Universal’s latest Harry Potter souvenir isn’t all that magical.
When the first Harry Potter land – now known as Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade – first opened at Islands of Adventure in 2010, one of the area’s most popular souvenirs were the interactive wands. Initially available at Olivander’s, these prop replicas could be used to activate various “spells” throughout the land. Over the following decade-and-a-half, the wands have remained an integral part of every other Potter land including the versions of Hogsmeade in Osaka and Hollywood, as well as Universal Studios Florida’s Diagon Alley and even Epic Universe’s Ministry of Magic.
In 2024, Universal introduced a new, second generation of interactive wands to their parks. According to Universal, using these new wands will allow guests to “experience enhanced magic throughout the three worlds of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort. Feel the magic at your fingertips and watch your wand illuminate. Embark on new adventures throughout the wizarding world and earn Hogwarts house points.” Guests are able to pair their wand with the Universal Play app to “personalize their spell-casting journey.”
Sound pretty cool right? Well, to be honest, not so much. I’m skipping out on the new “Gen. 2” wands so far, for a few reasons.
Price
First off, the new second-generation interactive wands retail for $85, about $20 more than the original, still available, version. While a $20 price bump isn’t the steepest we’ve seen at a theme park, it’s still a lot for app connectivity and light-up features.
Designs
While this could – and likely will – change as the line expands, right now the designs of the new wands aren’t nearly as exciting or aesthetically pleasing as the wide range of first-generation interactive wands available.
Value
The lack of interesting designs ties into the value of the wands as well. While the interactive spell elements within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands are super-cool (and mostly still accesible using the first version of the wand), the reality is that most visitors are only using their wands in the park on one visit, and even those who do bring them back likely aren’t visiting often enough to make the wand “worth” it in that regard.
So, their primary value is as a collective piece, and therefore the fact that they’re not as aesthetically pleasing as the earlier wands makes them more expensive for less “value.”
Universal is offering a NEW generation of Wizarding World of Harry Potter wands, but I’m holding off for now. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Universal’s latest souvenirs.
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Have you picked up a new wand recently? Do you feel it’s worth it? Let us know in the comments below.
I was lucky enough to go to the wizarding world that first summer, and the ones were not interactive, they were just plastic.