This Is the Day You Should Go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour For the Best Experience

I consider it a must-do for every Harry Potter fan to visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour outside London at least once in their life. It's a sprawling museum of sorts with sets, costumes, factoids, and magic. On the tour, you can drink butterbeer, you can see the mechanics behind how some of the special effects are done, and you can get some completely unique experiences . . . if you know what you're looking for.

The tour starts with a short film from the movie cast, introducing you to the magical world of Harry Potter. At the end of the film, you see the doors to the Great Hall before the screen goes away and the actual doors appear. What you may not realize, though, is that if you play your cards right, you can get chosen to open those very doors. The secret? Go on your birthday.

The man who was welcoming all of us into the tour asked if anyone in the room was celebrating a birthday, and I saw no better way to spend my 30th birthday than at the ultimate place for Harry Potter fans. My best friend shoved me to the front of the room and I volunteered, along with a young girl who was probably celebrating her 10th birthday, which is just solid proof that Harry Potter is for all ages. She and I got to open the doors to the Great Hall, which was maybe the best moment of my life because I've loved Harry Potter for nearly two decades.

Opening the doors to the Great Hall is one of those supersecret experiences that you can have if you know beforehand what the key to doing it is. So if you can visit on your birthday, you might just get to be the lucky chosen one.