Ollivander's Wand Shop is a themed shop present at Universal Studios in Orlando, Japan, and Hollywood. At all Universal locations, Ollivanders is a branch located in Hogsmeade, but at Universal Orlando there is a larger shop also located in the Diagon Alley expansion.
Ollivander's offers visitors an interactive wand choosing experience lead by a wand expert in which an audience member gets to try several wands before a wand chooses them. They are then given the option of buying this wand.
Ollivander's sells many varieties of wands, including replicas of character wands, both in regular and interactive versions that can be used to activate spells throughout the park.
Behind the scenes[]
- In the novels, films and games, Ollivanders was located in Diagon Alley, whereas the original one built in Universal Studios Orlando was a branch located in Hogsmeade. A larger Olivanders was added later with the Diagon Alley expansion.
- In a conference call[1] on 28 January, 2010 with Thierry Coup, vice president of creative development for Universal Creative, many details were revealed:
- The shop is about 30 feet high.
- Potter film set designer Stuart Craig will be creating some of the wands, approved by J. K. Rowling,
- There will be a wand fitting, and if it doesn't work out, there will be interesting effects, including flowers wilting and lightning and thunder outside the windows of the shop itself, very similar in what we've seen in the first movie.
- Wand prices are $29.95, and with tax included, $31.95 (two dollars more). Wand sets (the Triwizard Champion Set and Dumbledore's Army collection) cost about $130.
- If the right wand does choose you, more effects will occur, such as the lamp lighting up, and you will have the option to buy it or not.
- There are 13 different types of wand wood for the choosing, which are unique to the shop, and visitors' wood type will be determined according to their birthdate on the Celtic calendar. Wandwoods include reed, vine, oak, alder, and hazel.
- The show usually lasts about five minutes. There is no fee for being chosen, but there is a cost for the wand.
- Rather than Mr Ollivander helping the young wizard find his or her wand, wizards claiming to be "wandkeepers" help the boy or girl find their wand.
- There will be wands from some of the main characters' wands - hero wands - including in sets, which are made by Noble Collection; this is different to the personal wands that will be chosen for 'wizard' guests to the park.
- There are numerous things that can go wrong if you have the incorrect wand. They are listed as: Various bells go off in the shop, a vase of flowers wilt, a storm is created, several shelves fall apart, the drawers behind a ladder try to "escape", or the wand refuses to work and nothing happens.
- In the front window, stands holding three wands are on either side of a plain wand that levitates inches off of the dusty purple cushion mentioned in the books. In the window that is located outside the Owl Post, there are more wands presented on stands.
- Wands are generally about fourteen inches long. The shortest is the bendy, colourful willow wand, at ten inches long, and the twisted, dark-coloured alder wand being the longest at seventeen inches long.
- Employees working in the shop and in the Owl Post and Dervish and Banges have wands held in their belts, as to give the impression that they are also wizards and witches, capable of casting spells.
- Contrary to the conference call, prices for wands are both $39.95 and $47.95 without tax, for Replica and Interactive Wands, respectively. Wand sets (Weasley Wand Collection, Triwizard Champion Wand Collection, and Dumbledore's Army Wand Collection) range from $100-200[2]