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Ollivanders Wand Shop + Video at Wizarding World of Harry Potter

By admin 10 Comments

As Ollivander said to Harry Potter when he visited Ollivanders Wand Shop, “the wand chooses the wizard…”

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter gives guests the opportunity to go visit Ollivanders Wand Shop at either Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. It is an amazing experience and a must do at Universal Orlando Resort.

Table of Contents

  • Ollivanders Wand Shop Criteria
  • Ollivanders Wand Shop Video
  • Ollivanders Wands Dates, Wizards, and Witches
  • Wand Spell Locations
  • Pin for Later

Ollivanders Wand Shop Criteria

Recently, I’ve learned that J.K. Rowling did use some criteria in the wand selection for each character that appears to carry over to Ollivanders Wand Shop at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  

This is probably old information for you hard core Harry Potter fans, but I found it all very interesting and thought that it might affect which wand(s) I bought from Ollivanders on my next visit.

ollivanders wand shop
@Universal Orlando Resort

Purely by coincidence, after selecting the type of wood for Harry’s wand (holly), J.K. Rowling discovered that Harry’s birthday coincided with holly on the Celtic calendar that assigns different types of wood to sections of the calendar.

With this fortuitous match, J.K. decided to follow this guideline for Ron and Hermione’s wands, as well to further entrench the connection these three characters have in the story.  Some Harry Potter characters have wands according to the Celtic calendar and some don’t.  Any other than these three are chance, not intentional, but interesting, nonetheless.

Allow me a quick aside. Ms. Rowling selected holly for Harry due to its traditional European associations with repelling evil.  Similarly, she selected yew for Voldemort, as it’s associated with astonishing longevity.  These are wonderful literary associations that really add depth to a story. Very cool!

Anyway, back to my point…

So, what does all this have to do with Ollivanders Wand Shop at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter?  Well, if you recall, one of the first questions the wizard asks in the shop is, “What is your birthday?”  Right?  Well, it appears that this is used in the selection process for the wand!

ollivanders wand shop
@Universal Orlando Resort

Ollivanders Wand Shop Video

Check out this video from the Ollivanders Wand Shop at Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida.  Pay attention to what the wizard asks the young apprentice.

You’ll even notice in the video, above that the final wand selected (Reed) corresponds exactly with the girls birthday and the Celtic wood calendar.

Whether or not this is used as criteria for Ollivanders Wand Shop to select your wand or not, I find it interesting enough for me to consider in my own wand purchase. So, if you find it interesting, here’s the calendar and some famous wizards and witches with their wand types.

Ollivanders Wands Dates, Wizards, and Witches

Wood TypeDates and Wizards
BirchDecember 24 - January 20
Rowan
January 21 - Feb. 17
AshFeb. 18 - Mar. 17 - Cedric Diggory, Ron Weasley’s first wand
AlderMar. 18 - Apr. 14
WillowApr. 15 - May 12 Lily Evans and Ron Weasley’s second wand
HawthornMay 13 - June 9 Draco Malfoy
OakJune 10 - July 7 Hagrid
HollyJuly 8 - Aug. 4 Harry Potter
HazelAug. 5 - Sept. 1
VineSept. 2 - Sept. 29 Hermione Granger
IvySept. 30 - Oct. 27
ReedOct. 28 - Nov. 24
ElderNov. 25 - Dec. 23 Well, we all know who had the Elder wand. 🙂

Just looking at the dates and this chart, one could easily buy a wand that matches with your birthday.  Or, you could select the wand that corresponds to the day you were at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Maybe, you’d like a wand that matches with your anniversary or date of graduation.  The possibilities are endless.

ollivanders wand shop

I just really like that I have something to help me select the wand for me.  Of course, you could always just get your favorite character wand. 🙂 There are many other woods that were used in the books for other wizards and witches that were not on the Celtic calendar.

Here’s just a few of the others…

  • Elm — Lucius Malfoy’s wand
  • Hornbeam — Victor Krum’s wand
  • Mahogany — James Potter’s wand
  • Rosewood — Fleur Delacour’s wand
  • Walnut — Bellatrix Lestrange’s wand
  • Yew — Lord Voldemort’s wand
  • Elderwood — Dumbledore
  • Vine Wood — Hermione Granger
  • Unknown – Luna Lovegood

Wand Spell Locations

Once your wand selects you at Ollivanders Wand Shop (Makers of Fine Wands), you can start practicing your spells. Many of the wands at Ollivanders are interactive wands. Inside the wand boxes, you will find a map of Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This maps shows all of the wand spells, including a few secret spots. 

You will have so much fun casting spells. Many of the spells create magical experiences. For example, one spell will cause a toilet to flush at Weasleys‘ Wizard Wheezes. There are unique wand experiences throughout the Wizarding World.

There are Harry Potter wand spell locations throughout Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Here is a video of the wand spell locations.

Going through the Ollivanders Wand Shop experience is a must do at Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We recommend doing this experience at Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida. There are more wand keepers at Diagon Alley vs Hogsmeade. This will save you some time waiting in line.

All these wands are available at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, plus many more.  If it’s a bit of a hike for you to get to the Wizarding World, you can also buy them online.

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Filed Under: Harry Potter Theme Park Products Tagged With: Caledar, Calender, Celtic Calendar, Coincidence, Different Types Of Wood, European Associations, Hard Core, Harry Potter, Harry Potter Characters, Harry Potter Fans, Holly, Jk Rowling, Literary Associations, Longevity, Match, Ollivanders, Ron And Hermione, Selection Criteria, Selection Process, Shop Selection, Voldemort, Wand, Wizard, Wizarding World, Yew

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Comments

  1. Erin Richards Crumbliss says

    August 5, 2012 at 2:16 am

    There is one comment now

  2. Ken Harrington says

    April 11, 2015 at 11:10 am

    That would be a wand MADE of elder not THE elder wand

  3. Alex says

    July 7, 2015 at 7:45 am

    yes but the elder wand is made of elder -_-

  4. VoldemortsNipple says

    November 4, 2015 at 2:28 pm

    That’s.. Alder… not Elder…

  5. Jeanette Howard says

    May 17, 2016 at 12:49 am

    My friends son turned 11 today on May 17th. They went to Universal Studios in Orlando today and he was chosen at Ollivander’s to have his wand chosen for him. It was decided that he matches The Vine Wand, which he now owns.

  6. Wendi Yermal says

    November 9, 2016 at 4:48 pm

    Today was my first time at Universal, and the Harry Potter world was one of the places I went to. I checked out the wand shop/show, and although I wasn’t chosen for the demo, I ended up buying a wand after they found one that matched my bday (Sept 28). I sorta wished they had more detail on it other than it was from Vine…that would be interesting knowledge (although thanks to this article, I didn’t know I shared a similar wand to Hermione!)

  7. Just Capital says

    February 25, 2018 at 8:13 am

    Well I went to Olivanders at Universal and was given hazel though I should have gotten Holley (August 4). I went to another selection show to speak with the wand keeper about the cores of my wand and my wife’s wand. He gave me more info on the woods and the cores and it was a lot of fun. Dragon heartstrings from the same dragon is what he told me.

  8. Ken Harrington says

    May 4, 2018 at 11:23 am

    If you go back to the shops, bring your wand and ask if you can visit with a Wandkeeper to get more knowledge about your wand. Many times they have a few moments between fittings and can give more detail on your wand atributes than the merchandise people in the shops.

  9. Kayla Hrothgarson says

    May 10, 2018 at 9:17 pm

    interesting
    pottermore doesnt connect wand selection to birthday, and yet my husband, who has a december birthday, did actually get an elder wand, unicorn core
    i have larch, dragon core, which unless your list is incomplete, they dont have larch at the ollivanders shop

  10. Kayla Hrothgarson says

    May 10, 2018 at 9:24 pm

    the deathly hallows wand is Elder, Sambucus Nigra

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