Wand buying…in park vs city walk

[ShannyMcB]

Heading to UO in August. We arrive on Saturday and are spending Sunday and half of Monday at the parks. Kids are HP fans but only one is a major fan. Want to get interactive wands. I know ollivanders does the ceremony but wondering if it makes more sense to get our wands at city walk on Saturday to have them when we arrive at the parks on Sunday rather than trying to hit ollivanders as soon as we get to the park? Is there a merchandise difference or is it all in the show elements? I intend on doing the wand experience show but would rather do it based on line timing.
Also how do you cart them around? Are they safe in a backpack or does UO sell some sort of holder?
Thoughts?

 

[AJA]

The main Universal store in City Walk should have most all the wands. But for a big HP fan it’s not as much fun as buying in the parks/land. The shops are incredibly immersive.

I understand wanting to have everything ready to go when you get to the park but especially if you are going for early entry and Hagrids I would do that first and then get the wands.

You can absolutely buy the wands in the shop before the Olivanders show as most big fans will want to spend time looking at a lot of wands before they choose one.

I purchased a wand holder lanyard on Amazon and ready like it as I can wear my wand crossbody or as a regular lanyard around the neck. I would totally recommend it for adults or older kids…maybe not for little ones as it might get sat on accidentally or more likely to get broken as compared to carrying it all around the rest of the parks in a backpack in its box.

You will want to put them in the lockers for most rides.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I would suggest late afternoon/early evening for the Ollivanders experience. It is pretty consistently no line at that time IME. Do not wait for near park close, Ollivanders doesn't run all the way to park close.

But I do second the plan to do Hagrids first then getting the wand within one of the actual HP wand shops. More choices and it's just super cool in there. The shopkeepers are in character too.

The wand boxes are quite sturdy to cram in a bag/backpack/locker.

Right after park close is an excellent time to do spells. You will have more time in Hogsmeade as there will be people exiting Hagrids for a while, thus they do not bother to clear the area at all. The shops will be closed but the all the windows will be lit up & the spells still going.

Also should be able to see the light show on Hogwarts in IoA around park close. They run it every 20-30min - the first shows may be crowded but the later shows clear out a lot so you can have plenty of space & a nicer view.

 

[Newsies]

Does Wands by Gregorovitch typically have the same inventory as Ollivander's or is it smaller? Doing Universal Studios only this summer and would love a Cedric Diggory wand but not sure what to expect -- TIA!

 

[kbelle8995]

I think inside the park is better. I brought my last one at the wand shop in Diagon Alley. Tm's stay in character and were so helpful. I believe the same is available in Gregorovitch. They usually have a wand display of what they have at the entrance.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

I'm not a big fan of doing Hagrid's first thing UNLESS you are in the very front at opening and you and your kids can run/walk VERY fast. The longest I've ever waited for Hagrid's has been when we tried to do it upon opening.
I saw a YouTube video that explained that Hagrid's rarely opens fully operational bc of how small the maintenance shed is for the ride vehicles. They can't fit all of them in there at once. Since they all have to be inspected before being put into rotation, most mornings they are only running at about 80% capacity.
I've had better luck around lunch, during the "Lunch Lull".
And the video also said that Uni is working to expand the maintenance shed so all the vehicles fit at once and the inspections can all take place prior to opening.