User blog comment:JoePlay/Wizarding World Giveaway/@comment-4188988-20110722233932

I read my first Harry Potter book (The Prisoner of Azkaban) when I was in 5th grade. I had forgotten to bring a book to my reading class and my friend handed me The Prisoner of Azkaban and told me that it was from a series she had started reading. I checked it out and after class I'd asked her if I could borrow it. I ended up collecting the series and when the 4th book came out, I went to the midnight release. I did that for the rest of the books in the series. For me, Harry Potter has been a large part of my childhood. I started with the books and moved onto the movies, games, and anything else I could find. I was swept away by the "Potter Mania" that had invaded. I won't claim to be one of "the biggest" Potter fans, but I am a big fan, nonetheless. The Potterverse has been my sanctuary and escape from some of the real world problems in my life. It's one of the series that had such an impact on my life, I know that I will never forget it. I hope that when I have children, I can get them started on the series as well. When I first heard about the Harry Potter theme park that was in the works, I was ecstatic! To get a small glimpse into the world of Harry Potter sounded like a dream to me. When the park was completed and opened to the public, I wished that I could have been somewhere nearby so I could be a part of that special event. Alas, I live in California. Not as far away as some, but too far for me to realistically think I could ever afford to go. Now it's a new dream for me, I suppose.