Merchandise is a big part of any theme park strategy. Whether it’s a simple t-shirt or a coffee mug or something more elaborate and expensive, people want to bring home a piece of their vacation that will allow them to remember the experience. In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, that could mean going home with a set or robes or a wand, but if you’re a collector of wands you may need to hurry as it appears the non-interactive style of wands may be on their way out.
A fan recently posted to the Universal Orlando subreddit and asked if the non-interactive wands were on the way out. The poster had noticed that stock on the wands in the parks had been limited, with many fewer styles available. There is also a current promotion that is literally giving them away for those that get a Universal Merchandise Shopping Card. This is followed by a reply that appears to be from a Universal Orlando Resort Team Member who confirms that soon they will no longer be carried and that the shopping card promotion is designed to deplete the stock.
If you want to buy a wand at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter you can go to Ollivanders in Diagon Alley just as they do in the movies and books. There, kids have the ability to go through a “wand chosen” experience and get their own special wand that has the ability to interact with the environment in various special places around the theme park. It’s just one of the really cool experiences in the Wizarding World.
If however, you just wanted to buy a replica of Harry Potter’s wand or Hermione’s wand, you could do that too. These were more display models than toys, but that’s why many fans seemed to like them. They were of a higher quality construction because they didn’t require the moving parts of the interactive versions.
It’s unclear why the wands are being phased out, assuming that they are. The most obvious reason would be that they simply were not selling. It could also be a result of the ongoing global supply chain problems. Perhaps getting the wands is becoming difficult, and it makes more financial sense right now to simply stop carrying them.
The supply chain issues have certainly been impacting theme parks. Disney World gives guests the ability to build lightsabers in a very similar fashion to what Universal does with wands, and that resort recently went through a period where guests spending over $200 for the lightsaber building experience did not get the nice fabric case to carry it home in. The cases did eventually come back into stock.
It’s also unclear if this is only happening in Florida or if the same thing is happening at Universal Studios Hollywood. If you’re in desperate need of one of these wands and you want to be sure you get one before they are gone you don’t actually need to visit Universal Orlando Resort. They can simply be purchased online.