Title: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: ForumBot 0.8 beta on August 26, 2006, 06:06:13 PM
Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Dateline: Myrtle Beach S.C.
Having just gotten back from my summer vacation, I ran into something that I though would be interesting to the folks here from the interactive entertainment field. For those of you not on the East Coast, Myrtle Beach S.C. has long been a vacation mecca. The area, which is right past the NC/SC state line, has tons of vacation rental hotels, motels, condos and houses, plus innumerable golf courses (both real and miniature), restaurants, shopping centers, water sports, amusement parks, go kart tracks, musical shows and other forms of nightly entertainment. One of the areas built up in the last 10 years is known as Broadway at the Beach and has become a popular place to go after hitting the sand and surf all day due to it's many shops and places to eat. I hadn’t been to the area for two years, so I was fully expecting to see some new things on this vacation.
This trip's hot new attraction: Magiquest!
» Read More
Dateline: Myrtle Beach S.C.Having just gotten back from my summer vacation, I ran into something that I though would be interesting to the folks here from the interactive entertainment field. For those of you not on the East Coast, Myrtle Beach S.C. has long been a vacation mecca. The area, which is right past the NC/SC state line, has tons of vacation rental hotels, motels, condos and houses, plus innumerable golf courses (both real and miniature), restaurants, shopping centers, water sports, amusement parks, go kart tracks, musical shows and other forms of nightly entertainment. One of the areas built up in the last 10 years is known as Broadway at the Beach and has become a popular place to go after hitting the sand and surf all day due to it's many shops and places to eat. I hadn’t been to the area for two years, so I was fully expecting to see some new things on this vacation.
This trip's hot new attraction: Magiquest!
» Read More
Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: Engels on August 26, 2006, 06:40:04 PM
You forgot to mention that during spring break it has the greatets concentration of sun burned rednecks in the united states. Its worth going just for the sheer volume of mullets and day glo sunglasses.
Edit: Myrtle Beach that is.
Edit: Myrtle Beach that is.
Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: koboshi on August 27, 2006, 01:02:46 PM
Ha, I would drag my family to that in a second. I would agree with your 'I wish I was ten again' comment but, hell, who am I kidding? I still want to do it. This is the kind of thing that can really knock a recovering nerd off the wagon and unleash that suppressed inner dork. Kind of like the first time I went to DisneyQuest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisneyQuest) and spent 11 hours without noticing.
P.S. Childhoods End
P.S. Childhoods End
Quote
What was once supposed to have been the flagship of an entire chain of 30 indoor theme parks, one that would have eventually encircled the globe, DisneyQuest will be closing in 18 months. Then this 5-story tall, 100,000 square foot structure -- which towers over the West Side section of Downtown Disney -- will be gutted & turned into a brand-new ESPN Zone." (Source: Jim Hill Media, 04/25/06)
Guess they weren’t the wave of the future... there’s a lesson here but I’m not sure what it is, Disney was ahead of it's time or MagiQuest is doomed.Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: Merusk on August 28, 2006, 10:03:30 AM
Ha, I would drag my family to that in a second. I would agree with your 'I wish I was ten again' comment but, hell, who am I kidding? I still want to do it. This is the kind of thing that can really knock a recovering nerd off the wagon and unleash that suppressed inner dork. Kind of like the first time I went to DisneyQuest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisneyQuest) and spent 11 hours without noticing.
One of the best things about having kids is being able to go to places like that at 30+ without looking odd. My kids are my cover. :-D
Quote
Quote
What was once supposed to have been the flagship of an entire chain of 30 indoor theme parks, one that would have eventually encircled the globe, DisneyQuest will be closing in 18 months. Then this 5-story tall, 100,000 square foot structure -- which towers over the West Side section of Downtown Disney -- will be gutted & turned into a brand-new ESPN Zone." (Source: Jim Hill Media, 04/25/06)
Guess they weren’t the wave of the future... there’s a lesson here but I’m not sure what it is, Disney was ahead of it's time or MagiQuest is doomed.Probably a combination of both and a little something more. Part of the problem is DisneyQuest is tucked away in Downtown Disney, a place parents don't usually drag their kids particularly at the $90+ a day ticket prices. You go to Disney, you pick a park and do THAT.. distractions like spending 2-4 hours at a place that charges you additional cash to play videogames aren't what ma & pa sixpack are after. Not only that, but considering that parents who'd be amused by this type of adventure (Hi Mtv-Gens just hitting your mid-30s!) with their kids are only JUST getting to the point financially and age-wise that Disney trips make sense, it was way ahead of itself. Got to remember for the bulk of it's exsistence DQ would have just been seen as "some damned vido game" by the parents attending Disney.
If DisneyQuest (or Disney itself) had been less expensive, or if they'd waited it out it might've done better.
Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: Xilren's Twin on August 28, 2006, 12:46:49 PM
One of the best things about having kids is being able to go to places like that at 30+ without looking odd. My kids are my cover. :-D
Exactly. I recommend you have boys.
Quote
Probably a combination of both and a little something more. Part of the problem is DisneyQuest is tucked away in Downtown Disney, a place parents don't usually drag their kids particularly at the $90+ a day ticket prices. You go to Disney, you pick a park and do THAT..
Preach on. I've been to Disneyworld twice in the past 3 years and Downtown Disney doesn't even crack the top 10 list of "stuff to do in the magic kindgom". Now, the Buzz Lightyear game/ride in Tomorrowland is a step in the right direction...
Xilren
Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: Signe on August 28, 2006, 01:15:30 PM
How do bots have children? No, nevermind. I don't want to know.
Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: Roac on August 28, 2006, 08:34:01 PM
What Merusk said. I've been to Disneyworld twice with my wife, and we've been within an hour of Orlando three times since then. We like going to Downtown Disney (Rainforest Cafe is cool), but haven't had much desire for DQ. They don't give us much reason to go, and at the cost of entry we'd just assume do a park. Or go do something else.
MagiQuest looks cool though. The wife isn't a huge fan of most of my games or fantasy, but she likes Harry Potter and responded with "I wanna do that" when I showed her the website. Something about an excuse to do something a bit novel and childish to pretend we're not really parents and "old" I guess :P
MagiQuest looks cool though. The wife isn't a huge fan of most of my games or fantasy, but she likes Harry Potter and responded with "I wanna do that" when I showed her the website. Something about an excuse to do something a bit novel and childish to pretend we're not really parents and "old" I guess :P
Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: Signe on August 28, 2006, 08:37:19 PM
I find places like this, especially since they're full of wee sticky tots, to be scarifying.
Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: Merusk on August 28, 2006, 08:38:39 PM
One of the best things about having kids is being able to go to places like that at 30+ without looking odd. My kids are my cover. :-D
Exactly. I recommend you have boys.
I have one of each. It works out better that way and I can properly geek-up the girl so I have a son-in-law I can stand. Of course this means she'll marry some jockish ESPN freak. :-(
Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: Yegolev on August 30, 2006, 12:48:39 PM
I agree about the DisneyQuest assessment. I have been to WDW at least ten times in the past nine years, and even with a length-of-stay pass it was hard to justify going to DQ in light of everything else. It was awesome, sure, for an arcade, but there's a big list of must-dos on each trip that takes precedent. Pirates of the Carribean, Space Mountain, stuffing my gullet in World Showcase, Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror (OMFG ToT!!1), etc. I only went to DQ once. Next trip is in January 07, and I have to ride Everest and see the new car stunt show on top of all the other things.
I'm always sad to see something go at WDW, but putting the ESPNZone there makes a lot more sense - businesswise as well as thematically - than where it is now.
I'm always sad to see something go at WDW, but putting the ESPNZone there makes a lot more sense - businesswise as well as thematically - than where it is now.
Title: Re: Review: Sand, Sun, and Sorcery - MagiQuest
Post by: Roac on October 20, 2006, 08:15:29 AM
Bump.
Took my family to this this past weekend. We were up in Myrtle Beach anyway, visiting some friends and family. It looked neat, and my wife thought so too, so we figured what the hell, we'll spend an hour and see what we think. The result? Thumbs up.
We have a two year old daughter also, who we brought for cover. She loves to wander around and explore in general, so this was great fun for her. Mostly she was happy to watch the "moo-moos" (movies) that would show up as part of the quests. The scavanger hunt aspect was way over her head, but she did enjoy watching paintings light up and things animate, except for treasure chests. For some reason she was terrified of opening treasure chests, but she spent a good 10 minutes watching a spider ("pider") run around on a screen. Towards the end of our hour she decided she would get into the wand thing too ('til then she'd just been watching) and it was funny watching her waving the wand trying to get things to activate. It would take a few tries for each thing, but she was able to do it. Thus the last ten minutes or so of our time there was watching her run around activating things.
For adults, I think the fun is mostly in the novelty of it, and it'll wear off after a few hours at most, but it is certainly neat. For kids to get the most from it you'll of course want them older than mine is, although we had fun watching her try stuff out. She could push on things and do things on her own, and without worry of her messing stuff up (no breakables, outlets, etc) and hence no parental 'no's, so she had fun and us watching her have fun.
Took my family to this this past weekend. We were up in Myrtle Beach anyway, visiting some friends and family. It looked neat, and my wife thought so too, so we figured what the hell, we'll spend an hour and see what we think. The result? Thumbs up.
We have a two year old daughter also, who we brought for cover. She loves to wander around and explore in general, so this was great fun for her. Mostly she was happy to watch the "moo-moos" (movies) that would show up as part of the quests. The scavanger hunt aspect was way over her head, but she did enjoy watching paintings light up and things animate, except for treasure chests. For some reason she was terrified of opening treasure chests, but she spent a good 10 minutes watching a spider ("pider") run around on a screen. Towards the end of our hour she decided she would get into the wand thing too ('til then she'd just been watching) and it was funny watching her waving the wand trying to get things to activate. It would take a few tries for each thing, but she was able to do it. Thus the last ten minutes or so of our time there was watching her run around activating things.
For adults, I think the fun is mostly in the novelty of it, and it'll wear off after a few hours at most, but it is certainly neat. For kids to get the most from it you'll of course want them older than mine is, although we had fun watching her try stuff out. She could push on things and do things on her own, and without worry of her messing stuff up (no breakables, outlets, etc) and hence no parental 'no's, so she had fun and us watching her have fun.