The Universal Orlando expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was way to much for one post, so welcome to part two of my Diagon Alley coverage. In this post I’ll be covering the food at Leaky Cauldron and the many shopping experiences for guests to enjoy.
Wit the exception of the menu, the Leaky Cauldron has all the feels of the Hogshead over at Hogsmeade.
I had the opportunity to order anything or everything at the Leaky Cauldron and I took this chance to order two entrees, two drinks, and a dessert to get a nice variety of things you can enjoy. My husband did the same so that we could sample four dishes total.
For me, the Stew and Fisherman’s Pie were the most enticing. The Beef, Lamb, and Guinness Stew ($12.99) was served in a bread bowl and filled with tender meat and hearty vegetables.
Fisherman’s Pie ($14.99) was very enjoyable and was filled with chunky pieces of salmon, shrimp, and cod, blended into mashed potatoes and peas. Both the Beef, Lamb, and Guinness Stew and the Fisherman’s Pie came with side salads.
My husband gave the Bangers and Mash ($11.99) a try and he really enjoyed it. It’s served in the traditional British Pub style with sausage on top of mashed potatoes and gravy with vegetables. The Specialty Chicken Sandwich ($10.99) was a very simple choice and good for anyone looking for something less complicated.
Children have a very small variety of items to pick from including: macaroni and cheese, fish and chips, and a mini meat pie. Our son, the pickiest child on the planet, had the macaroni and cheese ($6.99) and devoured it along with his Butterbeer. For dessert we gave the Chocolate Potted Cream ($4.99) a try and, even though it wasn’t as smooth as what I expected, the flavor was very rich and enticing. My husband and I both agreed that even with its small size, one person can’t finish one by themselves.
In addition to Butterbeer, we also tried the Tongue Tying Lemon Squash drink (around $6.00) and the Otter’s Fizzy Orange Juice (around $6.00). Of the three, Butterbeer is my favorite and Tongue Tying Lemon Squash is a close second. The Otter’s Fizzy was the most disappointing because it tasted like orange juice in a brown sugar-rimmed glass. My husband seemed to enjoy it, but the lack of unique flavor didn’t inspire me to want to order it again.
As much as I enjoyed the food at The Leaky Cauldron, the prices are a bit steep even for theme park food, but it’s the only downside I can see to eating there again.
Something else that guests will enjoy about Diagon Alley is how immersive the shopping experiences are. Each shop is themed to what they sell. The Magical Menagerie specializes in all things fluffy and dangerous in the animal kingdom. Quality Quidditch Supplies sells brooms, robes, and popular quidditch team apparel.
Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes has a really cool store front and if you watch it long enough, you can see Fred (or is it George??) make a rabbit appear on his head. Inside the store you can find all manners of jokes to play on your friends, including some suspicious looking candy. If you can crane your neck and look up, you can see the magical sun roof put on a display of fireworks.
Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment has one of the four known references to Jaws, the ride that previously inhabited this area of the park, in the form of a large telescope that was built using piping from the former ride.
Other recognizable stores in Diagon Alley include: Scribbulus, Ollivanders, and Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions.
For my Butterbeer lovers, you can get your fix at three locations in Diagon Alley: The Leaky Cauldron, The Fountain of Fair Fortune in Horizont Alley, and The Hopping Pot in Carkitt Market (located next to Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour).
Butterbeer prices are as follows:
- $4.25 for cold in a regular cup
- $5.32 for frozen in a regular cup (think slushy)
- $12.77 cold with a collectible cup
- $13.84 for frozen with a collectible cup
The upside to getting the collectible cup is you can get it refilled as many times as you want with soda or slushy for $.99. If you’re local, bring it with you each time you visit and you can continue to enjoy the $.99 refills.
Other drink choices you might want to consider are:
- Fishy Green Ale ($5.32) – A mint tea beverage with boba-style balls that give it a blast of blueberry flavor. Only available at Diagon Alley.
- Pumpkin Juice ($7.50) – Available at Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. My husband tells anyone who needs to wake up to grab a bottle of this stuff.
- Wizarding Draft Beers (around $8.00)
If you’re in the mood for Butterbeer ice cream, look no further than Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour. This is the place to dip your taste buds into specialty ice cream flavors like: Butterbeer, Earl Grey and Lavender (there’s a Captain Picard joke to be made here), Chocolate Chili, and more. Prices start at $4.99 for a cup of any flavor (or flavors since they allow you to mix in the same cup).
I had a chance to try the Butterbeer ice cream, and it wasn’t really my thing (my husband on the other hand was happy to have the rest of mine).
If you’re more of a Gillywater drinker, stop by Eternelle’s Elixir of Refreshment stand and pick out an elixir to add to your water. Flavors include: Draught of Peace (mix of blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, and cherry), Babbling Revenge (fruit punch), Elixir to Induce Euphoria (pineapple and mint), and Fire Protection Potion (watermelon, strawberry, and peach). We tasted the Draught of Peace and were pretty pleased with it. The flavor wasn’t overbearing and we didn’t crash from the sugar.
Elixirs are $4.95 each and will flavor one 20 ounce bottle of water.
While the dining in Diagon Alley is on the steep side, it’s worth it at least once for the experience. Even as a local I’m not sure how often I’ll eat here, especially when there is a really tasty taco truck not far from Diagon Alley, but I’m happy I had the experience. The shopping is a huge improvement to Hogsmeade with its limited stores and merchandise and I enjoyed walking through the menagerie with all the fluffy items available. The next time you are in Orlando, make sure you stop by and enjoy everything Diagon Alley has to offer. It a three hour wait for a ride isn’t your thing, hit up the shops.
Tickets into Universal Studios start at $96.00 per adult and $90.00 per child (ages 10 and under). If you would like to ride the Hogwarts Express and check out Hogsmeade as well, you will need a two park ticket. Two park tickets start at $136.00 per adult and $130.00 per child (ages 10 and under).
Disclaimer: GeekMom attended a blogger event for this attraction.
