Ollivanders - who else has been lucky???

[amystevekai&bump]

HI - we were at Universal over New Years and as my son is an avid Harry Potter fan he was so excited about Ollivanders. He is only 6, and although I had repeatedly explained that not eveyone gets chosen and that there was nothing I could do if he didn't get picked, I was still worried that he would be really upset if he didn't get chosen!!

Well we were so so lucky - we queued up on our first night (and were lucky enough to only have a 10 minute wait), but the most magical part was that my son was indeed chosen for the show - he was so thrilled!!

I feel especially lucky as it was our first experience of Ollivanders and it was all so magical (In fact so much so, that we didn't return for the rest of our trip as I didn't want to ruin it for him by watching the same thing happen to someone else!!) - I was close to tears as Kai's little face was so entranced by it all and he spent the rest of the vacation asking us how it felt to have a wizard in the family and yesterday he even asked me when his letter inviting him to attend Hogwarts would arrive!!! - luckily I was quick enough to remind him that Harry Potter was eleven before his letter arrived and Kai is only 6, so he has a while to wait yet - he seemed happy enough with that response!!!

Thinking back now to WWOHP - I did notice how many people came through into the shop from the show carying their wands and just handing them back with no interest whatsoever in buying them and I felt quite sad. I know we were very lucky - but I am sure there are other children, like Kai, who are such huge fans and who would really love to be selected - I don't know how else they could do it, but I would have been more than willing to pay up front for the wand, so that Kai could have this wonderful experience rather than someone not really interested be chosen.

So I just wondered how many others of you have been lucky enough to get chosen and are there many upset children/adults out there who didn't get picked but would dearly have loved to have been???

It really did make his trip and it is a wonderful first memory of WWOHP for us all!!

 

[bumbershoot]

My son (also 6) was chosen as well, and it was a huge surprise. What's odd is that there were several other "candidates" that I felt would be picked over him, but this one family near us were just adamant that he would be chosen, just kept saying that he knew he'd be chosen, and then he was!

He did convince hubby to let him buy the wand, but he already HAD his wand. Which is why I had hoped he would NOT be chosen. Because I knew that is what would happen. And then he gave the Ollivander's wand to DH, because that's what their plan had been, if he was chosen (despite my telling them repeatedly that there was almost no chance he would be chosen).

I did notice how many people came through into the shop from the show carying their wands and just handing them back with no interest whatsoever in buying them and I felt quite sad. I know we were very lucky - but I am sure there are other children, like Kai, who are such huge fans and who would really love to be selected - I don't know how else they could do it, but I would have been more than willing to pay up front for the wand, so that Kai could have this wonderful experience rather than someone not really interested be chosen.

Just because you don't buy the wand doesn't mean you're not interested in being part of the show.

DS would NEVER have bought the wand for himself, as he ONLY wanted the Harry Potter wand, which we had bought the day before at a cart. Nothing else would do. But he thoroughly enjoyed having been picked. One has nothing to do with the other!

 

[inkkognito]

My DH was chosen and he was as excited as any kid. This was back in the WWoHP preview days; we stopped at Ollivanders at the end of the day and ended up being the only two in the shop. He absolutely HAD to buy his wand, and I got lots of photos of the show. Then we got home, and I dropped it and broke it while putting it on a shelf!!!!! Thankfully you can't really tell now that it's glued, but I cursed so loud that he heard me all the way upstairs and immediately figured out what happened.

 

[bumbershoot]

Then we got home, and I dropped it and broke it while putting it on a shelf!!!!! Thankfully you can't really tell now that it's glued, but I cursed so loud that he heard me all the way upstairs and immediately figured out what happened.

I remember you posting about the broken wand, and that experience made you the expert in "what are the wands made of". So that's the silver lining.

And I thought of your story while we were in WWoHP, because they actually state outright that they are resin, which I remember as being very different from when you bought yours!

 

[aubriee]

So I just wondered how many others of you have been lucky enough to get chosen and are there many upset children/adults out there who didn't get picked but would dearly have loved to have been???

It really did make his trip and it is a wonderful first memory of WWOHP for us all!!

When I was there in late August/early Sept there was a family who had apparently heard that Olivander always picked someone who was standing close to the stairs, because they literally pushed their way over there, stepping in front of other people with the excuse that they had a small child who needed to see. I was in the front, but in the middle and there was a group of four young twenty something's who came in close to the end and was in the front close to the door. One of them was a really cute blonde about 20-21 y/o who was just so excited she was literally shaking and bouncing up and down as she looked around. As Olivander started down the stairs, she screamed like she'd been shot. Olivander very calmly looked at her and said, "You are here for your first wand I assume", which really set her off screaming, bouncing up and down, and crying. She was just so excited and into it. Everyone was laughing and excited for her, except for the family who had pushed their way over to the stairs. The mom very loudly made a comment something like, 'Hey this is supposed to be for kids, not stupid adults'. Olivander handled it very well, calmly glanced at the woman and made a comment about how the wand chooses the wizard. The young lady he picked knew the spells and was very good. She made that show. As we started to walk out, the other woman made a very loud comment that they'd get back in line and she was sure Olivander would pick her son, since he'd skipped him that time. She was looking at and glaring at Olivander as she said it and her husband was trying to shush her. She was so rude, it was really embarrassing. I don't know if they were picked at a later show or not, but with her attitude I really hope not. I went back and saw the show again a few days later and a little girl was picked who was so embarassed she didn't say a word the whole time, just pointed the wand when he told her to. You could tell she really didn't want to be up there.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Just because you don't buy the wand doesn't mean you're not interested in being part of the show.

DS would NEVER have bought the wand for himself, as he ONLY wanted the Harry Potter wand, which we had bought the day before at a cart. Nothing else would do. But he thoroughly enjoyed having been picked. One has nothing to do with the other!

I would agree that sometimes people don't want to buy the wand but love being in the show- thats absolutely fine, but when people come out rolling their eyes at it and thrust the wand back at the assistant and walk straight out of the shop as if they are embarrassed by the whole thing, I think it is a shame that those who would love to be picked are missed - thats all!!

 

[Magpie]

I would agree that sometimes people don't want to buy the wand but love being in the show- thats absolutely fine, but when people come out rolling their eyes at it and thrust the wand back at the assistant and walk straight out of the shop as if they are embarrassed by the whole thing, I think it is a shame that those who would love to be picked are missed - thats all!!

I never saw anything like that!

In fact, we saw many, many shows and not once did we see Olivander hand the wand directly to the person who'd been picked. What he did was take the wand back from the chosen person, place it back inside the box, hand the box to his assistant, and say something about, "My assistant will help you..."

I don't know if the procedure has changed since we were there in December, but I do know that when we went, Olivander was quite insistent about getting the wand back from the child and giving it to his assistant to carry into the shop.

Oh, and we had quite the experience getting chosen! I was chosen first, completely unexpectedly, and I wasn't even standing near the front. I was in the middle of crowd. But somehow I managed to connect with Olivander, I guess, as he skipped right over several adorable children, including a boy in full Harry Potter regalia, to choose me. When he picked me, I grabbed my daughter and shoved her forward instead, saying, "No, not me! Her!". So he took us both, which was very nice. I tried to get my son up there, too, but Olivander wasn't having any of that.

So, my son and I went back another five times, trying to get him picked, and finally Olivander's assistant (Michael) had pity on us and arranged for my son to get picked. Yay! I don't think he would have had much of a chance otherwise, as he's 5'7'' and looks far older than 13. I saw women, teen girls, and children of both sexes picked, but I never saw Olivander choose an adult male.

If there was one thing I'd recommend, when it comes to getting chosen, it's just be persistent. And when you're on your fourth or fifth or sixth trip through, start commenting in the assistant's hearing, "Don't worry, I'm sure the next time will be the charm!"

 

[Magpie]

HI - we were at Universal over New Years and as my son is an avid Harry Potter fan he was so excited about Ollivanders. He is only 6, and although I had repeatedly explained that not eveyone gets chosen and that there was nothing I could do if he didn't get picked, I was still worried that he would be really upset if he didn't get chosen!!

Well we were so so lucky - we queued up on our first night (and were lucky enough to only have a 10 minute wait), but the most magical part was that my son was indeed chosen for the show - he was so thrilled!!

I feel especially lucky as it was our first experience of Ollivanders and it was all so magical (In fact so much so, that we didn't return for the rest of our trip as I didn't want to ruin it for him by watching the same thing happen to someone else!!) - I was close to tears as Kai's little face was so entranced by it all and he spent the rest of the vacation asking us how it felt to have a wizard in the family and yesterday he even asked me when his letter inviting him to attend Hogwarts would arrive!!! - luckily I was quick enough to remind him that Harry Potter was eleven before his letter arrived and Kai is only 6, so he has a while to wait yet - he seemed happy enough with that response!!!

Thinking back now to WWOHP - I did notice how many people came through into the shop from the show carying their wands and just handing them back with no interest whatsoever in buying them and I felt quite sad. I know we were very lucky - but I am sure there are other children, like Kai, who are such huge fans and who would really love to be selected - I don't know how else they could do it, but I would have been more than willing to pay up front for the wand, so that Kai could have this wonderful experience rather than someone not really interested be chosen.

So I just wondered how many others of you have been lucky enough to get chosen and are there many upset children/adults out there who didn't get picked but would dearly have loved to have been???

It really did make his trip and it is a wonderful first memory of WWOHP for us all!!

It just occurred to me... You might want to start talking to Kai about the difference between fantasy and reality a little before his 11th birthday.

My daughter was (and still is) a HUGE Harry Potter fan. She read the first book by herself when she was four and told me, "It makes the Harry Potter movie in my head!" And this was before there even was a Harry Potter movie! She went to that first movie with the book clutched in her hands, and proceeded to nearly ruin it for everyone by pointing out every "mistake". Before the second movie, we told her she'd have to zip it or there'd be no third movie!

Even though I THOUGHT she knew that it was all just a story, her 11th birthday was a very disappointing one for her. Apparently she was really hoping that somehow a letter from Hogwarts would arrive, poor kid. And I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if she'd had the experience of being chosen for a wand beforehand. Even as it is, I wish I could have helped cushion the blow a little more.

For what it's worth, the disappointment didn't ruin her love for Harry Potter. She's 14 and she was close to tears over finally setting foot in Hogsmede this past December. She kept hugging me and thanking me for bringing her.

 

[Schmeck]

We thought my niece was going to be picked, but Olivander instead chose the girl in the deluxe robe set, with her parents hovering over her, blocking the view for all the little kids, even though we were all asked to step back and let the kids up front. So, if you want your child picked, first shell out the big bucks for the park's version of the robes, and make sure you block as many kids from Olivander's sight too.

Yes, I'm a bit bitter about it, but it was so obvious once he saw the expensive outfit. Very disappointing, and a few other parents made comments about it as we were leaving.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

It just occurred to me... You might want to start talking to Kai about the difference between fantasy and reality a little before his 11th birthday.

My daughter was (and still is) a HUGE Harry Potter fan. She read the first book by herself when she was four and told me, "It makes the Harry Potter movie in my head!" And this was before there even was a Harry Potter movie! She went to that first movie with the book clutched in her hands, and proceeded to nearly ruin it for everyone by pointing out every "mistake". Before the second movie, we told her she'd have to zip it or there'd be no third movie!

Even though I THOUGHT she knew that it was all just a story, her 11th birthday was a very disappointing one for her. Apparently she was really hoping that somehow a letter from Hogwarts would arrive, poor kid. And I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if she'd had the experience of being chosen for a wand beforehand. Even as it is, I wish I could have helped cushion the blow a little more.

For what it's worth, the disappointment didn't ruin her love for Harry Potter. She's 14 and she was close to tears over finally setting foot in Hogsmede this past December. She kept hugging me and thanking me for bringing her.

Thank you - yes I think I will have to be bringing him into the 'real world' sooner rather than later.

Since he has been back at school he has started his own wizzarding club and is gradually 'teaching' all the other children in his class the spells from each of the Harry Potter movies!!! He keeps coming home telling how well they are all doing and I truly think that he believes he is a wizard since being chosen by Ollivander!! Its so hard knowing when to step in and ruin all the magic for them isn't it?? I guess I will see how it goes for now, as WWOHP is still so fresh in our minds that I am letting him enjoy it a little while longer, at least for now!!

We thought my niece was going to be picked, but Olivander instead chose the girl in the deluxe robe set, with her parents hovering over her, blocking the view for all the little kids, even though we were all asked to step back and let the kids up front. So, if you want your child picked, first shell out the big bucks for the park's version of the robes, and make sure you block as many kids from Olivander's sight too.

Yes, I'm a bit bitter about it, but it was so obvious once he saw the expensive outfit. Very disappointing, and a few other parents made comments about it as we were leaving.

It is such a shame, we really didn't think Kai would get picked and we spent a long time talking to him about it in the weeks leading up to our trip. We had read that the best chance of being picked was to stand near the foot of the stairs, but we were some of the last people let into the room in our group and there were others already staking out those prime spots, so I imagine everyone has heard the same thing and I was in no way going to push him in front of others - I think possibly his bright ginger/orange hair helped him on this occassion, as many people in WWOHP kept asking him if he was related to the Weasleys!!!

We feel so lucky to have been chosen and it really did make our visit - I just hope that it doesn't lessen the experience for those who haven't been chosen

 

[Schmeck]

Thank you - yes I think I will have to be bringing him into the 'real world' sooner rather than later.

Since he has been back at school he has started his own wizzarding club and is gradually 'teaching' all the other children in his class the spells from each of the Harry Potter movies!!! He keeps coming home telling how well they are all doing and I truly think that he believes he is a wizard since being chosen by Ollivander!! Its so hard knowing when to step in and ruin all the magic for them isn't it?? I guess I will see how it goes for now, as WWOHP is still so fresh in our minds that I am letting him enjoy it a little while longer, at least for now!!
It is such a shame, we really didn't think Kai would get picked and we spent a long time talking to him about it in the weeks leading up to our trip. We had read that the best chance of being picked was to stand near the foot of the stairs, but we were some of the last people let into the room in our group and there were others already staking out those prime spots, so I imagine everyone has heard the same thing and I was in no way going to push him in front of others - I think possibly his bright ginger/orange hair helped him on this occassion, as many people in WWOHP kept asking him if he was related to the Weasleys!!!

We feel so lucky to have been chosen and it really did make our visit - I just hope that it doesn't lessen the experience for those who haven't been chosen

It was a great show, we really enjoyed it, we were just amazed at how obvious the choice was, especially after how pushy and oblivious the chosen girl's parents were. They were told twice (second time directed right at them!) to please move back, but they refused. Olivander had already made his choice (or the wand had) so he had to follow through, but you could even tell that he was a bit miffed by the parents' refusal to step aside. They blocked at least 3 kids from seeing the show, until my daughter and I squished back even more and beckoned a few more kids to stand in front of us. It ended up being 5-6 kids in front of us, including my niece, and no one behind the frozen parents. It was uncomfortable, but we wanted the kids to be able to see, since we all had to wait so long to get in.

 

[sjrogo713]

It was a great show, we really enjoyed it, we were just amazed at how obvious the choice was, especially after how pushy and oblivious the chosen girl's parents were. They were told twice (second time directed right at them!) to please move back, but they refused. Olivander had already made his choice (or the wand had) so he had to follow through, but you could even tell that he was a bit miffed by the parents' refusal to step aside. They blocked at least 3 kids from seeing the show, until my daughter and I squished back even more and beckoned a few more kids to stand in front of us. It ended up being 5-6 kids in front of us, including my niece, and no one behind the frozen parents. It was uncomfortable, but we wanted the kids to be able to see, since we all had to wait so long to get in.

So glad we did not wait the estimated 3 hours wait (Tuesday b4 Thanksgiving)instead spent almost 2 hours on line for Forbidden Journey (was fantastic)

 

[Tink2Day]

I believe the wand is given to the 'assistant' not to the 'student'.

Most of the videos and images I've seen on the various web sites show people dressed in their regular vacation clothes. A few in robes but far more in regular 'Muggle' clothing.

 

[k-team]

My son (11) was picked on 1/16 on our very first visit to Ollivander's. He was really excited and was going to buy a wand anyway. He love the wand that "chose" him! (reed)

I have to say how great the employees were this year all over the resort. After holding that wand every minute of the day for the rest of the day and the next, he tripped on a cobblestone at the Studios, scraped his knee and broke his wand. After some angry tears, he was ok with the fact that we could super glue it. An employee at the Pearl factory near by us called a team lead over (who then called a team lead at IOA) and sent us over there to get a replacement!

My son kept the original box because it was the one he got with the dust on it (which is gone now) but it showed everyone how special that moment was to him.

We got home a week ago today and I'm already having Butterbeer withdrawals!

ETA: My son wasn't wearing any HP gear, but we were standing by the stairs (didn't know it was the spot!) The girl who was picked in the show we saw a few days later was also standing by the stairs. Both times we had the grey haired bearded actor (he was so good!)

 

[Tink2Day]

There are Butterbeer recipes that are pretty close.
Make one of them, put it in your Butterbeer mug, watch an HP movie and you ALMOST feel like you're back in the park!

(Since I can't travel 1800 miles one way once or twice a week to get one, in a pinch it'll do.)

 

[Schmeck]

Glad to hear that 'Muggles' get picked too - hopefully our experience was just an anomaly. I also hope they don't award the pushy parents anymore, and learned from that day's experience. We'd definitely do it again if we had young kids with us, but if our next trip works out it will just be my 17 yr old daughter and me, and we will skip the show.

 

[Magpie]

Thank you - yes I think I will have to be bringing him into the 'real world' sooner rather than later.

Since he has been back at school he has started his own wizzarding club and is gradually 'teaching' all the other children in his class the spells from each of the Harry Potter movies!!! He keeps coming home telling how well they are all doing and I truly think that he believes he is a wizard since being chosen by Ollivander!! Its so hard knowing when to step in and ruin all the magic for them isn't it?? I guess I will see how it goes for now, as WWOHP is still so fresh in our minds that I am letting him enjoy it a little while longer, at least for now!!

Definitely, do let him enjoy it! But maybe also mention J.K. Rowling every now and then, and talk about the process of writing and creating books in general.

I was talking about your Kai to a family friend yesterday and she told a few things about my daughter's reaction to turning 11 that I didn't know about. (My daughter talks to her more than she talks to me.)

Apparently it wasn't just the kid's 11th birthday that was hard - she spent the whole year hoping that maybe the letter would arrive. It wasn't until her 12th birthday that she finally had to give up hope. There were tears. There were long discussions with my friend over whether she could even still believe in God! My friend's comment last night was, "Santa was a piece of cake, compared to Harry Potter!"

Apparently my friend just kept telling her, "This is your reality, and in this reality, it's just a book. In another reality, maybe it's real. But think about it, do you REALLY want to live in that world?" So that helped a little.

I know the kid still has a little shrine to Harry Potter in her room, but I had no idea it was that big a deal to her!

Then again... I was kind of the same way about Narnia. I kept checking inside coat closets and was in complete despair over growing up and getting too old to go to Narnia. So it obviously runs in the family!

 

[Moonies]

When I was there in late August/early Sept there was a family who had apparently heard that Olivander always picked someone who was standing close to the stairs, because they literally pushed their way over there, stepping in front of other people with the excuse that they had a small child who needed to see. I was in the front, but in the middle and there was a group of four young twenty something's who came in close to the end and was in the front close to the door. One of them was a really cute blonde about 20-21 y/o who was just so excited she was literally shaking and bouncing up and down as she looked around. As Olivander started down the stairs, she screamed like she'd been shot. Olivander very calmly looked at her and said, "You are here for your first wand I assume", which really set her off screaming, bouncing up and down, and crying. She was just so excited and into it. Everyone was laughing and excited for her, except for the family who had pushed their way over to the stairs. The mom very loudly made a comment something like, 'Hey this is supposed to be for kids, not stupid adults'. Olivander handled it very well, calmly glanced at the woman and made a comment about how the wand chooses the wizard. The young lady he picked knew the spells and was very good. She made that show. As we started to walk out, the other woman made a very loud comment that they'd get back in line and she was sure Olivander would pick her son, since he'd skipped him that time. She was looking at and glaring at Olivander as she said it and her husband was trying to shush her. She was so rude, it was really embarrassing. I don't know if they were picked at a later show or not, but with her attitude I really hope not. I went back and saw the show again a few days later and a little girl was picked who was so embarassed she didn't say a word the whole time, just pointed the wand when he told her to. You could tell she really didn't want to be up there.

It sounds like you travelled into the future and saw my group aubriee, We have a 20 year old in our group who screamed when she was selected for Sorting at the Harry Potter museum exhibit. We know she's going to lose it in Olivander's.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think possibly his bright ginger/orange hair helped him on this occassion, as many people in WWOHP kept asking him if he was related to the Weasleys!!!

My son has red hair as well. However, he "is" Harry, there's no talking him out of that one! (my husband has black hair, and he gets to be Ron...I'm Hermione, which works b/c of our coloring and she ends up with Ron! but still, it's funny that hubby has black hair and is Ron, because the red-head "is" Harry...)

Definitely, do let him enjoy it! But maybe also mention J.K. Rowling every now and then, and talk about the process of writing and creating books in general.

My son loves watching the special features of DVDs, and I think it helps him get that these are actors playing a part from a BOOK. Even though he loves "being" Harry, he can also tell us that it's just a story, and he says he knows that there's no real Hogwarts. Cross fingers he really knows that! (though honestly it would be cool LOL)

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Both of my teen daughters were picked at Ollivanders yesterday. He started off by giving them each a wand that didn't work, and then they switched.