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Harry Potter Hotel Room

The small town of Casey, Illinois has become known for having many of the world’s largest items. Some of the items include the World’s Largest: Wind Chime, Rocking Chair, Teeter Totter, and Mailbox.

However, for any fans of Harry Potter, you have another reason to visit Casey: the Gryffindor Room at the 1890 Sleepover. This small hotel is located in a building that was built in 1890 as the headquarters for the local chapter of the Knights of Pythias. Now, it has been converted into an event space and hotel.

Disney100: The Exhibition – Chicago, Illinois

The year of 2023 was the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company. Although the overall celebration of the centennial event was pretty lackluster, the Walt Disney Company did put together a touring exhibition of the company. One version toured internationally while a second version toured here in the United States. The tour schedule only featured a few select cities. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the exhibition during its stay in Chicago. Enjoy!

The Very First CosMc’s – Bolingbrook, Illinois

CosMc’s is a spin-off chain from McDonald’s that is solely a drive-up and mobile order restaurant. The name is based off a lesser-known 1990’s McDonaldland character. The restaurant is focused on speciality drinks, desserts, and sandwiches. This is an experimental test restaurant. Nine other CosMc’s are scheduled to open in 2024 in Texas. However, the one is Bolingbrook is the very first.

Stranger Things Halloween House w. Floating Max

Over the past weekend (Oct. 8-9, 2022), I had the opportunity to visit Infested Oaks in Plainfield, Illinois. Infested Oaks is a house that is decked out for the Halloween season with a Stranger Things theme. Probably the most impressive piece of the display is the Floating Max which hovers over ten feet above the ground. Plainfield is about an hour south of Chicago. If you’re anywhere nearby, it’s definitely worth the stop to see. You can find out more information by visiting.

HauntedIllinois.com – Infested Oaks (Plainfield, Illinois)

New Wally’s in St. Louis Opens

During the weekend of March 12, 2022 a new giant gas station opened in Fenton, Missouri: Wally’s! Prior to the St. Louis location, the only other Wally’s location was in Pontiac, Illinois. Now there are two and there are plans for more locations to open in the Midwest in the next 2-3 years. Wally’s is themed after “The Great American Roadtrip.” There is a great deal of 1980s nostalgia throughout the location from the station wagon that sits out front to the old-school labels on the fountain sodas. Wally’s has a gift store, a popcorn store, a bakery, and more. They have some of the most impressive public bathrooms in a gas station or convenience store that I have ever seen. They even make their own beef jerky and sell it on site! Wally’s isn’t just a gas station, it’s a destination location for anyone visiting the St. Louis area. It’s located on part of the property of the old Fenton Chrysler Plant.