Ollivanders Wand Shop - PLEASE HELP!!

[foxxxy83]

Anyone able to tell me what the wait time is like for Ollivanders at the minute please?? I know that in Summer months it's been reported as being a wait of 70 mins or more but wondered if it was quieter now all the schools are back in?? My 6 yr old son is a DIE-HARD HP fan but he's also Autistic so MAJOR queues are a prob for him. (We'll be going on Oct 12th when crowd levels are expected to be low). Any help/advice would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks!

 

[RMulieri]

Are you staying onsite? Do you have early entry? if no, then waits ( even in the off season) can be 20-30 mins or more.They only take a small number of people at a time into the store for a short show.The lines build fast for it.Now the lines do die down towards the end of the day .

 

[foxxxy83]

20 mins we can do, possibly 30. At min, am planning on being there at rope drop as we not staying at a Universal hotel and going straight there. Otherwise will try back at about 6pm just before we head over to Citywalk for dinner reservations

 

[Best Aunt]

For many attractions, part of your wait is inside in a pre-show area. As I recall, for this attraction, you are outside in line in the sun the whole time. The door opens, about 24 people are let directly into the room where the show happens, and everybody else continues to wait in line outside.

When the show is over, you exit into the gift shop. Be warned that it may be really, really crowded in there. It may be difficult just to walk through the crowd to get to the door to get out. I don't know how your child would feel about that.

People staying at Universal hotels can get into the park early, and are likely to do Forbidden Journey and Dragon Challenge first, then do this. I would be concerned that you may have a long wait for this attraction even if you are at the park at rope drop.

Also - I'm surprised the crowd levels are expected to be low on October 12, since that's Columbus Day weekend.

I'm an admitted pessimist, so you might get more positive input from other people.

 

[foxxxy83]

Didn't know it was Columbus Day weekend when we plan to go but we have other free days when we can go back so hopefully not a prob Am an optimist and tend to go with the flow as much as I possibly can

 

[pookadoo77]

I sent you a private message, pls read

 

[damo]

Didn't know it was Columbus Day weekend when we plan to go but we have other free days when we can go back so hopefully not a prob Am an optimist and tend to go with the flow as much as I possibly can

Check out the other thread you posted on. There is information on there that I'm not sure you're aware of about Ollivander's and actually getting a wand. Everyone who goes to the Ollivander's show isn't guaranteed to be chosen to have a wand chosen for them. Generally only 1 person per show.

 

[macraven]

. (We'll be going on Oct 12th when crowd levels are expected to be low). Any help/advice would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks!

that is a saturday and the columbus day weekend.
there will be many peeps in the park that date.
including me.

when you get to ioa, go early and wait in line until the off site guests are allowed in.
onsite hotel guests will be entering ioa at 8:00.

go directly to ollivanders and hopefully, the wait will be tolerable.

some times you get lucky and can get into ollivanders in a reasonable time.
crossing my fingers that happens for you and your child.

 

[RMulieri]

Yeah, I just realized that I forgot columbus day weekend

 

[Threeboysandachickie]

If your son has problems with the line (heat and crowds) you can grab a guest assistance pass for him at guest services. If the ollivanders line is too long the line worker will write down a time for your DS to return to the show/ride with little to no wait time. It works on all rides and shows in the parks. Pm me if you need additional information on the pass.

 

[foxxxy83]

That's FAB thanks! Googled it and I have to go to Guest Services and tell them his needs to get a pass similar to GAC at WDW. Only heard about GAC by chance on one of the other forums on this site!

 

[bumbershoot]

That's FAB thanks! Googled it and I have to go to Guest Services and tell them his needs to get a pass similar to GAC at WDW. Only heard about GAC by chance on one of the other forums on this site!

That's wonderful you got that info.

did you see the info given to you in the other thread you were posting in? That if he only wants to get a wand, there is no need to see the show? That if *not* being chosen for the show might cause a problem that you would prefer to avoid, you can just go into the store where the wands are sold (it's the store the show lets out into) and not deal with the show at all?

I had also mentioned that the wand offered (for purchase) to the ONE person chosen to do the show is one of the birth-month-based wands. It's not going to be Harry's wand or other characters (though I feel that there was some crossover, but not with the majorly loved-by-children characters). So if he simply wants a wand AND he wants a character wand, then there's even less reason to do the show.

In addition, the shop that Ollivander's show room lets out into is rather small and can be VERY packed. It might not be pleasant for him at all to be in there, depending on his personality. There are other places to buy wands.

You know your son and we don't, so we are trying to make sure you understand everything about the Ollivander's show and the shop where you actually buy the wands, so you can figure out what he needs and what would be best.

 

[foxxxy83]

Awwww, thank you SO much for being SO wonderful and for sharing all that info. I hadn't read all that as things have been manic with last minute holiday stuff. He has good days and bad days so will have to see what he's like that morning. I have however swapped the day we are going to midweek as I hadn't realised it was Columbus Day weekend when I had originally planned to take him. Hopefully this will mean the park won't be too crowded and if things do start to get too much then we can find a relatively quiet spot for some "calm time". I think if he is having a good day, he would probably be OK with the show and a somewhat crowded shop as long as we weren't in there for a MAJOR amount of time and could have some "calm time" straight after. I've heard all the shops are quite small and get crowded so am bracing myself... how many HP fans do you know who can resist a chocolate frog?? Lol!

 

[bumbershoot]

I've heard all the shops are quite small and get crowded so am bracing myself... how many HP fans do you know who can resist a chocolate frog?? Lol!

The ones in Wizarding World are small and crowded and have a ton of detail.

But they sell quite a lot of stuff outside of Wizarding World that's Harry Potter-related. There are wands in a cart outside in WW, there are wands in the main shop as you enter IOA. There are shirts and scarves and books and just ALL sorts of stuff in that main IOA store.

I'm not actually sure if they sell the frogs outside of the candy store, but that, too, is small AND it's connected to the Weasley shop just to make it more chaotic, LOL. If he's got any food sensitivities be sure to check the ingredients on the candies. We can't have corn syrup in our household, so almost everything in that shop is right out for us. I think we're down to a plain candy bar and the chocolate frogs.

Oh and if you're worried about the heat melting any chocolates etc you buy AND you don't mind not having them then, you can send them to the front of the park for pickup later. If you're staying onsite you can actually have them delivered directly to the room, the following day (so you have to do it early in your stay, not the last full day or checkout day). That goes for any merchandise, but it's the chocolate that can be the most damaged by being carried around all day!

 

[foxxxy83]

That's a handy thing to know! Hopefully he will be having a good day because on a good day he can go quite a while before needing "calm time" without being bothered by stuff that usually would send him into meltdown mode. If not, will have to just play it by ear. Do you happen to know a good time to get lunch at 3 Broomsticks please?? I'm thinking great pic opportunities and might be somewhat calm environment and could maybe get wand elsewhere as you say. This way making him feel like he's REALLY been to the place where HP lives (haven't the heart to tell him Harry Potter doesn't really live there!) Thanks for all your help!!

 

[damo]

Make sure you do the castle tour, so he can take all the time he wants observing. Just ask the team member at the front of the castle and they will direct you to the line where you just go at your own pace but don't ride at the end.

Also, make sure you sit in the Owlery (beside the Owl Post) and look up at all the animatronic owls.

Go behind the candy store and there is a window where you can see shadows of the house elves doing kitchen chores.

Use the restrooms because you can hear Moaning Myrtle.

Not sure if he will be able to ride Dragon Challenge but you should definitely walk the queue anyways.

 

[foxxxy83]

Awesome thanks! Will DEFINITELY make a note of all that! a HUGE THANKYOU to EVERYONE who has posted replies! My son will be truly made up!

 

[foxxxy83]

Do people in the queue who ARE riding Dragons Challenge not get cross at you for holding them up if you walk in the queue as if you are riding and then don't ride after all. Sounds silly coz it means they will get on quicker than they first anticipated but on some rides in UK, you would get a lot of stick for it!

 

[damo]

Do people in the queue who ARE riding Dragons Challenge not get cross at you for holding them up if you walk in the queue as if you are riding and then don't ride after all. Sounds silly coz it means they will get on quicker than they first anticipated but on some rides in UK, you would get a lot of stick for it!

Just tell them to go around you. There are always lots of people taking pictures of the Triwizard Tournament stuff. The queue for DC is usually very empty and people just zoom through it. Once you get to the end of the queue where you actually line up according to which row you want to ride, you can just not line up but walk right through to exit. Just watch for the red exit signs that are posted near the ceiling. Nobody will care in the least.

 

[foxxxy83]

OK cool coz I know out of everything we do, the WWOHP will be the one he wants most pics of