Let's see the new Harry Potter wands in action

June 17, 2014 at 12:15 PM · Looks ok, but not that good tbh. Surely there will be hundreds of people all trying to crowd around these little things on the floor then? Have USF staff been trained to deal with stampedes? Do we let little kids have a god first, or are adults allowed to push in? Seems very half-hearted by Universal this, I think it should have been shelved until further thought was put in.

Now, Diagon Alley and Gringotts, promise to be amazing, but no need for these silly wand things, that wont worth properly anyway.

June 17, 2014 at 12:30 PM · That is pretty cool! But as if the streets were not already going to be busy enough in Hogsmeade and DA for the next few months now they are going to have lines of people standing in front of the windows blocking the walkways trying to use these things. And how many people will buy the $30 wand thinking it will work on the windows only to find out they bought the wrong one.

June 17, 2014 at 12:34 PM · Hey, keeps 'em out of the queues for Gringotts and Hogwarts Express....

June 17, 2014 at 1:31 PM · Pretty cool. I wonder how they work exactly? Maybe just your voice or the movement of your hand?

June 17, 2014 at 1:54 PM · I doubt the voice/spell portion really does anything except make the user FEEL like they are actually casting a spell.

I'm sure the wands just emit an infrared or something that sets off sensors in the windows. Same as the guns in the shooting gallery at MK (or pretty much any "animated" shooting gallery anywhere).

June 17, 2014 at 2:38 PM · Hate to be negative, but this seems kinda lame. So there will be 300 kids in line casting the same spell as the kid before and watching the same result?
I'm sure the land itself will be as awesome as IoA, but this particular wand gimmick will not work with the throngs of people that'll be there.
Gimme a Butterbeer and a mummy-like Gringott's coaster and I'll be thrilled.

June 17, 2014 at 4:05 PM · Brandon, I expressed the same sentiment a few days ago, but maybe there'll be more than one effect per pad to keep things randomized.

June 18, 2014 at 3:40 AM · There is an RFDI chip to sense someone is there and a camera following the motion. There are some point where, when you do it wrong, another effect starts.
I think the price of the wand will be kept up high (maybe as high as $60 to not have to much of a line at the 20 locations at Diagon and 19 locations at Hogsmead.
The arias will get crowd control so the magic location will to.
I don't care for the wands but love to see a lot of people dressed up waving their wands and performing magic, it will make the area lively. Sure I will be there in January after the stampede.

June 18, 2014 at 8:03 AM · So a theme park company makes an area more immersive and that is a bad thing?

You also can have a line of kids doing Agent P's or the Sorcerers game at WDW. Is it going to cost me some money for the kids to get their new wands yes. Is it going to make them happy of course it is.

It seems Universal is actually trying to make the guest be immersed beyond the ride aspect and also make a tidy profit.