Harry Potter films' art director Alan Gilmore chatted with SnitchSeeker during our exclusive tour of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood last week, explaining how the third attraction differs from its Orlando and Osaka counterparts, and what input author J.K. Rowling had in the creation of all three. More on that can be read below.

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SnitchSeeker: What does J.K. Rowling think about three different Hogsmeade layouts throughout the world?
Alan Gilmore: She vets every detail. Any changes she helps us create. So when we grow a store or maybe shrink a shop or create a new place or street, she’s actually a part of that design. So Stuart Craig works directly with her; I work directly with him. It’s a bit of a chain. We all work together. But obviously her world is so huge now – we can’t pull her aside for everything and say, “Hey, what do you think of this?” So we have a structure – like a family structure.

The filmmaking team is very much integrated. Most people are still there making Fantastic Beasts, but it’s the same team that made the Harry Potter movies. So it’s a very cohesive world [in the parks]. Everything is joined together – the colors, the details, the textures. All the words come from J.K. Rowling. Any new words, she creates. It’s very important for her that this absolutely feels like a real place. She doesn’t allow other influences to come in. So, all our food and drinks are from her world. You won’t find any other type. It’s all about being immersed.

On the look and feel of Hogsmeade:
Alan Gilmore: It’s the job of film set designers to bring as much color and texture into these places. Each time, we bring more. It’s like we’re painting more and more each time. It looks like really old stone walls, really lovely – a cozy feeling.

SnitchSeeker: When you create a new Hogsmeade, does it give you a chance to do things you wished you’d done in previous ones?
Alan Gilmore: It’s a collaborative effort, so we do try to improve or add details I missed. Each time, I try to bring [them] into the next one. And I learn more and more about how we bring the two worlds together: the filmmaking world and the theme park world. When people sit down, say here for example at the Hogshead fireplace, they really feel they’re in the set. You’re in there – you’re living the world. The feel is very similar – the leaning ceilings, the twisting. I just feel there’s an extra level of color and detail and texture here.

SnitchSeeker: Who wrote the story for Forbidden Journey?
Alan Gilmore: It was co-created by Universal and J.K. Rowling. Everything was run by her and she would edit and recreate the story to make absolute sense of it and tie it into the fiction of her world.

On powering the Wizarding World:
Alan Gilmore: All the technology in the Wizarding World is mechanical. There’s no electricity here – just gas and oil. Any machines are mechanical, but they’re enchanted. There’s no power system really.

On building Hogsmeade in Hollywood:
Alan Gilmore: I love the set in Los Angeles because the weather here really works with it. On cloudy mornings you get mist – you really feel like you’re in Scotland. I feel very at home. I’ve felt more at home here in California than I felt in Florida.

People here love movies. It’s where movies are made. And it’s bringing one of the biggest movie stories ever home to where it started. Its home is Scotland, but there’s always a link – there’s a strong link to here. It’s very important for us that we put as much effort into this as we could to make it as best as it can be. Each Wizarding World has its own flavor in a way. None is better than the other. Each has its own characteristics, which is very important.

SnitchSeeker: Was it a challenge building Hogsmeade on a hill?
Alan Gilmore: Oh, a huge challenge. This was so complex, this project. But complex in a good way because we like solving problems. We find every issue is not an issue but a challenge.

Is the Flight of the Hippogriff coaster bigger?
Alan Gilmore: It’s similar – it’s virtually the same, I would say. The ride’s a little bit different profile, where the shape is a bit different, but otherwise, it’s identical.

SnitchSeeker: Why did you move, say, Dominic Maestro’s music shop façade to a different place for this park?
Alan Gilmore: Corresponding to the retelling of the story, we created new settings for the same stories. But because we want each one to have a subtle, unique flavor – to have its own character. So we do this with all the wizarding worlds. You’re getting a different journey each time. A similar journey, but not exactly the same journey.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood opens to the public on Thursday, April 7, 2016.

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