Unboxing: Birthday 2024 Gifts

So, as it turns out, my friends know me really well and gifted me some AMAZING things for my birthday this year:

Harry Potter: MinaLima Edition Boxed Set

Harry Potter: MinaLima Edition Boxed Set
(Left to right: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone — MinaLima Edition(Left: Cover, Right: Interactive element)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets — MinaLima Edition(Left: Cover, Right: Interactive element)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — MinaLima Edition(Left: Cover, Right: Interactive element)

Easily the most beautiful books I have ever seen in my life. They are designed by MinaLima (the studio behind the visual graphic style of the Harry Potter films), featuring stunning covers with elaborate gold foil, full-colour illustrations on every page, and eight interactive elements in each book. I had actually saw these MinaLima editions at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando last month and really wanted to get them, but they are really heavy and I knew my luggage would go over the weight limit, so I left them and promised myself I would order them when I got back. As it turns out, I didn't have to because Minji ended up getting me the box set. Only the first three books have been released by the MinaLima Studio so far, but I will absolutely be buying the other four once they come out. This collection is a must-have for every Potterhead.

Harry Potter: 15th Anniversary Special Edition Box Set — Cover Art by Kazu Kibuishi

Harry Potter: 15th Anniversary Special Edition Box Set — Cover Art by Kazu Kibuishi

Harry Potter: 15th Anniversary Special Edition Box Set — Cover Art by Kazu Kibuishi
(Left to right: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

Harry Potter: 15th Anniversary Special Edition Box Set — Cover Art by Kazu Kibuishi
(Left to right: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

Harry Potter: 15th Anniversary Special Edition Box Set — Cover Art by Kazu Kibuishi
(Left to right: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

I re-read the Harry Potter series every year, and as I was tucking into my hardcover copy of The Philosopher's Stone last month, the first page FELL RIGHT OUT OF THE SPINE. (Okay, mind you, it's from 1997, BUT STILL.) I was complaining about this to my friend and colleague, Samuel, and I said, "I guess I need to get a paperback set just for re-reading purposes." But then he beat me to it and got me the 15th Anniversary Special Edition Box Set, which is the complete series in paperback featuring cover art by Kazu Kibuishi, and they are GORGEOUS. (It's definitely because I have had my Harry Potter books from their original years of publication — yes, starting with The Philosopher's Stone in 1997 — but I never realized there were so many beautiful editions of these books out there. I mean, comparatively, the UK first editions that I have are actually quite hideous so it's really no wonder they went out of print...)

LEGO x Harry Potter 76414 Expecto Patronum

Knowing my love for LEGO as well, he also got me the LEGO x Harry Potter Expecto Patronum set, which coincidentally, is my favourite of all the sets released so far. I had, admittedly, been avoiding the LEGO x Harry Potter collection because I know once I start, I can't stop, and between BTS merch, Harry Potter merch, and Lego, I HAVE NO ROOM (OR MONEY) LEFT. But now I can't help it and I'm eyeing this one as my next set. Damn it.

Harry Potter Wand Chopsticks Set

My colleague, Seema, who quite literally started at the company right when Minji and I came back from Orlando (and therefore were talking about Harry Potter ad nauseam), bought Minji a Harry Potter onesie for her maternity leave gift and got me a set of Harry Potter wand chopsticks for my birthday, which was just freaking adorable of her. I will obviously not use these chopsticks for their intended purpose — they will join my Harry Potter display, right by my Collector's Edition wand.

BTS Wootteo x RJ Cushion Doll

BTS Wootteo x RJ Plush Mini Pouch and Plush Keyring

BTS Wootteo x RJ Pajama Pants

Okay, so I love Wootteo (the character Jin designed for The Astronaut) and I love RJ (the character Jin designed for BT21), so obviously, I was obsessed with the Wootteo x RJ collaboration collection (basically, it's Wootteo dressed in an RJ costume, and IT IS SO CUTE, I DIE). My friend and fellow ARMY, Iris, knowing how obsessed I was with this collaboration, got me pretty much the entire collection, including the cushion doll, the plush keyring, the plush mini pouch, and the pajama pants. This collection was on pre-order in JULY and was delivered in September, so this was planned FOUR MONTHS IN ADVANCE. BLESS HER.

Homemade matcha macarons with anko filling

Finally, my friend Daniel, who got really into baking during the pandemic and was particularly good at making macarons, made me a massive box of matcha-flavoured macarons with anko filling. I had asked him last year if he would make me macarons for my birthday and I would pay him for it, but he had to undergo surgery during that time so he couldn't. And thus, he made up for it this year with these macarons, and I gotta say, the texture of the meringue cookies are on par with some of the best macarons I've had from Ladurée, Daan Go Cake Lab, or The Social Blend. The matcha flavour wasn't overpowering, and the anko wasn't too sweet — just perfection.

Oh, man, turning 28 for the 10th time was really quite awesome. 

Unboxing: Orlando 2024 — The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Shopping Haul

I'm back, I unpacked, and oh my god, I bought an atrocious amount of stuff:

Chocolate Frogs from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop(Clockwise from top: White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate)

Chocolate Frog (Milk Chocolate) Keepsake Tin from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop

Chocolate Frog Keepsake Tin — Chocolate Frog Collectible Cards(Top: Salazar Slytherin, Godric Gryffindor, and Helga Hufflepuff
Bottom: Rowena Ravenclaw and Albums Dumbledore)

Chocolate Frog Ceramic Keepsake Box from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop

Chocolate Frog 3-Piece Tea Set from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop

Chocolate Frog 3-Piece Tea Set from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop

There is a lot of Chocolate Frog merch here. The original Chocolate Frogs in the card stock packaging come in white, milk, and dark chocolate options and are packaged in silver, gold, and bronze, respectively. They each come with a collectible Chocolate Frog card, which features a famous witch or wizard. (I got Artemisia Lufkin, Ignatia Wildsmith, and, unfortunately, Gilderoy Lockhart.) The Chocolate Frog Keepsake Tin comes with a milk chocolate frog and includes the same 5 collectible cards, all leaders of Hogwarts: Salazar Slytherin, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Albus Dumbledore. However, both the Chocolate Frog Ceramic Keepsake Box and the Chocolate Frog 3-Piece Tea Set (which includes a ceramic teacup and saucer, and gold-coloured teaspoon) do not come with chocolate nor Chocolate Frog cards — they are just very pretty accessories to use at home.

Sherbert Lemons and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from Honeydukes

Fizzing Whizzbees (bee-shaped milk chocolate with popping candy), Ton-Tongue Toffee (chocolate-coated hard toffee with nuts), and Cauldron Cakes (chocolate cake with red and orange frosting in a reusable silicone cauldron) from Honeydukes

Nosebleed Nougat (milk chocolate-coated marshmallows topped with pistachios and white pearl candy), Fainting Fancies (orange and lemon fruit gummies), and Wizarding Playing Cards from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

Aside from Chocolate Frogs, I did buy a bunch of other sweets from Honeydukes as well, including Dumbledore's favourite Sherbert Lemons, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in a keepsake tin, Fizzing Whizzbees, Ton-Tongue Toffee, and a Cauldron Cake (which is an actual chocolate cake with an insane amount of frosting — it comes in a reusable silicone "cauldron" so you can bake cauldron cakes at home or just have as a keepsake, but note that this cake is not sealed, so if you're going to take it home, make sure you wrap it up safely for travel because it will get everywhere). Note that you can buy the majority of sweets from both Honeydukes in Hogsmeade and Sugarplum's Sweet Shop in Diagon Alley, but each shop has a few of their own exclusive items, so they're both worth checking out. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley also sells several exclusive sweets; I got Nosebleed Nougat (which has no nougat at all, ironically — it's chocolate-coated marshmallows) and Fainting Fancies (orange and lemon fruit gummies), which were on sale for 2 for $16. 

Gringotts $10 Bank Note and Gringotts Chocolate Galleons from Gringotts Money Exchange

Some people may not know about this, but you can actually exchange USD into Gringotts Bank Notes at Gringotts Money Exchange. You can use these Bank Notes anywhere inside the Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando like cash. It's absolutely not necessary — it's just an extra little thing that you can do to immerse yourself in the world of Harry Potter. That having been said, we just wanted to get a Bank Note as a souvenir to take home (it comes in an official Gringotts Bank envelope!), so we only exchanged $10 USD, which is he lowest denomination they offer. You can also buy some other souvenirs at Gringotts Money Exchange like figures and coin banks, but we just picked up a little bag of chocolate Galleons because they were too cute to resist.

2024 Collector's Edition Wand from Ollivanders Wand Shop

We went into Ollivanders for the wand selection show. (It's a 5-minute show where a staff member of Ollivanders selects someone in the 15- to 20-person audience to participate in a wand selection ceremony. There is usually a line-up for the show, but it goes by pretty quickly — we got in within 10 minutes. When the show is finished, the selected person can then choose to buy the wand.) After the show, you exit into the actual Ollivanders shop, where you can peruse and purchase wands. (Note that wands are also sold at Wands by Gregorovitch, but they don't carry the entire assortment, nor do they have the wand selection ceremony.) There are generally two main types of wands — character wands (I think there are about 15 to 20 of them, all designed for characters of the series from Harry Potter to Albus Dumbledore to Voldemort) and pre-customized wands (I believe there are 12 or 13 of these ones, and they are randomized — for example, elm with phoenix feather or mahogany with dragon heartstring). The character wands come in both interactive and decor types (and are set at different price points), whereas the pre-customized wands are all interactive — the interactive wands allow users to "cast spells" at 16 different locations in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. (You can read more about it here.)

2024 Collector's Edition Wand Handle from Ollivanders Wand Shop

I actually didn't want a wand at first because what the hell was I going to do with a wand once I brought it home? But then I was like, "Did I really go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter if I didn't get a wand?" And Minji was already hell-bent on getting one, so I decided to get one, too. (You know, twist my rubber arm.) Except neither of us wanted the character wands and they didn't have either of the pre-customized wands we wanted in stock. (In fact, out of all the variations of pre-customized wands they make, our top choices were the only two out of stock. Ridiculous.) We were about to buy our second choice wands, when I stumbled upon a display of their Collector's Edition wands. 

2024 Collector's Edition Wand with Metal Wand Stand from Ollivanders Wand Shop

They had both the 2023 and 2024 versions of the Collector's Edition Wand, and they look SO MUCH COOLER than any of the other wands. (Note: The Collector's Edition Wands only come in the interactive type, and at $75 a pop, are also more expensive than all other wands.) Minji preferred the 2023 and I preferred the 2024 (which features an ornate dragon head that looks SUPER BAD-ASS), so we ditched our second-choice pre-customized wands (I asked Minji, "Do we really want to pay $65 for SECOND CHOICE wands when these are so much cooler? And limited edition?") and snagged the Collector's Edition wands instead. And, of course, we got wand display holders, too. (I got the single plain gold one, and Minji got the single black Death Eater one.) Because if you're going to spend this kind of money on a wand, you want to display it proudly at home, you know?

Hogsmeade Postcards from Owl Post and Diagon Alley Postcards from Scribbulus

Hogwarts: A History and The Marauder's Map Greeting Cards from Scribbulus

One of the unique things you can do at both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade is send actual postmarked letters. As someone who loves sending postcards when I'm traveling (I always send one to myself from every place I go to because a) I love getting letters in the mail, and b) so I can look back at all the places I've been to), I got a pack from both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. The stores that sell stationery (Scribbulus in Diagon Alley, Dervish and Banges and Owl Post in Hogsmeade) also sell postage stamps, so you can write your postcards or greeting cards while you're at the store, add the proper amount of stamps, and then give your postcards to the staff to send out — they will stamp the respective postmark on it so it'll look like you actually got mail from Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade.

Interactive Snowy Owl from Scribbulus

Mini Pygmy Puffs from Magical Menagerie

Harry Potter Plush Toy from Dervish and Banges

Mandrake Plush Toy from Dervish and Banges

I got a several plush toys. When I saw this adorable little snowy owl (which is interactive and magnetic — you can perch it on your shoulder and if you put batteries in it, it will move its neck and wings and make owl sounds), I couldn't resist. I also got mini Pygmy Puffs (these are technically key rings, but they are significantly cuter than their larger counterparts), plus Harry Potter and Mandrake plushies that were on sale for 2 for $15. Unfortunately, they only had a random assortment of these latter ones, so they had Harry and Draco Malfoy, but none of the other main characters. They had, like, Luna Lovegood and a Death Eater. And, randomly, a Mandrake, which was just too cute to leave behind.

The Marauder's Map Mug from Filch's Emporium

Now, you might be wondering what house I belong to. According to dozens of Harry Potter house-sorting quizzes, I am technically Ravenclaw but with strong Slytherin tendencies, so I've never really felt particularly attached to a singular house. Which is also why I didn't buy any house-specific merch. So while Minji bought Slytherin robes, Slytherin sweatshirts, and even a Slytherin scrunchie, I went for clothing in the "other" category. If you know me, you will know that my wardrobe is basically 97% black, which is why I was only drawn to the clothes featuring the Dark Mark or the Deathly Hallows. And that's fine. They're helping me re-live my teenage emo days.

Spells Hooded Sweatshirt from Filch's Emporium

Morsmordre Grey Sweatshirt and The Deathly Hallows Grey Tee from Borgin and Burkes

Dark Mark Black Scarf from Borgin and Burkes

One of the greatest features of staying at Universal Studios Orlando Resort (we stayed at Portofino Bay) is that all the shops inside the Universal Studios theme parks have a free delivery service straight to your hotel room. This is simultaneously very convenient since you don't have to carry all your shopping while walking around the theme parks, and very dangerous as you may, like us, forget just how much stuff you bought until you get delivered over 15 shopping bags within 3 days. Still, I have no regrets — I got to live out nearly 27 years' worth of my wizarding world dreams.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Universal Studios Florida (Diagon Alley) 

Universal Islands of Adventure (Hogsmeade)

6000 Universal Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32819, USA

(407) 363-8000

Orlando 2024 Travel Log: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida — Day 3: Apple Crumble and Sticky Toffee Pudding Ice Cream Cone at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

We couldn't leave Universal Studios, let alone Orlando, without one last visit to Florean Fortescue's. So off we went, back to Diagon Alley, to get in the long line-up for one last epic ice cream.

Apple Crumble and Sticky Toffee Pudding ice creams in a waffle cone

My choice this time was Apple Crumble and Sticky Toffee Pudding hard-pack ice creams in a waffle cone. And y'all, this was maybe the best ice cream combination I've ever had in my life. Both flavours taste scarily accurate to their namesakes and they are PHENOMENAL — both alone and together. Like, damn, I knew it was going to be my last ice cream here, but I MADE IT WORTH IT. (Yes, even I am impressed with myself.) On another note, Minji is now obsessed with Chocolate Chili ice cream (even more so because she's pregnant) and is trying to figure out how to make it at home. 

HARRY POTTER WORLD, WE WILL MISS YOU SO MUCH.

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley

Universal Studios Florida 

6000 Universal Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32819, USA

(407) 224-4233

Orlando 2024 Travel Log: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade at Universal Islands of Adventure — Day 2: A Tour of Hogwarts Castle

One thing we really wanted to do was walk around Hogwarts Castle, which is home to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. But again, Minji isn't allowed to go on the ride because she's pregnant and I can't go on because I have high blood pressure. So we asked one of the ride attendants if we could just tour the castle without going on the ride, and he said it was absolutely no problem, just to follow the line-up (which goes through the castle) and exit before the ride actually begins.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — One-Eyed Witch Statue 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — Mirror of Erised

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — Architect of Hogwarts Statue

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — Salazar Slytherin Statue

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — The Griffin Statue

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — Hall of Portraits

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — Hall of Portraits

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — The Pensieve

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — Dumbledore's Office

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — Dragon Skeleton

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — The Fat Lady Portrait

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle — The Sorting Hat

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade: Hogwarts Castle

Despite the line-up being at an 85-minute wait time, I am so glad we got to see inside the castle. Everything, from the architecture to the statues to the props, is absolutely stunning and incredibly detailed. If, for whatever reason, you can't go on the rides that are housed inside the buildings at Universal, I highly recommend asking to see if you can still go inside to tour it. It's totally worth it.

Hogwarts Castle

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade

Universal Islands of Adventure

6000 Universal Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32819, USA

(407) 363-8000