Theme Park Insider

Ollivander's Wand Shop reviews

Theme Park Insider readers offer their ratings and reviews for Ollivander's Wand Shop, a live show in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure.

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Posted: June 19, 2010

A short live show where a wand choose a young wizard, from among the 20 or so people admitted to the shop at a time. Due to the low capacity of the show, this attraction often has the longest wait in the park. Arrive first thing in the morning, or face a multiple-hour wait.

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Readers' rating:

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46 votes, so far

I'm in the minority here, but I loved this short show! For a Potter fan, you really can feel like you're standing in Ollivander's shop, watching those dusty old boxes do their thing. Granted, I had early entry and waited all of about 5 minutes to get in- perhaps that was what allowed me to enjoy it as much as I did. I would not wait long for this, but if you can get in without too long of a line, go for it. If you're really a fan of the HP books, it's a must. If not, skip it. - KJ Simpson

Boring show with poor special effects. Pathetic if your not chosen. Lucky I didn't wait or I'd want my money back. - Matt Babiak

Waited an hour and a half to go into this experience. And that was standing from 8am - rope drop in the summer. Luckily my brother got chosen so the attraction was amazing, but if he never then it wouldn't be nearly as good. If you are chosen then you still need to buy the wand - no freebies here - but are under no obligation to do so. - Andrew Mooney

Unless you dont get chosen, its a waste of time. Luckily, I got chosen, and it was a blast! I was very eager to do the experience! In fact, I even started to grab my first wand while the wandmaster was talking! But be warned, it has very long lines. I suggest you do this first thing instead of FJ (FJ will still be a short line when you get out). 9/10 if you get chosen, 3/10 if you dont get chosen. For me, its a 9/10 - Dominick D

Lets just say we managed to drink two butterbeers each whilst queueing to get in a shop! The queue was over an hour and I wasn't sure what I was getting myself in for. Never again. The theming was excellent, almost identical to the movie, but pointless all the same; I would have been happy just to walk through it and not watch a "show". - Ben Price

Ridiculous wait time to just be "chosen" to buy a wand. Just a silly gimmick to get money out of parent's pockets. Avoid it. 0/10 - D H

Fun didn't get the wand had to buy it but kinda fun - Manny Rodriguez

My expectations were reasonable. I knew this was more of a "demonstration" than anything. Still, this could have been put together with fishing line and pulleys in 1955. A bell rings, a light comes on, and a shelf tips and then goes back into place. THAT'S IT!! See ONLY if you really want a 1/20 chance for a free wand, and ONLY if you're one of the 1st 50 guests that day. - Marc Ricketts

Incredibly long line. Maybe fun for kids and suoer-duper uber Potter fans, but for everyone else it will be corny and awkwardly funny. Plainly, tis a show to glorify the over-crowded gift shop that you are all ushered into once that one lucky wizard gets their wand. Although, really have to give credit to the actors having to keep such serious faces and tones. - Rena P.

Despite the hordes of people queuing to get in, don't be fooled as you will be underwhelmed. The individual who gets chosen might feel a frisson of magic but all others will feel they are on simply a cramped tour of a gift shop. - Mark Moore

Being a super Potter fan, I just HAD to do this. Figured the line would move quick. HA! It is not worth the wait. If you can get there with a 15-25 minute wait time, great. Worth an experience. But if not just let it go. Take a pic in front of it and be happy. Also, you may want to explain to younger kids that not everyone gets "chosen" for the wand experience. It can be very upsetting to kids that they aren't "the one". - Annette Hatch

Don't bother, especially when this attraction's wait time grows beyond a simple 30 minutes. Although the experience will be one-of-a-kind and memorable if you're "chosen" by a wand, chances are, you'll be among the 29 other guests simply watching a stranger wave a stick around. - Ty Mullins

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