For many Bellevue kids, June 17 meant freedom – finally free from school and finally able to sleep in. However, for me it meant taking a five-and-a-half hour plane ride to Florida, where I would meet my sister, Jessica, and attend the brand new Harry Potter Theme Park in Orlando. As one of the most dedicated Harry Potter fans on the planet, missing the opening day of the park was an impossibility.

I flew in from Seattle and Jessica came in from Boston, where she has lived since graduating college. In the months before the trip, we had shared many phone calls and emails planning the logistics and details of the trip.

We arrived in sunny Florida, tired but in positive spirits, and spent the evening watching Order of the Phoenix in our hotel room to get in the mood. That night I dreamt of Potions and Quidditch matches and woke up feeling nothing like a muggle. After weeks of anticipation, the moment to go to the park had arrived.

As I look back, what is most vivid in my mind? Lines!

To get into Islands of Adventure, we were forced into a two-hour-long line that was sweltering, hot and cramped. But, I drank water and pushed through — only to be met with another line. The Harry Potter section of the park was so crowded that they were not letting everyone in.

While we were waiting, we saw costumes of all different varieties, from two girls wearing bright orange wigs to represent the Weasley twins, to shirts with quotes from the books. There was no idea untouched.

We spent eight hours — from 11 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon — waiting to get into the Wizarding World. The time proved to be good bonding time for Jessica and me, who have a 10-year age difference, and opposite coasts separating us the rest of the year.

The heat, for a girl who has lived in Seattle her whole life, was almost unbearable. At one point, it rained, which was a relief for me but a disaster for everyone else.

When we finally arrived in the Harry Potter section of the park, we discovered it was well worth the wait. The creators of the realistic (or, what I imagined was real) Hogwarts Castle and Hogsmeade Village took every chance they could to add in details from the books.

The Wizarding World, with many snow-capped roofs, was beautiful and mesmerizing. For me, a Harry Potter fanatic who knows just about every detail about the books and movies, it was a dream come true to be inside the books, inside the wondrous tale that J. K. Rowling has weaved for us over the years.

The main attraction, Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey, was exciting, even in the line. We wound first through the Green Houses, and then inside the castle, where the portraits came to life and told a thrilling tale that included Hagrid losing another dragon.

It startled and greatly pleased us all when Harry, Ron, and Hermione emerged from under the famous Invisibility Cloak to tell what awaited, although when we discovered that the actors were only holograms, we were a bit disappointed. Then the threesome skived off History of Magic (that’s Harry Potter talk for playing hooky) to take us on a ride through the grounds on “enchanted benches.”

After being on the Forbidden Journey and a ride called Dragon Challenge, we realized the park was not for the weak-stomached. It was then that we took a well-needed break into the Three Broomsticks for dinner. The butterbeer sold there was exactly as the books depicted, and the shabby but cozy interior was highly reminiscent also.

By the time we had ridden all the rides we wanted to, and seen the sights, we had a very limited amount of time to look through the cramped souvenir shop that had been picked to the brim. Only the largest and smallest sizes of shirts were left, and many items were sold out.

The day had been long, but fun. We left with aching feet and hearts that would miss their one time in Harry Potter’s wondrous world, a world that defied the laws of nature we abide by, and taught us to push the limits we have set.

Meredith Stone, 13, is a student at Bellevue’s International School.