Comments on: SPECIAL REPORT: MagiQuest’s Family Vacation Inside a Video Game http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284 Independent Tech News and Product Reviews from former VP and head of CNET.com and Longtime Computer Shopper Columnist, Alice Hill author of the popular "Hard Edge" column. Originally named AliceandBill.com. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:53:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: Ramsey Rye http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-1180729 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:24:17 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-1180729 We just got back from a two day vacation at the new Great Wolf Lodge in Washington state. I literally said the words "this is like Vegas for kids" while we were there. They had MagiQuest at the resort and my 4 and 6 year old both played, as did I and my wife. It cost about $80.00 for the wands and the game-play for the two days. It was a bit cheesey, but we had a lot of fun trekking around the hotel looking for clues and interacting with all kinds of fun, random critters, paintings, books etc. Besides the fun you actually get a great work-out traversing stairwells, elevators and hallways. I am tired, but my family and I had a great time. We just got back from a two day vacation at the new Great Wolf Lodge in Washington state.
I literally said the words “this is like Vegas for kids” while we were there.
They had MagiQuest at the resort and my 4 and 6 year old both played, as did I and my wife.
It cost about $80.00 for the wands and the game-play for the two days.
It was a bit cheesey, but we had a lot of fun trekking around the hotel looking for clues and interacting with all kinds of fun, random critters, paintings, books etc.
Besides the fun you actually get a great work-out traversing stairwells, elevators and hallways. I am tired, but my family and I had a great time.

]]> by: Ray-Ray http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-809243 Mon, 26 May 2008 18:14:18 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-809243 This game is sooooo awesome!:) If anyone needs help on the magiquest thing at great wolf lodge you can ask me because I am a master magi there. ;) This game is sooooo awesome!:) If anyone needs help on the magiquest thing at great wolf lodge you can ask me because I am a master magi there. ;)

]]> by: Lisa Lewis http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-669230 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:47:05 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-669230 Well, some of your information is incorrect. The wand was $14.99 and game play was $9.99. This was for the entire time of our stay at Great Wolf in Traverse City, Michigan. (2 full days). We only needed one wand, which our son got to keep and it is good at other locations. He had a ball. Even beat the Goblin on a bigger adventure. The exercise we got traveling through out the Hotel, steps, etc. was great and tiring. All the kids there seemed to have a great time with this and since our son has eplipsy and can not play real video games, he was trilled. Well, some of your information is incorrect. The wand was $14.99 and game play was $9.99. This was for the entire time of our stay at Great Wolf in Traverse City, Michigan. (2 full days). We only needed one wand, which our son got to keep and it is good at other locations. He had a ball. Even beat the Goblin on a bigger adventure. The exercise we got traveling through out the Hotel, steps, etc. was great and tiring. All the kids there seemed to have a great time with this and since our son has eplipsy and can not play real video games, he was trilled.

]]> by: Rebecca http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-667103 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:47:39 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-667103 I took my family to Magiquest in Myrtle Beach, SC for the first time while visiting and they had a blast! I left my kids there while the adults (the kids are older and responsible) went shopping and browsing! WORTH EVERY PENNY!! Only wish we had more time and they would have stayed longer! You can reuse your wands, save up points and use them later, you can buy cosutmes if you want but we didn't and my 15 year old loved it. My 11 and 12 years olds thought it was way cool! This is an experience that they won't forget. As I understand it, after you finish a quest, you can get more so it is always different. This is better than a video game room where you get some tickets after spending about the same amount and get cheap junk trinkets...this is much better for the $ and way more fun!!! Thanks I took my family to Magiquest in Myrtle Beach, SC for the first time while visiting and they had a blast! I left my kids there while the adults (the kids are older and responsible) went shopping and browsing! WORTH EVERY PENNY!! Only wish we had more time and they would have stayed longer! You can reuse your wands, save up points and use them later, you can buy cosutmes if you want but we didn’t and my 15 year old loved it. My 11 and 12 years olds thought it was way cool! This is an experience that they won’t forget. As I understand it, after you finish a quest, you can get more so it is always different. This is better than a video game room where you get some tickets after spending about the same amount and get cheap junk trinkets…this is much better for the $ and way more fun!!! Thanks

]]> by: Melanie http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-659632 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:50:01 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-659632 My daughter (10 yrs old), her friend, my mother and I went to MagiQuest while in Myrtle Beach...although it was not at all cheap...neither was the experience! It was so neat to watch my daughter use her wand and try so hard to complete these missions...we played for 90 minutes and I think we could have played for another 90 if we had time. This is so great for the whole family. You all work together and spend the quality time that families need! My daughter (10 yrs old), her friend, my mother and I went to MagiQuest while in Myrtle Beach…although it was not at all cheap…neither was the experience! It was so neat to watch my daughter use her wand and try so hard to complete these missions…we played for 90 minutes and I think we could have played for another 90 if we had time. This is so great for the whole family. You all work together and spend the quality time that families need!

]]> by: Max A http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-616989 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 04:23:12 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-616989 They just opened a venue near me and I can't wait to try it out. I'm planning on going during a low traffic time so it doesn't get over crowded so I think I'll have a great time. They just opened a venue near me and I can’t wait to try it out. I’m planning on going during a low traffic time so it doesn’t get over crowded so I think I’ll have a great time.

]]> by: Anonymous http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-450609 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:27:29 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-450609 I know a lot about the other side of MagiQuest. Every year that passes, technical progress decreases. Every patch that comes out produces more bugs and goes for months without fixes. The wand itself is of poor design and I feel they charge way too much for it. There also was a problem with the accounts where in the middle of game play, the wand re-linked to a new account. Fixing wand problems take time waiting in line because there are NO open POS terminals. So after you experience a tech problem it’s compounded by the time it takes to fix it. By no means am I blaming the employees, there are simply too many people in one place. My advice to anyone going to the Myrtle Beach location is stay away during the summer! It is a crowded zoo that usually maintains capacity all day. The POS system of a piece of crap and corrupts the database all the time. From what I recall the game goes down several times a day. The worst days during the summer are on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The customers are herded through admissions, training, and game like cattle. The customer and the employees are both frustrated with the flow of traffic into the kingdom. Given the current operational procedures, I do not recommend visiting during the summer. It’s just too crowded, and with only an hour to play it’s not worth the frustration. Go to the beach or the new Hard Rock Park; don’t waste your time fighting the masses. The prices have gone up a few dollars after Joe’s post. I know a lot about the other side of MagiQuest. Every year that passes, technical progress decreases. Every patch that comes out produces more bugs and goes for months without fixes. The wand itself is of poor design and I feel they charge way too much for it. There also was a problem with the accounts where in the middle of game play, the wand re-linked to a new account. Fixing wand problems take time waiting in line because there are NO open POS terminals. So after you experience a tech problem it’s compounded by the time it takes to fix it. By no means am I blaming the employees, there are simply too many people in one place.
My advice to anyone going to the Myrtle Beach location is stay away during the summer! It is a crowded zoo that usually maintains capacity all day. The POS system of a piece of crap and corrupts the database all the time. From what I recall the game goes down several times a day. The worst days during the summer are on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The customers are herded through admissions, training, and game like cattle. The customer and the employees are both frustrated with the flow of traffic into the kingdom. Given the current operational procedures, I do not recommend visiting during the summer. It’s just too crowded, and with only an hour to play it’s not worth the frustration. Go to the beach or the new Hard Rock Park; don’t waste your time fighting the masses.
The prices have gone up a few dollars after Joe’s post.

]]> by: Mallory http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-338536 Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:17:51 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-338536 I went to the Magiquest in Myrtle beach with my parents and my little brother and i honestly think it was an awesome time...we kept it at a minimum and just got the wands with nothing special added to them and we had a blast....it ended up being a competition for us and i would definitely go back anytime!!!! I went to the Magiquest in Myrtle beach with my parents and my little brother and i honestly think it was an awesome time…we kept it at a minimum and just got the wands with nothing special added to them and we had a blast….it ended up being a competition for us and i would definitely go back anytime!!!!

]]> by: Alecia Moore http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-317243 Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:28:44 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-317243 We did this this summer in Myrtle Beach and had a blast!!!!! It was well worth the price. We all wanted to do it again. My children couldn't stop talking it. I enjoyed it myself. We were in that place for about 3 to 4 hours and if my sister didn't come and our time wasn't ending we would have been there longer. It was packed and started off complicated but they provided alot of help. I only bought some of the unfiorm so for the three of us it was under $200.00. This is an attraction that you can't pass up. My children just ran all over the place and had a blast! I highly recommend it!!! We did this this summer in Myrtle Beach and had a blast!!!!! It was well worth the price. We all wanted to do it again. My children couldn’t stop talking it. I enjoyed it myself. We were in that place for about 3 to 4 hours and if my sister didn’t come and our time wasn’t ending we would have been there longer. It was packed and started off complicated but they provided alot of help.
I only bought some of the unfiorm so for the three of us it was under $200.00.
This is an attraction that you can’t pass up. My children just ran all over the place and had a blast! I highly recommend it!!!

]]> by: Stacy http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-317166 Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:42:15 +0000 http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/3284#comment-317166 I don't know what the experience is like at the original in Myrtle Beach, but this was the best part of our weekend getaway at Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, OH. The experience had just opened, so it was a complete surprise to us. We'd gone to visit the waterpark and Nick or Treat at King's Island, but neither was as much family fun as MagiQuest. It created much less conflict than the waterpark, made it easy to monitor everyone, and even our two year old could appreciate the fun of seeing sparklies. We spent $25, $15 for a wand and $10 for a game that would allow us to play for 6,000 real-time minutes. The wand is reusable, as others have mentioned, so when we go back we'd only need to download a game for $10. The reality is, we'll probably buy two more wands so that we can play right along, though. You don't need to buy the separate toppers for the wands or any of the runes or costumes. So, a family of 5, if they all felt they had to have a wand (and mom and dad could walk along without one and still enjoy the experience), would spend $125 for an activity they could do over about four days. Single-day amusement park admission would be more than that, and this involves a lot more actual fun rather than waiting in line for three hours for a two-minute thrill. And since the MagiQuests at the resorts are open to the public, the family could also run over to a McDonalds rather than feeling trapped by amusement park food prices. Of course at either venue, you can always pack food if that's a concern. There was so much interactivity, lots of problem solving and great camaraderie among most of the people playing. It gave everyone a chance to chat, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. There was a single trio of very rude boys wandering without parental supervision, but that can happen at any sort of activity, unfortunately. Plus, as a pair of teens who ran past us mentioned, it came with a free workout. The clues were placed in various locations over three floors of the hotel, and it was just too much fun to wait for an elevator. I don’t know what the experience is like at the original in Myrtle Beach, but this was the best part of our weekend getaway at Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, OH. The experience had just opened, so it was a complete surprise to us. We’d gone to visit the waterpark and Nick or Treat at King’s Island, but neither was as much family fun as MagiQuest. It created much less conflict than the waterpark, made it easy to monitor everyone, and even our two year old could appreciate the fun of seeing sparklies.

We spent $25, $15 for a wand and $10 for a game that would allow us to play for 6,000 real-time minutes. The wand is reusable, as others have mentioned, so when we go back we’d only need to download a game for $10. The reality is, we’ll probably buy two more wands so that we can play right along, though. You don’t need to buy the separate toppers for the wands or any of the runes or costumes. So, a family of 5, if they all felt they had to have a wand (and mom and dad could walk along without one and still enjoy the experience), would spend $125 for an activity they could do over about four days. Single-day amusement park admission would be more than that, and this involves a lot more actual fun rather than waiting in line for three hours for a two-minute thrill. And since the MagiQuests at the resorts are open to the public, the family could also run over to a McDonalds rather than feeling trapped by amusement park food prices. Of course at either venue, you can always pack food if that’s a concern.

There was so much interactivity, lots of problem solving and great camaraderie among most of the people playing. It gave everyone a chance to chat, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. There was a single trio of very rude boys wandering without parental supervision, but that can happen at any sort of activity, unfortunately.

Plus, as a pair of teens who ran past us mentioned, it came with a free workout. The clues were placed in various locations over three floors of the hotel, and it was just too much fun to wait for an elevator.

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