Harry Potter's Interactive Wands Let Muggles Perform Magic In Diagon Alley
So far I've written about the two new rides in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley expansion: Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts and the Hogwarts Express. But one of the coolest additions to Universal Orlando's The Wizarding World of Harry Potter isn't a ride, store, food, drink or show — it is an experience. Since The Wizarding World first opened, some of the most popular items have been the magic wands park guests can purchase. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley expansion has upgraded the wands to provide a magical experience that can't be found anywhere else. Find out about the magic in Diagon Alley's interactive wands after the jump.
When guests purchase the new interactive wands, they will allow muggles to perform magic around Diagon Alley and also in Hogsmeade. Prospective wizards with interactive wands can find the spell locations on a map, and in person via bronze medallion markers in the pavement. Recite the marked spell, and with a flick of the wrist and a wave of their wand in the indicated pattern, a fun magical moment is created.
It might not sound like much, but a magician will tell you there is no greater trick than having a piece of magic happen in the hands of a spectator. Park guests with the new interactive wands are creating magic, and I'm sure even the most cynical park guest will smile with delight after trying it for themselves.
Universal Orlando released the following video of Harry Potter stars James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) experiencing the magic of Diagon Alley's interactive wands for the first time. Watch that video above.
The magic is in a special piece embedded in the tip of the interactive wands. The wands aren't battery powered, and they don't have any moving parts, so the magic should work for the lifetime of the wizard/witch as long as they are cared for. That said, the interactive wand tips are extremely fragile — I accidentally broke mine during the preview night as did another person I met. (Ollivander's wand shop was happy to replace my wand, but I'm not sure thats going to be par for course after Diagon Alley opens to real Muggles.)
There are 9 spell locations in the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter land of Hogsmeade, and 25 spell locations between the new Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. Here is a two-sided maps of the spell locations (with gestutes and incantations) which will be available inside the new interactive wands:
What do the interactive wand locations do? See photos and videos on the next page.
So what do the interactive spell locations do? They are all completely different. Not just the spells you need to learn and execute, but also the effects they produce. For instance, just outside Noggin and Bonce in Knocturn Alley you will find a bunch of shrunken heads hanging in one of the windows. If you execute the right spell, the shrunken heads will begin singing.
Another example is the water fountain outside of The Hopping Pot. If you are thirsty, you must use your wizard skills to turn the water fountain on. But watch out, if too many wizards recite the spell it might anger the the statue behind the water fountain. When the statue gets mad, it spits water at the wizard. Above is a video of one of my new friends Terri Schwartz, associate editor of Zap2it, trying the fountain for the first time.
You can visit the Bowman E. Wright Blacksmith shop where you can cast a spell to reassemble a knights armor from scraps on a table.
This location is one of a few that offers two different spell opportunities. Here is the other effect possible at the blacksmith shop:
Again I must warn you that the effects might not look great on video, they are amazing when you are creating the magic in person. Outside Wiseacres you can make the stars come to life on a projected star map.
Many of the spell locations offer multiple effects, we were told 10-12 different results at some of the spots. This is one of those locations which offers multiple different animations.
Unfortunately our camera died when trying to capture the spells in action, but thankfully our friends at InsideTheMagic have an extensive look at the interactive wands that you can watch below:
We've seen two additional secret unmapped locations in Diagon Alley, but there might even be more. And considering how Universal has retrofitted Hogsmeade, it seems like more could be added if needed. For those of you who want to find out the two hidden interactive wand spell locations, you can highlight the next paragraph to reveal the spoilers:
One of the hidden spell locations is in the storefront of Apocratery. If you do the correct spell pointed at the bucket of dragon dung in the window, you will encounter a fowl smell. Another is in the window outside Scribbulus, if you wave your wand in a triangle at the blank parchment under the invisible ink sign you'll reveal one of ten different messages.
Unlike Walt Disney World's Sorcerer's of The Magic Kingdom game, the interactive wands don't progress a storyline or lead to a climactic conclusion. Participants can interact with any of the spell locations in either of the Wizarding Worlds in any order they wish. I'm wondering how crowded these spell locations might get once the new expansion opens. Will their be lines at each of the spell locations? At least Sorcerer's of The Magic Kingdom programed a line-up of locations which kept guests spread out.
One of the spell locations I encountered revealed secret ink on a piece of parchment. The secret note talked about a secret meeting that is happening. I wondered to other guests how great it would be if the spells could lead you to an interactive character experience like a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. Again, I know this is something more in the vein of what Disney Imagineering is working on for the Disney parks, but it could work great in this immersive world.
My only real criticism of this great new feature is that the spell incantation sensors (which we found out are powered by modified Xbox Kinect cameras) are often too rigid in their readings. Most people I saw had to try spells multiple times before getting the magic to work. While I agree that the magic shouldn't come easy, it becomes frustrating when you need to keep repeating the pattern more than a couple times at each of the locations. The sensors should be a bit more forgiving as the magic feels much more impressive when it comes without the repeated frustration. I'm sure Universal may update the software as they begin to receive guest feedback.
The new interactive wands will be available in Ollivander's wand shop for $44.95 ($10 more than the normal wands, which will still be sold for $34.95). All 13 of Ollivander's 13 original wands which remain unique to the shop and are also available as interactive wands. Of the 26 famous witches and wizard character wands sold, only Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Dumbledore's wands are available currently as interactive wands (although I was told that could change depending on demand).
Check out my other articles on Universal Orlando's The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley expansion: