What do you do if your Universal Studios Harry Potter wand stops working at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? You visit Ollivander's wand repair, of course!
When Your Universal Harry Potter Wand Stops Working
We weren't surprised when Max was borderline obsessed with the interactive wand tricks at WWOHP. He's the same kid who is STILL on the lookout for hidden Mickeys in all aspects of his life.
We spent a ton of our between-rides time searching out the wand spots so that he could practice over and over until he could walk right up, activate the magic on the first try and walk away. (He probably would have dropped his wand, mic style, if I'd let him. lol)
We had made a wand holster for him (click through for a tutorial!) to help protect it, but it still had quite a bit of wear and tear after a few days of in and out, not to mention the irresistible tapping of random surfaces to check if something would happen.
After a while, he started having a lot of trouble getting the tricks to work, even the ones that had been really easy for him previously. Fortunately, Universal does a great job of staffing these wand spots with witches and wizards who can help you get it right. (There's not always someone there, but they seem to rotate pretty regularly; it might also be for when they're really busy so one person doesn't just stand there all day)
We met a lovely assistant witch in Diagon Alley who suggested that maybe Max's wand was in need of a bit of repair, so off to Ollivander's we went.
Harry Potter Interactive Wand Repair at Ollivander's
Because it was so busy when we were visiting, the line to get into Ollivander's was ridiculous; like 45+ minutes. BUT they have someone stationed at the door on these busy days, so she was able to help us without having to wait.
We gave her Max's wand and said that we thought it was in need of repair; she said she'd be right back, and disappeared through the crowd. Just a few minutes later, she returned with Max's “repaired” wand, like MAGIC. Ooooohhh
Non-magic talk: They just swapped the wand out for a new one. Max noticed that the finish on it felt a little different in his hand, but wasn't bothered by it. The wand works because it has a special kind of reflector in the tip, so if that gets scratched, it will make it hard for the sensors for the interactivity to work.
I'm so grateful that they make it so simple to get a working wand. As a side note; they were also able to give us a second copy of the wand map since we'd left ours at the hotel.
When the wand is working, it's pretty stinking cool. Here's a quick video with a few of the tricks in action. (Notice the dabbing troll skeleton. That's ALL Max.)
