Wands

[wisconsinmama]

should we buy our children Wands before our trip or is it better to have the kids pick them out at Univeral? This is our first trip..

 

[damo]

Much more fun doing it at Universal.

 

[bchbetha]

Totally more fun to pick it out in person! Even if they don't get picked at Ollivanders, its a far more fun experience to buy in the shop.

 

[kbelle8995]

I think it's more fun to pick it out in person. Plus the team members in Ollivanders are wonderful. I was going to purchase Luna's wand but ended up getting the one that corresponded with my birthday.

 

[xcell]

Do the wands ever expire? I mean is there a battery in them or....

 

[bchbetha]

They don't expire. If they stop working, go to Olivanders to have them "fix" it (likely swap it).

 

[xcell]

thanks....

 

[wisconsinmama]

Is it usually a long process...waiting in line and getting a wand. How often do they pick people?

 

[bchbetha]

Depends on crowd but we walked right in. It was one of the first things we did in the morning. We went through a 2nd time right away in hopes one of our kids would get picked but nope. They had a fine time working with shop workers to choose a wand. We went with wands unrelated to characters.

 

[Candycane83]

Can you go in the shop without the show? (2 year old might not be able to wait...)

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

FYI - the big advantage of buying at Universal (or a Universal associated store) is that they have wands that interact with elements in the parks. If you were to buy a wand some where else (or if someone made you one - my dad made DD a lovely want), it wouldn't include that feature.

Can you go in the shop without the show? (2 year old might not be able to wait...)

Yes, you can go in either store without going through the wand show. If you are really in a hurry, there are carts, too. We bought at one last time when we were buying a wand and the lines to check out in the store was really long.

 

[Candycane83]

FYI - the big advantage of buying at Universal (or a Universal associated store) is that they have wands that interact with elements in the parks. If you were to buy a wand some where else (or if someone made you one - my dad made DD a lovely want), it wouldn't include that feature.



Yes, you can go in either store without going through the wand show. If you are really in a hurry, there are carts, too. We bought at one last time when we were buying a wand and the lines to check out in the store was really long.

Thanks for the information!!!

 

[GaryDis]

Can you go in the shop without the show? (2 year old might not be able to wait...)

Yes. And if you really want to be contrary, you can go to Wands by Gregorivich in Diagon Alley and get a wand with very little waiting.

 

[ammag]

They don't expire. If they stop working, go to Olivanders to have them "fix" it (likely swap it).

Do you know if they would exchange a cracked wand? Last fall when w got home we saw my daughters wand was cracked. My husband and I are going back next week, would they exchange?

 

[pcstang]

Yes, they have "fixed" my sons wand, twice at Olivanders, in DA twice

 

[Andysol]

Go to the show- Diagon alley essentially never has a wait. And regardless if they pick your kid or not, it's fantastic.

 

[wilkeliza]

Yes, they have "fixed" my sons wand, twice at Olivanders, in DA twice

This is good to know. I think mine may have been broken as it hardly worked at any of the interactive stuff.

 

[pcstang]

This is good to know. I think mine may have been broken as it hardly worked at any of the interactive stuff.

The first time it was fixed we were having the same issue. One of the great TM's actually clued us in that we should go get the wand fixed. Apparently the tip had been damaged and we didn't know. Took them no more than 3 minutes to fix it/ replace it.

 

[The Grays]

We have a wand we got around when it first opened and don't remember if it did the special effects. Does anyone know?

 

[bumbershoot]

We have a wand we got around when it first opened and don't remember if it did the special effects. Does anyone know?

The interactive wands came later. If your wand has a glass-bubble-looking thing on the end it's interactive. If it's just "wood" it's not.