loves them! I even bough us wands. He goes around the house casting spells! So cute!! I love the way he tries to pronounce them!

    I am defiantly following this blog now!!!
    <a href="http://escapingrealitywithinpages.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-ten-tuesday-2-things-on-my-bookish.html>My TTT</a>
    -Manderz @ Escaping Reality WIthin Pages

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    1. oops messed up on my code :(
      Here: My TTT

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    2. Aww, I love that your son casts spells, so cute!!

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  23. Aylee, I'm 120% Behind you on this list!
    Is awesome! and you need to make it happen :D

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  24. This is AWESOME, Aylee! I've only done #5, brew Butterbeer, and the result was a bit of a disappointment but I think that may have been due to my great kitchen skills more than anything else. ;)

    1. I LOVE theme parks. So combine that with my favorite series ever? It would be a dream come true. And now they're expanding the place -- that has to mean that it's been a success, right? ;) Really, all us Potterhead bloggers should save up some money so we can all experience the magic together!

    2. I'd really love to see part of the set for the HP movies, though it's a shame that we're not actually allowed to touch/sit on anything in there! (I heard that the tables and benches in the Great Hall were roped off to visitors.) Still, though, it would be incredibly cool to see the boys' dormitories and Diagon Alley. Not to mention, we get to drink actual Butterbeer. :D Here's hoping that it's much better than the one I attempted, haha.

    3. That would be... err, fun. I'd love to do that, but I'm worried I might feel sick afterward, and honestly. Watching eight movies in one go isn't worth it. Even if those eight movies are some of my favorites.

    4. I actually never thought of giving the audiobooks a try. I was more concerned about getting my hands on every English edition of the HP series out there... though my pocket most definitely doesn't approve of that. I especially want the awesome box set with little drawers and cupboards full of quirky little details on the films and the filmmaking process! DO WANT. Maybe I'll get the audiobooks once I'm done collecting all that. xD

    7. I think someone already tried, and look what happened to them. More than half their trolley got stuck inside the barrier. I wouldn't be surprised if the Hogwarts headmaster sealed off that entrance after some pesky wizard revealed their secret to the Muggle world, honestly!

    10. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE. D:

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Meg!

      1. How cool would it be if we could all meet up at the theme park and spend the day fangirling over everything?? Oh man, we've GOT to make that happen someday!

      2. It's true that it's more look and not touch. But you can do various other things there that are more interactive that would be way cool.

      3. Yeah, I wouldn't be so keen on it. I'm sure my eyes and back would hurt from sitting watching 20 hours of tv straight.

      4.Good idea!

      7. haha, yeah I've seen that

      10. :(

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  25. Oh...I so want to visit the theme park at Universal Orlando! I heard there's going to be one (eventually) at Universal in LA. Meeting J.K. Rowling would be the bomb, too. Note: my username is still the same...but for some reason I lost my Google Reader. Does that not exist anymore? LOL Yea...it's been THAT long. I can't connect it to my blog either. Ugh. Oh, well. At least I can comment!

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    1. Haha, yeah sadly Google Reader bit the dust last year. People now use either Feedly or Bloglovin.

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  26. Ah this is a phenomenal list. I have only done #3 & #9 but I'd love to do the rest. I have pinned quite a few butterbeer recipes but haven't tried any yet. What's funny about #9 is my kids aren't overly huge Harry Potter fans (I know, I weep for them too) but the other day I was listening to them playing and whomever they were rp'ing as were fighting. After awhile my daughter starts "winning" and frazzled my son busts out an Avada Kedavra and then says I win and walks away. So I have hope still!

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  27. YES I love you for this list. I.can't.even...I want to do all of these too, even the painful 20-hour marathon LOL It could be fun, with enough caffeine and sugar XD I listened to the audio books once and I adored every minute of it. My version is the Stephen Fry one and he was absolutely spectacular, I highly recommend him!

    I think one of my deepest wishes would be to actually be able to have a wand choose me at Olivander's. O.O but I'd settle for our muggle imitation any day haha To be honest though, I'd LOVE to tag along when you try to force your way through Platform 9 and 3/4 XD ...and backpacking through Scotland sounds divine too ♥ You saved the best for last I think though; THE dream: meeting and chatting with the queen herself *swoon* I think I would die!

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    1. Heh, yes you're welcome to tag along for any of these activities!! It would be the best. But yeah, I would probably die if I ever met Jo.

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  28. I'd love to have a wand choose me at Ollivanders. I'm a little too old now but it would have been nice to also receive a letter from Hogwarts a decade ago telling me I'm not a Muggle :)

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  29. Fantastic list! The audiobooks are epic btw :)

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  30. I haven't done anything on this list! I'm clearly failing as a HP fan. I've also never read/listened to an audiobook, but now that everyone's talking about the epicness of the HP audiobooks, maybe I'll have to give them a try... :)

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  31. I really want to brew my own butter beer someday. I think it'd be SO much fun. I also want a wand. Really badly. I feel like I want to plan a trip to Florida just to visit Harry Potter World. Maybe next Feb. marathoning the movies actually sounds like fun... sort of.

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  32. Haha, I absolutely LOVE this bucket list! I secretly want to shove myself at platform 9 3/4 and hope for the best. It might work, you never know! I didn't even know Stephen Fry did an audio version, but I've listend to Jim Dale and he's excellent. I might have to do a re-listen so I can get Stephen's take on it. Thanks for sharing!

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  33. I love this entire list!!! I really want to visit Universal Studios and harry potter studios as well, I think it would probably be the best experience of my life lol. I have listened to the first two audiobooks by Jim Dale and he is fantastic, I recommend his versions :)

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  34. Fantastic list, Aylee! I made butterbeer once and it was very good but also a little odd. It was like, caramel sauce and some kind of soda/fizzy drink. As long as you didn't let it settle, when the butter solidified a bit, it was really delicious! I'd like to try out another recipe sometime.

    I grew up listening to the audiobooks read by Stephen Fry, and whilst I'm sure you've got a tonne of different recommendations here, he does marvellous voices and IS the narrator of HP for me. He's basically the voice of Harry and McGonagall for me.

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    1. Haha, I think I've tried making it once and it didn't turn out too great either. I'll have to try again sometime.

      It's funny that you would say he is the voice of McGonagall to you because he's male - now I HAVE to hear that!

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