Ollivander's Wand Shop (The Wizarding World of Harry Potter)

Ollivander's Wand Shop is an interactive attraction in the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, in the Islands of Adventure in Orlando. The attraction is a recreation of Ollivanders Wand Shop on the Diagon Alley. The attraction uses the premise of "the Wand chooses the Wizard". The shop has been praised for its highly detailed recreation of the shop from the first film, making it very popular. One downside of this may be the length of the line outside the shop.

Behind the scenes

 * In the novels, films and games, Ollivanders Wand Shop was located in Diagon Alley. The one in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a branch of the original.
 * In a conference call on January 28, 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.