2. Story-based shopping experiences

Image: Universal Studios

At the heart of every successful theme park venture is a well-constructed merchandise shop, and it is here that Universal Studios truly excels: not only by providing a wide range of “authentic” Harry Potter merch to their guests, but by turning one of their most popular retail opportunities into a mini attraction.

From the outside, Ollivander’s Wand Shop looks humble and cozy, but beneath its plain exterior, nothing short of pure magic awaits new customers. Guests are permitted inside the attraction in groups of 20, keeping the feel of the character experience both small and intimate. It is from this pool of nearly two-dozen guests that Ollivander selects a participant to test-drive the wands in his shop—much as Harry Potter supposedly did years earlier. After a few predictable hijinks, the participant is handed the “perfect” wand for their abilities and temperament, and hastily shuffled through the door to the register in the regular gift shop. Not only is it a clever (and effective) way to guarantee Universal a few more merch sales per day, but the highly personalized feel of the attraction and the riveting performance of Ollivander really drives home the immersive intentions of the park.

Unsurprisingly, Disney will be putting their own spin on this strategy with the opening of Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities and Savi’s Workshop at Galaxy’s Edge in May. Ithorian animatronic Dok-Ondar will advertise a number of unique, handcrafted items to curious guests, and may even permit his customers to barter for their goods—with the aid of a cast member, that is. In Savi’s Workshop, meanwhile, mysterious “Gatherers” will help guests through the difficult, yet rewarding process of constructing a lightsaber made especially for their tastes, desires, and political galactic affiliations.

These experiences may not be quite as tailored to the individual as Ollivander’s wand-pairing ceremonies, if for no other reason than the act of bartering for goods or building a custom lightsaber/droid is a far more time-consuming activity than simply selecting a compatible wand (those who have frequented Ollivander’s shop will remember that he usually selects the right piece on his third try). Still, these kinds of retail hotspots present a big step up from the standard cast member-staffed locations found elsewhere on Disney property, and may even facilitate some cool one-of-a-kind opportunities as Disney continues to refine this process.

3. Guest-friendly interactive technology

Image: Travis Wise, Flickr (license)

After climbing the cobblestone pathways to Hogwarts Castle, after traveling across the countryside via Hogwarts Express (sweets-laden trolley carts, spider mishaps, and all), after wandering around Diagon Alley’s elegant storefronts and Hogsmeade’s snow-capped eateries, nothing makes you feel more at home in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter than a good old-fashioned interactive wand.

Subtly concealed for those not in the know, and delightfully conspicuous to those who do, are a series of metal plates laid outside numerous window displays. Each plate illustrates the motion of the wand needed to activate a special effect in the display: flushing a toilet outside Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, mending a broken suit of armor in Brown E. Wright Blacksmith shop, and so on. It may not have the same exhilarating effect as illuminating a room with cries of “Lumos!” or shouting down an obstinate opponent with “Expelliarmus!” but it’s still as close to “real” spell-casting as most visitors will get.

Image: Disney

Wands may be all but useless on an alien planet, but that hasn’t stopped Disney from concocting their own interactive features for Black Spire Outpost. In addition to custom-built wands (which, for obvious reasons, are unlikely to see too much action around Batuu), guests will get the chance to purchase basic and premium droids at Droid Depot—or, if they feel so inclined, construct a custom BB- or R-model of their own specifications. The fancier the droid is, the more it’ll be able to interact with various elements in Galaxy’s Edge, though the precise nature of those elements has yet to be revealed.

One potential drawback to the use of droids is their lack of mobility and portability. Sphero’s app-powered BB-8 model—the hot holiday item that dropped back in 2015—was adept at running on the ground and responding to commands, and while the same may hold true for this new model of customizable take-home droids, it will likely be near-impossible to utilize the droids’ full range of features in an über-crowded outdoor environment. Neither a droid nor a lightsaber promises to be as portable as a wand or banshee; unless Disney has plans to incorporate the use of droids in stationary places throughout the parks, they may become collectors’ items rather than usable interactive tech.

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Of course, it’s worth noting here that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter wasn’t the first theme park land to introduce unique character interactions, immersive retail opportunities, and interactive tech—and it certainly won’t be the last. However, there’s no denying that it’s had an undeniably positive impact on the industry as competitors, Disney among them, attempt to craft their own immersive theme park worlds. Whether Galaxy’s Edge will eventually find ways to surpass Universal’s Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley remains to be seen, but it looks like it’s already on its way there.