Ollivanders Wand Shop – Hogsmeade at Universal’s Islands of Adventure

As a fan of the Harry Potter movies and books, it was really cool to see Ollivander's Wan Shop in the flesh. It felt like every person there had taken on the role of Harry and you were just waiting for the wand that belonged to you. I liked the setup of it all, as it makes you suspend your disbelief and get lost in the scenery of it all. Wands are a wizard's best friend!

I thought this was a fun experience, but I may be slightly biased since I was one of the lucky few that actually get chosen for the wand experience. It seemed like everyone else had fun watching the show though! My only complaint is that the line to get in is very slow and there isn't much in the way of entertainment while you are waiting.

Okay, so as a Harry Potter fan myself I HAD to do this. When I was in line I was really excited and I felt as if I would be picked. I was so excited, but I also had to consider that there was going to be another 24 or so people. So when we got near the entrance, a special group or something cut the whole line and got right in front of us, and then my group that waited in line followed suit.



To my disappointment someone from that group was chosen, just as I speculated. I can't blame anyone, and I understand the chances of someone being chosen is about 1/25.



Other than that, the experience was amazing, I love the spell action!

This was not for us. Maybe with children. My wife is in a wheel chair and this is not set up very well to accommodate us. Might of liked it if it had more space. We found the same thing for a few shops in Potter land. Very cramped. Loved the rides, not the shops.

I absolutely loved this attraction, however, you may want to read on if you have children that will be experiencing this with you. A group of 25-27 people enter a small wand shop. One person (usually a child) is chosen to be measured and test out wands until the right wand choses that child. The first time through, my son was not picked but it was very cool to watch the reenactment of that scene from Harry Potter with the child that was chosen. When it was done, my son was disappointed that he wasn't chosen, but agreed that it was fun to watch and spent time in the actual shop finding just the right wand for himself.



The reason I say it may cause tears and gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is because if you have a child who will be upset if they are not chosen it could put a damper on your vacation if you have to console him/her for some time because they wanted to be "the one". You could wait in line for quite a while only to face disappointment if you have a child who may react like this. In that case I suggest you enter the wand shop through a different door and look at all the wands available and skip the show (which is about 4 1/2 minutes long).



Overall this was one of my favorite attractions, especially on our second time through when my son was chosen and I watched him up there with his birthday button getting his special wand for his 11th birthday. It truly was magical. When we return we will go through it again I'm sure.