Wahine makune mana, ladies and gentlemen, come with us to a world of joyous song and wondrous miracles.
— Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room introduction
For our mumblety-mumbleth MouseAdventure event, Joe said, “Let's do a Luau!”. Bear in mind he said this back in spring of 2010, while the staff was still preparing for the MouseAdventure Anniversary & Decades events. He had a Luau logo ready and everything.
MouseAdventure Luau logo by Joe Stevano
With 267 teams made up of 912 players (plus at least nine kids under 13) this wasn't quite our “biggest event ever” but it was certainly one of the smoothest. 40 Advanced teams signed in at 8:00 a.m., got their (very brief) orientation at 8:30 and were on their way by 8:45. We got them out early because they had quite a long day ahead of them. 161 Basic teams followed, signing in by 9:30 and out the door a bit after 10:00. And then 66 101 Division teams made their way into the ballroom for a somewhat longer and more detailed introduction to MouseAdventure. 101 Division is our non-competitive “beginners” version, featuring quests pulled from past events which we've rewritten and re-tested to bring them up to date.
For once, the weather cooperated with MouseAdventure. Teams (and staff) weren't scorched by unseasonable heat, deluged with rain, blown away by tornado-strength winds or covered with ash from nearby wildfires. Overall the event proceeded quite smoothly; one or two minor overnight changes meant teams who smartly stopped by MouseAdventure Central every so often got updates for their quests, but no quests were completely broken, no attractions went down while teams were riding and Tom Sawyer Island didn't close. Though the reason the Island didn't close is most likely because we didn't have a quest on the Island. This time.
There was one issue of note and that was scoring. Not in the accuracy or precision of scoring; scoring captain Tony and his team ensure that each and every answer card is graded multiple times by different people and sent through quality control checks before the scores are announced. No, the problem, as it so often is, was technological. One of our barcode scanners failed and our not-a-ScanTron machine was being especially picky about reading answer sheets. As a result, results weren't announced until almost 7:00 p.m. Sunday night, by which time many teams had already left the ballroom. We regret the delay but feel it's certainly preferable to have accurate scores a bit late over the alternative.
MouseAdventure teams are a charitable lot, and the Luau teams were no exception. For this event we partnered with the American Red Cross to collect donations for their Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami relief fund and offered to match donations up to $1,000. Our teams surpassed that, donating a whopping $1,073. With MousePlanet's $1,000 match, that meant $2,073 went to the Red Cross for earthquake and tsunami relief.
Team donations of $1,073 plus MousePlanet's matching donation of $1,000 added up to $2,073 for the American Red Cross. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
During our awards and closing ceremonies, as is customary, we recognized our staff and crew and announced the dates of our next events. Those acknowledgements and announcements are repeated below. We've also included a survey for teams. These surveys help us gauge team interest in various aspects of the event and gather feedback for our next events. If you played, in any division, please check out the survey at the bottom of this page.
And now, on to the recap. Mahalo!
Quests | Photos | Results | Acknowledgements | Survey | Personal Edition | Next Events
Quests
Disneyland | DCA (Advanced) | DCA (101 Division)
Advanced and Basic teams completed a set of nine quests in Disneyland, plus Eye-Spys, Disney Trivia, Park Trivia and (naturally) a Hidden Quest. Advanced teams then went over to Disney California Adventure for five more quests and another set of Eye-Spys. 101 Division teams had six quests in DCA plus Eye-Spys. As we've done in the past with the 101 Division, partial credit was available for some of these quests.
Disneyland (Advanced and Basic)
Direct From The Islands (20 points)
A word search with a twist! Teams were tasked with searching Adventureland to find the missing words that had been blanked out of a series of photos. Once they had the words, they had to find them in a word search grid, where only the 12 letters of the Hawaiian alphabet were used; the rest of the letters were replaced with tiki symbols that the teams had to decode based on the word list they generated. When all the words were found, the remaining unused letters formed a question.
Question: How much do you pay to go halfway?
Answer: Half Fare
Common incorrect answers: Free, Dole Whip
The Jungle Cruise will take you half way for half fare. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Island Guide (20 points)
The only tools that teams needed for this quest were a standard Park Guide map and their quick wits. Teams who paid attention at the briefing had a advantage if they remembered to pick up a map on their way into the park; inattentive teams had to resort to other means, like hunting down a cast member. The quest contained a list of criteria that referenced the attractions on the map, along with a color-coded list of attraction names whose colors matched those used for each land in the Park Guide. Attractions were eliminated or added back to the list based on these criteria. After going through the criteria, teams took the remaining attractions, identified their corresponding numbers from the Park Guide, and added the digits in those numbers together to get a single digit. This single digit was used as an index for a letter from the name of each attraction. Those letters, in order (no unscrambling necessary) formed a question.
Question: Disney Hawaiian resort name
Answer: Aulani
Common incorrect answer: Polynesian
Mi Amigo, Pay Attention (30 points)
Teams, on Main Street, with a pencil — clues in this quest referred to locations on Main Street. One of the clues, “Where Jess and Bess stay,” tripped up some teams.
Bess and Jess stay in the Firehouse. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Once teams found a location, they wrote down the street address, and using those numbers, counted along the letters printed on their provided pencil to decode two words that referred to a unique window on Main Street. Teams were instructed to write down the business owner's name.
Clue: Parade Illuminations
Answer: Bill Justice
Common incorrect answer: Robert Jani
The “one and only one” business window on Main Street was owned by Bill Justice, not Robert Jani. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
It’s Not FAR Enough Out Of This World (30 points)
Stitch helped out with MouseAdventure this time by taking pictures for a quest, but a strange thing happened: some of the text was removed from the prints. Stitch wrote in the words that were missing, but naturally wrote them in his own language. These pictures were along the Autopia route, so quick-thinking teams scurried to get FastPasses early in the day. While riding Autopia, teams had to find the missing words and use them as a key to translate a message, also written in Stitch's language. Veteran teams who might have brought a water bottle lanyard from a MouseAdventure event several years ago may have had an advantage with this quest, because the lanyard, which was used in a multi-language translation quest, included samples of Stitch's language as well as Aurabesh and Marabic.
Question: Where in Tomorrowland would you go to fly your own flying saucer?
Answer: Space Terminal
Common incorrect answers: Innoventions, Buzz Lightyear
As this huge banner hanging from Innoventions notes, you can fly your own flying saucer at the space terminal in Tomorrowland. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Luau Catering (30 points)
Tangaroa was hosting a huge luau, but he needed some help figuring out which of his guests would be the most expensive. Items on the luau menu were matched to items for sale around New Orleans Square. Teams searched the area for the appropriate items, then wrote down the prices. What at first seemed like basic data gathering and math required a little more figuring based on the criteria of which guests would or would not eat certain menu items.
Question: Which group of neighbors was the most expensive to feed?
Answer: Frontierland Gang
Common incorrect answer: Critter Country Cousins
Country Code (40 points)
Let me tell you a little story about a bear named Duffy… Teams were led through Critter Country based on a descriptive story starring everyone's favorite bear, Duffy, who was visiting his cousins. Along the way, they encountered the answers to six questions that were written above another series of letters, then decoded the letters using the spinning tiki disk.
Question: Where can you find the sign that reads kerits?
Answer: Mr Sanders House OR Pooh Corner Roof
Common incorrect answers: Pooh ride or queue, Rabbit's house, Briar Patch
The “kerits” sign could be found at Mr. Sanders' House. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Spam Filter (40 points)
SPAM: a delicacy in Hawaii, and a scourge of email inboxes everywhere. In this quest, teams had to act as their own spam filters, using the words on four signs in Frontierland to filter out unwanted text from the given paragraphs to reveal a question.
Question: Pioneer Mercantile or Becket and Paige, which was established first?
Answer: Pioneer Mercantile
Common incorrect answer: 1807
This crate from Becket and Paige Mercantile, Ltd can be found at the Mark Twain dock in Frontierland. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Trader Sam’s Tiki Test (40 points)
Teams had to collect puzzle pieces from each of three MouseAdventure stations throughout Disneyland, and then a final piece from staff member Bev (for Advanced) or Tracy (for Basic). When the pieces were arranged properly, forming an image of one of the tiki gods, and held up to light, the dots on each piece came together to form a question related to the image.
Question: What is my name?
Answer: Koro
Tiki Mixup (50 points)
The Gods have been angered by all the celebrating, and some Advanced teams were angered that they weren't given any instructions for this quest! Teams were given a sheet of “dominoes,” with letters and symbols on them. Below those were a series of questions to Toontown locations. Teams filled in the answer blanks, then detached the dominoes that were rearranged to form the final question. Teams who didn't discover the key to arranging the dominoes were left scratching their heads.
The ToonTown population sign was the key to solving “Tiki Mixup”. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Question: What was dedicated on some important day?
Answer: Landmark 3 1/2
Common incorrect answers: various ToonTown landmarks and unprintable comments
Landmark 3 1/2 was indeed dedicated on “some important day.” Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Tiki Eye-Spys (+5 points each)
It turns out that Disneyland is loaded with Tikis and Polynesian decor and bric-a-brac, and not just in the Adventureland area. Teams were given fourteen close-up photos and asked to identify the locations.
Park Trivia (+5 points each)
Teams were given twelve trivia questions about Disneyland, not necessarily Tiki-related. The answers to many of these questions should have been seen while solving other quests throughout the day.
Hidden Quest (20 points)
The scatter puzzle (Advanced) or Errata page (Basic) included a row of Tiki symbols. Many teams guessed these to be part of the Hidden Quest, but tried to decipher them using characters from the “Direct from the Islands” quest. In fact, if you looked at the Tiki symbols very closely, there were regular old English letters hidden inside, forming a question.
Question: DOLE WHIP COST
Answer: $3.29
Disney California Adventure (Advanced)
The Enchanted Tee-ki room (20 points)
Teams headed to Sideshow Shirts in Paradise Pier to fill in the blanks on a series of words that ended in “-tees.” Letters from the missing words were eliminated from a list, and the final remaining letters were unscrambled to form the missing word of the final question.
Question: What is guaranteed?
Answer: All shirts have four holes
Common incorrect answer: Tattoos
Tiki-Tongue (30 points)
In this variation on the eye-spy, teams traveled to A Bug's Land to find letters shown in a series of photos. Writing down the letter right after the one shown in the photo revealed the final clue: a word that could be translated at another location within DCA.
One of the letters in “Tiki-Tongue” could be found on this section of Flik's Flyers. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Clue: Lealea
Answer: Fun OR Hawaiian fun
Common incorrect answer: Friend
The English translation of “léaléa” could be found on a poster at the Disney Vacation Club kiosk near Grizzly River Run. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Tiki-Trek (30 points)
Searching high and low in Condor Flats and the Grizzly River Recreation Area, teams filled in the blanks of phrases found in the area. A key was used to choose letters from those answers to form the final question.
Question: Bring what to the ranger's slideshow?
Answer: Lotion
Common incorrect answers: Flashlight, chair, photos
Techi-Tiki (40 points)
ElecTRONica has taken over the Hollywood Backlot. Have you noticed those numbers on all of the staging materials? Teams were tasked with locating the pictured symbols, and writing down the six-digit number above each one. Using the numbers, teams crossed off letters from a series of columns headed by those numbers in order, writing the letters as they went to reveal the final question. The answer was found on a sign outside Flynn's Arcade.
Question: Found in Flynns Arcade at stage twelve TRON is a world where blank game battles are real
Answer: Video
Common incorrect answers: Flynn, token
As teams solving “Techi-Tiki” would discover, TRON is a world where video game battles are real. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Tiki-Trial (40 points)
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? The construction at the entrance of DCA was the star of this quest. Teams were tasked with discovering which character left a mark in the freshly-poured concrete by verifying the validity of a series of witness statements. Posters and ads themed to the upcoming transformation to vintage Burbank along the many construction walls found around the entrance to DCA held the answers to almost all of the clues, except for one found inside the EnginEARs toy shop.
Question: Who was the vandal?
Answer: Minnie
Common incorrect answers: Clarabelle, Oswald, Mickey, most of the other named characters
The train to Far Away did indeed leave at 11:24. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Eye-Spys (+5 points each)
Instead of just identifying the location of these Eye-Spys, Advanced teams had to answer the accompanying question, throwing a wrench into the “blind guess” strategy.
Disney California Adventure (101 Division)
Crossing Tracks (20 points)
Teams identified a series of provided animal tracks, then located the corresponding signs around the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail area to solve an evil-paragraph type puzzle.
Answer: Read in order, the revealed letters spell out “Tired Dwarf.”
Common incorrect answer: Many teams took this quest one step too far, and provided “Sleepy” as their answer.
Spelling Bee (20 points)
Taking a detour through Flik's Fun Fair, teams searched for the word or words needed to answer or complete ten sentences. As each question was answered, the letters used in the answer were eliminated from the “colony” of letters on the back of the page. The remaining letters could be unscrambled into two words. Those two words could be found on one of the Radiator Springs postcards (actually the construction wall around the former Bountiful Valley area) and the location advertised on that postcard was the final answer. Partial credit was given for unscrambling the two words if the final answer was not found.
Question: Open Late
Answer: Flo’s V8 Cafe
Common incorrect answers: “Poet Lane,” “One Plate,” “Open Table”
Hollywood Hideout (30 points)
Teams compared a series of photographs of architectural elements to identify landmarks in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot.
Answer: 6020 Hollywood Blvd.
Common incorrect answer: Many teams provided the name of the Argyle Building instead of the street address listed on the map.
¿Cómo se dice? (30 points)
Teams searched the Pacific Wharf area to fill in the blanks in a crossword-style puzzle. Once all blanks were filled, highlighted letters spelled a word in ancient Aztec. The final answer, found in the Mission Tortilla Factory, was simply the meaning of that word in English. Partial credit was given for finding the word if it was not translated.
Question: Tlaxcallim
Answer: Tortillas
Paradise Sets (40 points)
This variation on the “sets” quest called for teams to fill in a crossword puzzle with the missing word from twelve sets of three words, all to be found in Paradise Pier. Highlighted letters in the crossword could be unscrambled to form a question to be answered. Partial credit was given for unscrambling the question even if it was not answered.
Question: Year Virginia Park Opened
Answer: 1939
Common incorrect answers: 1955, 2010, 2001
Number Crunching (40 points)
The grid for this quest revealed the next question, but only if the directions were followed exactly. Teams explored the Condor Flats and Grizzly Peak areas to find numerical answers to listed questions. Then, after finding those numbers on the grid and carefully following instructions, they used their writing utensil or other ingenious methods to create lines between selected sets of numbers. This created “flaps” in the page. If directions were followed precisely, folding the flaps revealed a question. If not, teams were left with a lovely pile of souvenir confetti and had to return to DCA Central for another copy of the grid. The answer to the final question was also found in the Condor Flats / Grizzly Peak area. Veteran teams who might have been playing the 101 Division for fun (or who didn't register in time for Advanced or Basic) might have recognized the grid as exactly the same one used in earlier quests; the numbers and letters were different, but the pattern of lines to be cut was the same. Needless to say, we're retiring that grid after MouseAdventure Luau.
A Guide Map for the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias could be had for $.50 in 1986. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Question: Who is meeting you at the cliff hanger traverse rock climb?
Answer: Will and Jill
Common incorrect answers: Koda and Kenai, park rangers, Mickey and Minnie
Find Will and Jill at the Cliff Hanger and answer “Number Crunching” correctly. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Eye-Spys (+5 points each)
101 Division teams had a set of twelve Eye-Spy photos to keep them occupied as they wandered the park.
Event Photos
All team photos, plus a huge collection of candid (in-game) photos are hosted on PicasaWeb albums. Click either album cover below to open the album in a new browser tab. You can leave comments on photos, download your favorites and even order professional prints.
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Results
Advanced | Basic | 101 Division | Team T-Shirts
Results for MouseAdventure Luau Advanced and Basic divisions were announced at the closing festivities on Sunday night, April 10. There were 780 possible points in Advanced and 560 possible points in Basic, including Trivia, Eye-Spys and the Hidden Quest. No team had a perfect score, and there were no ties that affected winning positions. We recognized the top three teams in Advanced, Basic / Returning, Basic / New and the top team in Basic / Family. (Family teams include at least one player under 13.) Winning teams received prize packages in Luau-themed buckets.
Winning teams received prize packages in Luau-themed buckets. Photo by Karl Buiter.
Advanced Division
First Place: Team 9, Heffatooies (619 points)
Second Place: Team 21, The Imaginears (594 points)
Third Place: Team 31, YM's Majesty (569 points)
Masters: Team 1, Simba's Pride (633 points) – first place overall
Sorted results for the Advanced division. Click the tabs at the bottom to switch views.
Open results in a new tab.
Basic Division
First Place (Returning): Team 7, Team Skillz (417 points)
First Place (New): Team 18, That's All Right With Me, But How Are You With Catching Mice? (367 points)
First Place (Family): Team 91, Practically Perfect (368 points)
Second Place (Returning): Team 121, the no name gang (409 points)
Second Place (New): Team 31, Tiki Tumblers (323 points)
Third Place (Returning): Team 32, Disney MountainEars (404 points)
Third Place (New): Team 137, Perceptive Plaids (298 points)
Sorted results for the Basic division. Click the tabs at the bottom to switch views.
Open results in a new tab.
101 Division
Results for MouseAdventure Luau 101 Division were posted on MousePad late Friday afternoon, April 15. There were 285 possible points in the 101 Division, including quests and Eye-Spys. Here we recognize the top teams in New / Non-Family, Returning / Non-Family, Returning / Family and New / Family. (Family teams include at least one player under 13.) As this was a non-competitive event, no prizes are awarded.
New / Non-Family: Team 54, Banana Pancakes (285 points) – perfect score!
Returning / Non-Family: Team 34, Dr. Falls and the 3 Schweitzers (280 points)
Returning / Family: Team 9, Mr. Toad's Wild Bunch (280 points)
New / Family: Team 29, Skoll Family (235 points)
Sorted results for the 101 division. Click the tabs at the bottom to switch views.
Open results in a new tab.
Team T-Shirt Contest
101 Division Team 37, Lazy Llamas were voted the winner of the MouseAdventure staff-judged team t-shirt contest and the Fan Favorite contest voting on MousePad. We're pretty much all suckers for anything from The Emperor's New Groove.
The Lazy Llamas show off their winning t-shirt design. Photo by Karl Buiter.
The Lazy Llamas show off their winning t-shirt design. Photo by Karl Buiter.
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Advanced Team 39, Hatchaway's Husbands, tied for second in the Fan Favorite Team T-Shirt voting.
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Basic Team 34, Club 34, tied for second in the Fan Favorite Team T-Shirt voting.
Basic Team 161, Trader Sam's Head Sales Team, tied for second in the Fan Favorite Team T-Shirt voting.
Staff & Crew Acknowledgements
(In alphabetical order and hopefully not omitting anyone)
Event Producers: Adrienne V-P, Joe
MouseAdventure Staff: Adrienne K, Alex, Amanda, Andrew, David, Jeff, Jennifer, Karl, Kevin, Lani, Sheila, Shoshana, Stephanie, Steven, Tony
MouseAdventure Volunteer Crew: Adam, Bev, Brad, Casey, Chelsie, Chris L, Chris M, Helga, John, Karin, Ken, Kenji, Laura, Liana, Stephen, Teresa, Tommy, Tracy
Special thanks to the event staff at Disney's Paradise Pier hotel and the staff at the Howard Johnson Anaheim Plaza Hotel.
Extra special thanks to MousePlanet staff member Stephanie Wien, without whose assistance this recap article could not have been completed on time, or indeed at all.
Survey
We're always working to make MouseAdventure better and more fun for our teams. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us, and be sure to point your teammates here so they can make their voices heard too!
Start the MouseAdventure Survey
MouseAdventure Personal Edition
After every MouseAdventure, we always have lots of people asking if they can buy a copy of the game so that they can play on their own. Some people want a chance to go back and do the things they missed. Others were unable to join us on the day of the event and want to see what they missed. For various reasons we can't offer copies of the event just played, but we have put together a Personal Edition comprising several fun quests from past events. Note, though, that Disney parks are ever-changing places and we can't guarantee how far into the future a particular quest will continue to work.
Each copy will come in a spiral bound format for easy use with an answer key in the back providing some explanation of the puzzles, the correct answers, and how you should have found those answers. The price is $25 per packet and you can purchase up to four, so that you can play with friends or compete as two two-player teams. Orders will be shipped once a week, so delivery may take up to 2 weeks; all orders will be shipped first class mail.
Keep in touch with MouseAdventure at MouseAdventure.com, on Facebook and on Twitter (@MouseAdventure) for all the latest updates on our next events.
We post MouseAdventure updates in our weekly Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Updates, as well as on the front page of our site. We also strongly encourage you to sign up for our MouseAdventure mailing list to receive updates about future events as they are announced. Note: This is an opt-in only mailing list, which means that we have not already added the names of former MouseAdventure players to this list. If you would like to receive these updates, you will need to sign up for the list.
Please note that certain Internet Service Providers, namely Earthlink, Hotmail and Go.com, have been known to block MouseAdventure email even to subscribers who specifically request it. If you sign up for our newsletters using one of these providers, we can almost guarantee you won't receive it. The same goes for important registration information and confirmation for teams. We encourage you to consider using an alternate email address from well-behaved providers such as Gmail or Yahoo to receive MouseAdventure email.
Sign up for the MouseAdventure Mailing List
Fall 2011 at Disneyland Resort
Our Fall 2011 event at the Disneyland Resort will be held in the twilight of summer, September 24 & 25. Advanced teams will really need to be in the zone as they compete on Saturday afternoon/evening and all day Sunday, while Basic teams will experience rather less terror with just one full day on Sunday. It's likely, but so far not confirmed, that we will have a “101” or “Day at the Park” beginner division as well.
Fall 2011 at Walt Disney World
MouseAdventure returns to Walt Disney World for World Explorers III, this time at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Saturday, November 12. The World must be Explored!
Teams who competed in MouseAdventure Luau and register for the Fall 2011 event in Walt Disney World (with the majority of players from the team participating in both events) will be eligible for our second annual Coast To Coast award. Prizes will be awarded to the team with the highest combined score.
