Part Two of our adventure to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be all about the wands choosing the witches and our cosplay. For Part One, click here.
To get your wand, you have to go to Olivander’s, makers of fine wands since 382 BC, which is a long time according to our Wand Master. You wait in a cue to get into Olivander’s for the ceremony in which one lucky witch or wizard gets to have their wand choose them. Scout was the chosen lucky witch this time!
There are wands literally floor to ceiling:
Scout was chosen to have her wand found by the Wand Master. She was measured and then after a couple of “No, that is not your wand, Dear.” moments, the magick happened:
This, I believe, is your wand my Dear! Then it was my turn to go into the shop and choose my wand. I chose a Reed wand and Scout’s is an Ash wand. There are 12 different kinds of wands, each with different characteristics so you can find a good fit. You can also buy replica wands for pretty much any character you can think of in the Potterverse.
Our wands and the interactive map.
Each wand comes with an interactive map (some replica wands are not interactive, so ask your wand master when you get there). The map is a guide to the shop windows in Hogsmeade. You stand on a gold platform and perform the spell with your wand to make something happen in the shop window. The wands are an excellent replacement of our cheapy wands that we had been using in our Hufflepuff student cosplays. Which leads us to our cosplay.
We wore only the uniform dress from Hot Topic to the park because it was an unusually warm day, but for cons, we go all out. Here are some pics of our cosplay full-on. Shopping guides below. Scout is wearing a small in the dress and I’m wearing a 2X. I am a size 18/20 for reference. As usual, if you like the cosplay photos, please check out Justin Davidson Photography’s webpage to book him here.
Hogwarts uniform dress from Hot Topic
Robes from Universal Store
We had an amazing time at Hogsmeade/Hogwarts! Check it out if you are in the LA area! Until next time…Accio, Happiness!
Love, Kim and Scout
Oh yay! We didn’t have time to do the Ollivander’s Shop demo when we went, so it’s cool to hear about what happens in there. I did pick up a wand from the shop though. My sister got an Alder wand, and I picked up a replica of Luna’s. 🙂
My friend, Anne, also got a Luna replica wand. So beautiful! I really love Ginny’s wand. Also Snape’s!