New Discoveries at Hogwarts

Faith of GeekyZooGirl and Micheline of Lunar Rainbow Reviews are hosting the Harry Potter Month in July and I'm on board! People can compete in the House Cup by accumulating house points. I'll be earning said house points by posting about Harry Potter among other Harry Potter related activities! This year I will be representing Hufflepuff!


While I was galavanting in the Wizarding World, I learn a bunch of interesting things about the park. It's amazing what people will tell you, if you ask. I wanted to share some of them with you!

1) There are employees walking around in house robes everywhere at Hogwarts, I've always wondered if they were assigned which house they're wearing in order to have an even divide of house robes among the employees.  So I asked one this year.  She said they get to choose the house they're in, so the robes they're wearing reflect the actual houses of the employees. And surprisingly, the house division is pretty even, I saw at least four of each house in my rounds at Hogwarts.  It's pretty awesome that they get to choose!

2) On ride to the airport home (tears for days), our driver was talking about the long lines at Universal on how speed passes are a godsend. None of the main Harry Potter rides have speed pass entrances though. I just assumed it was because they were some of the most popular rides at the park, so there wasn't need to put one in yet. Apparently, that's not it at all. J.K. Rowling herself requested that the Harry Potter rides not have speed passes because she wanted everyone to be able to experience them, whether or not they could afford speed passes. I absolutely love this! She's always thinking always aware, and it's even better because she knows what it's like to not be able to afford things. Bless J.K. Rowling!

3) I don't smoke. I don't like smoking. However, one of the people I went to the Wizarding World with smokes, so she stumbled upon this bit of information. There used to be a smoking zone right outside Hogsmeade at the tail end of the Lost Continent. Universal was fine with that placement and didn't have any reason to change it, but the powers that be, financiers or someone higher up, demanded that the smoking area be moved away from Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.  They did not like the idea of it being so close to where so many kids would be wandering and exploring. (Although, you could argue that all of Universe falls under that category.) Consequently, Universal moved the smoking area further away from anything Harry Potter.  And that's why you won't find one in or near either Harry Potter section at Universal Orlando.

4) When you're in the Hogshead grabbing a firewhiskey or butterbeer at the bar, if you go over to the stairs near the far end of the bar you can hear a housemaid talking to herself upstairs.  She's mumbling about messy guests. It's really quite cool to listen and look for all the little details in the Hogs Head and the Three Broomsticks!

5) I overheard a Hogsmede store owner telling a little girl about some of the interactive wand areas of the park.  She was asking about why some of them didn't work.  He told her that sometimes the magic goes a bit haywire and putters out in certain areas.  She asked him why they didn't have a sign at the particular one we were near.  He told her that they often have to tell guests because when they put signs in the windows, most people don't read them and they look silly waving their wands at nothing.  But he did say he gets to laugh at them for looking ridiculous. It was quite a cute interaction and made me chuckle. Everyone is so good at staying in character!