Shh! 17 Things You Didn't Know About the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, From a Former Employee

"The last week of January and the first week of December. . . . The best time to go is at the end of January, in the early morning. If you can stay on property, doing early park admission is a great way to experience Diagon Alley, an area that has a tendency to fill up fast because of its size relative to the rest of the park. Hogsmeade tends to always be busy because it's a bottleneck between the Lost Continent and Jurassic Park."

"It is truly the most incredible and singularly realized theme park endeavor in history. I am (well, was) fully trained in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley."

"I rarely work a shift without seeing someone getting emotional in some way. I'm in SO many pictures with fans and I've helped in dozens of proposals."

"It is the number one complaint of that ride. The Forbidden Journey has the highest incidence of motion sickness in both parks and even has a room devoted to allowing people to clean up after vomiting."

"Now, with the metal detectors [in CityWalk], you are likely to get a greeter or two that will resist you taking your camera or phone with you. However, if you are very clear about what you're doing and are completely prepared to exit the queue at the metal detectors, you should be fine."

"My favorite food is the Cranachan in Leaky Cauldron and my favorite drink is Pumpkin Juice."

"Yes!"

"The witches and wizards in Knockturn are in a rotation and are the same ones that work in Carkitt Market and staff the wand magic through Diagon Alley. It's all about presentation. When in Knockturn, they seem to think they can act differently, but Universal holds us all to the same standard in terms of guest interactions."

"If you're just wanting to take pictures, you can request a castle tour! That'll allow you a walking tour without impatient riders behind you."

"One of the things that we're taught in training is that we're not allowed to create what's called 'lateral content.' This meant that we couldn't have our own Potter back stories. We didn't go to Hogwarts, we'd never met the Golden Trio, etc. The only time that I was allowed to identify my house was when I was at the Forbidden Journey, because those team members wear student's robes, including a house vest. I could pick what I wanted, though the Hufflepuff vests tended to run smaller and the Ravenclaw vests were almost all 4Xs for some reason, so sizing decided what we wore sometimes."

"It's not only kids! Generally, the wand keeper will pick younger children, but it's really a personal preference. The wand keepers are pretty tight lipped about what their criteria is, but looking enthusiastic ALWAYS helps."

"The wand that you are presented with at the end of the demonstration is yours to purchase, and as such, you can pick whichever one you want. . . . The only non-interactive wands are the character wands, which are available both interactive and non. Those wands are also not selected in the Ollivander's experience, only the 'Ollivander's originals' designs."

"You are first assigned to a department (attractions, merch, foods, park services, etc.) and then to a venue. I was trained at Dragon Challenge, Flight of the Hippogriff, and the Hogwarts Express, in addition to other venues outside of Potter. As an attractions attendant, my main focus was guest flow and ride safety, but I also performed basic janitorial tasks, paperwork and peer review, and guest service throughout the day."

"THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL GAMES AND SPORTS HAS PROHIBITED ALL MUGGLE ARTIFACTS. MUGGLE ARTIFACTS SUCH AS BAGS, BACKPACKS, CAMERAS, CELL PHONES, GO PROS, WANDS, AND PURSES MUST BE PLACED IN A FREE LOCKER. . . . We're real serious about bags. All loose articles are a safety hazard. Remember, at sixty miles an hour, a penny cost someone an eye."

"In my experience, not hard at all. Depending on the time of the year, they do job fairs pretty frequently. It is, however, reasonably difficult to gain full time employment there and part time hours, frankly, suck."

"It'd probably be best to try and locate your lost ones instead of creating more. Perhaps Mr. Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods could be of help? If not, then to Knockturn Alley with you."

"Truly overwhelming. Seeing what goes into making the experience real was a lot to take in and understanding my part in it was very humbling. The land itself is so massive behind the scene."