We Spent $85 On Universal’s Brand-New Second Generation Wands. Here’s Why We’d Do It Again

Universal Orlando is busy working away!

Epic Universe is set to open on May 22nd, 2025, their newest resort Terra Luna opens this month, and they have tons of new merchandise heading our way soon. While we wait on the major events, Universal decided to treat us with something that will make the parks even more magical!

As if Universal isn’t busy enough with their new theme park and resorts, they also have been working on making the Wizarding World even more magical! Recently, they announced the brand new wands that will change how you interact in the parks so we had to put them to the test.

The Second Generation wands are brand new to the parks and they have quite a few upgrades. They feature new light effects that work when you cast spells throughout the land, there’s a new app feature that we will break down in a bit, and they added new spells in the parks. There are 4 new designs for the second-generation wands. 

The coolest part of the new wands though is undoubtedly the app features! Within the Universal app, you can now create your wizard profile, choose your Hogwarts house, select your Patronus, and more! It will also keep track of the spells you use and points you gain for your wizarding house.

We were so excited when we heard about these new additions so we went straight to the park to test it out. We grabbed the wand with the red handle and, just like the first generation wands, it came with a map to show you where spells are located throughout the lands.

The map also teaches you how to play the game and how to connect your wand to your phone so you can keep track of your points and get the most out of the souvenir. The map includes Diagon Alley, Hogsmead, and even the new Ministry of Magic area coming to Epic Universe. It also sports a QR code explaining the process of connecting your wand and how to cast spells.

Before you connect to the app, make sure your Universal app is up to date with the latest version for it to work with your wand. Once we were connected to our app, it was time to play! Throughout the app, there are also different adventures to play which adds a level of replayability that the first wands didn’t have. 

You can use the adventures to progress through different levels within the app. If you’re playing an adventure but can’t finish it for some reason, you’re able to pause it and pick it up at a later time. There’s also a capability to have multiple accounts under one Universal app so you can switch between children in a household or adults or whoever wants to use the same Universal app login which makes it a lot easier for multiple people to play.

We tested the wand in both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios and our biggest piece of advice is to pack your patience! The new system didn’t have any glaring flaws as we tested it out but those lines were no joke. Since the wands and adventures are new to everyone, it was obvious that most people were starting on the first adventure thus putting everyone in the same spot. This won’t be a problem forever but definitely something to consider.

We did learn with each adventure, there is a multi-step process. We don’t want to spoil any of the excitement for you but for the adventures we tried, we had to learn a new spell before we could move on to the second part of the adventure. Once we finished both tasks, we were able to move through the rest of the adventure. At the time of testing, we also weren’t able to skip ahead and choose whatever adventure we wanted. 

We also spoke with a Team Member who is unsure if first-generation wands will work inside Epic Universe so we are hoping to get that answer as soon as the new park opens. We also noticed a few people having issues with the newer spell spots thanks to the sun glare so if you have continued issues or get stuck on an adventure, we highly recommend speaking with a Team Member who may be able to help you move forward in the game. 

If you buy and use the wand but decide to later sell it or pass it on to someone new, you will need to clear the existing profile so it can be linked to a new account for when the new owner is ready to cast their own spells! We can’t wait to see how these new wands change in the future and we’re hoping for even more designs when Epic Universe opens in May.

The wands are available for $85 plus tax and do accept discounts if you have the highest tier of Universal Annual pass. As always, make sure you continue to follow AllEars for all of your Universal news and updates!

Everything we know about the new Harry Potter land coming to Epic Universe! 

Will you buy the new wand? Tell us in the comments! 

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