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'Sup! Tad here. An enchanting new collection of wands have apparated to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort. With these new Universal Orlando wands came mind-blowing new spell locations, bewitching updates to old spell locations and a magical new world of wizardry to explore on the Universal Orlando app. On their first day of operation, the Frog Fam took the Hogwarts Express from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade and back again to learn everything about these spellbinding new additions to Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure and, eventually, Universal Epic Universe. Charms class is in session, students! Here's everything you need to know about the new Harry Potter wands at Universal Orlando.
Second Generation Interactive Wands
Available at Ollivanders Wand Shop in both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, Wands by Gregorovitch in Diagon Alley and the Wand cart on the path to Hogwarts Castle in Hogsmeade, the four dazzling new designs of Second Generation Interactive Wands provide witches and wizards with an enhanced wand magic experience. These wands are made of (in order from left to right in the photo above) pine, redwood, spruce and silver lime, and retail for $85 each, plus tax. (Plus, they're passholder discount eligible!)
What's special about these particular wands is that when casting with them, you actually feel the magic coursing through you. What I mean by that is these wands light up and vibrate whenever you've done a spell correctly. Not only are these effects incredibly cool to witness in action and make you feel more magical than ever before, but they're also tremendously helpful indicators to let you know that you have indeed cast a spell successfully! Because of these special features, these are the first wands to require a battery — 1xAAAA (LR8), to be exact. (Yes, they come with a battery, which I was told is good for about 3,000 spells, so you get your mileage's worth!)
The Second Generation Interactive Wands come with battery instructions, a guide with some spell-casting tips and maps with the spell locations for Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and Ministry of Magic — opening May 22, 2025, at Universal Epic Universe — and a barcode to link your wand to Universal Play.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on Universal Play
Spell-casting just became so much more immersive. Go to the Universal Orlando app, under "Things to Do," tap on "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade" or "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley" and scroll down to the Universal Play button. Faster than the Floo Network, you'll be transported to the Wizarding World's new virtual adventure. Note that this new feature only works for the new wands at Universal Orlando (Second Generation Interactive Wands).
Upon hitting "Play Now," you'll immediately be prompted to pair your wand by scanning the barcode on your wand box. From there, you'll customize your wizard name and choose an avatar, your Patronus and your Hogwarts house. You can always edit these later in the Options tab. (This Ravenclaw chose an adorable St. Bernard Dog as their Patronus!)
If you're looking to transfer your progress and/or profile and wand from one device to another, ask a Universal team member for assistance.
Map
On the Map tab, you'll see maps for Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley and Ministry of Magic. (Better start brushing up on your wand technique for your trip to wizarding Paris!) You can switch between Adventure View, which shows you where all the spells are in any given Adventure (I'll expand on that in a bit) and Spell View, which shows you where all the spells are located. If you click on your avatar, you can add another wizard to your account and switch between active wizards.
Next to your avatar is where you'll see the amount of House Points you've personally racked up. If you click on that, you can see which House is currently in the lead at any given point in the day and how long until the Daily House Cup is awarded. (On day one, Slytherin crushed the competition with 462 points.) If you tap on Leaderboard, you can see where you rank daily and all time, who ranked in the top 100 daily and all time and where your friends rank daily and all time (another thing I'll expand on later).
Also next to your avatar, you'll see which Wizarding Level you're on (currently on level 3 and exceeding expectations!) and, if you click on that, how to reach the next level.
Adventures
On the Adventures Tab, you'll find a plethora of frogciting adventures to go on in Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley and Ministry of Magic (coming soon!). The adventures tell you how long they'll take to complete, the amount of House Points you'll score by completing them and where they begin.
Click on one that looks appealing and press "Start Adventure." You'll then be given a location and the spell you need to successfully perform there. Upon proper completion, your app will update to give you the next location and spell and so on and so forth until you finish the adventure! (Be patient. Sometimes it took a few moments for our app to update.) You can always press "Do Again" if you want a double dose of magical hijinx.
Adventure progress is saved for 60 days. Therefore, if you're looking to complete a multi-park adventure, you don't need a single-day, multi-park ticket, but you will need tickets to both parks within that time frame.
Collections
This tab is fairly self-explanatory. Here's where you'll see which Spells you've successfully cast, which Achievements you've earned (split up into Spellcasting, Adventures and Spellwork) and which frogtastic Beasts you've found using your new wand at Universal Orlando. (I'm very hoppy to report I've already acquired the Giant Toad!)
Options
Found under your standard settings page, the Options Tab is where you can:
- Change your Wizard Profile
- Turn on and off your wand haptics and lights or make your spell casting more forgiving for beginner wizards
- Follow other wizards (those aforementioned friends)
- Add another wizard to your device
- Remove a wizard from your device
- Find hopful hints
Spell Updates in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
In addition to all of these incredible updates, five new spells debuted in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley — bringing the total amount of spells currently within the two theme parks to 30.
- The Duelling Club Tent (Hogsmeade) — cast a spell to bring an abandoned duelling dummy to life and test your duelling spells ability
- The Owl Post (Hogsmeade) — mischievous pixies dart across the window and hide behind packages as you cast a spell to try and freeze them
- Knockturn Alley Staircase (Diagon Alley) — defend yourself by conjuring your Patronus after a Dementor emerges within the dimly lit staircase
- Ariadne's Spinners (Diagon Alley) — cast a spell to repel spiders of all sizes before they take over the newspaper-covered glass windows
- Knockturn Alley Sky (Diagon Alley) — cast a spell into the nighttime sky to control a storm or counter-spell to calm the sky
Not only are there new spell locations, but existing spell locations have also received some massive updates! In addition to new visceral casting effects, magical spell books have apparated at select locations. Once you perform the initial spell located on the bronze medallion on the ground, the spell book will give more spells to perform. If you perform the sequence of spells correctly, the spell book will then tell you where to proceed next for your chosen adventure. If you don't perform it correctly, you'll need to start the sequence all over again to unlock the next spell location.
It did take me five times to successfully complete The Owl Post in The Duelling Club adventure. Additionally, I never got a single spell to work at the Knockturn Alley Sky, although I saw many other frogs perform it with ease. Dogweed and Deathcap and Wiseacre's Star Display also took quite a while to figure out. Don't be afraid to ask team members for assistance if you need it. They're hoppy to share their best tips and tricks. Several team members even came up to us to help if they noticed us struggling!
Note that certain spells, such as The Duelling Club Tent in Hogsmeade (by the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey lockers) and the Knockturn Alley Staircase in Diagon Alley, will not allow you complete them unless you've unlocked them by playing their respective adventures — that would be The Duelling Club adventure for The Duelling Club Tent and the Defense Against the Dark Arts adventure for the Knockturn Alley Staircase. Because of that, these are also the only spells that don't work with the original wands. If you want to spar with the duelling dummy or see your Patronus fight a Dementor, you need the new wands at Universal Orlando. (I would be remiss not to mention how mind-blowing these specific spells are to see in action. If you don't have the new Harry Potter wands, at least check out other wizards performing them!)
How stoked are you about the new wands at Universal Orlando? Which new spell are you most frogcited to try? Let us know in the comments below!
Related: Where (And How!) to Use the First Generation Interactive Wands at Universal Orlando Resort
Related: Enchanting Entertainment in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort
Stay cool!
