MouseAdventure World Explorers II Recap

Jump to: Event recap | The quests | Troop photos | Results | Crew acknowledgments | Future events | Survey

Event Recap

MouseAdventure returned to Walt Disney World on Saturday, October 9 for our second Florida event. Keeping with the “World Explorers” theme we adopted for our East Coast games, 32 “troops” consisting of a team of two to four players gathered outside Disney’s Animal Kingdom park at 7:00 in the morning on game day to size up the competition and wait for an escort into the still-closed park for a pre-game breakfast at Restaurantosaurus.

MouseAdventure players sure like their yogurt, as Disney’s catering department learned. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Having devoured a dinosaur-sized quantity of yogurt, troops gathered closer together inside the “mess hall” to listen to master of ceremonies Andrew Rich go over the rules and game play details. As with our first Walt Disney World event, troops received a “merit button” for each quest successfully completed during the event, and troop leaders were given a personalized MouseAdventure Merit Button sash to display their awards. After the troops recited their World Explorers Pledge and Disney gave the all-clear that the park was open for the day, we released the players into Animal Kingdom park to solve their first quest. We’ve detailed the quests and challenges below, along with the solution and correct answer.

The quests

Orienteering (30 points)

As troops left Restaurantosaurus, they received an envelope containing a park map and sheet of clear acetate film marked with a grid pattern. This turned out to be the troops’ first task: The Orienteering quest.

Troops first had to locate the store on Discovery Island where a quartet of animal heads in the shop’s intricate decor represent the four points on a compass. Then, they had to search the trails of Discovery Island to find the answers to a series of questions that would determine which direction they would move within the grid. After correctly answering the questions, Troops placed the clear grid over the park map to find their collection point.

Mickey Troopers search for directions inside an Animal Kingdom shop. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

This collection point would be critical for all troops, since only by correctly solving this quest could they identify which of two locations they had to proceed in order to pick up the rest of their game materials.

• Answer – Correct completion led the troops to either the bridge to Dinoland, or the character-greeting trail between Africa and Asia.
• Common errors – Some troops misread the sign asking about flamingos, and as a result found themselves wandering through the Asia section of the park, searching in vain for the collection point. All troops eventually found the right location; some with more prompting than others.

Crew member Jeff Moxley hands an event packet to the Castaways, who went on to win the event. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Citizenship (20 points)

Players had to search around Harambe to match each company slogan or proprietor with the associated business. Correctly matching all of the pairs yielded a series of words that could be unscrambled to form a question.

A performer sings Happy Birthday to one member of Rainy Day Cavalcade as the troop tries to solve a quest in Africa. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

The answer was located on the wall just to the right of the women’s bathroom in Harambe.

• Solution – “Title of the person who dedicated the Harambe travelers public restrooms.”
• Answer – Minister of Public Works (Ministry of Public Works also accepted).

Paleontology (20 points)

Troops rode Dinosaur, looking for words to complete a series of phrases. Select letters from each of those words were then used to spell the common name of a dinosaur, and the answer was the corresponding scientific (Latin) name for that dinosaur.

A member of Denny’s Magic Mice looks for the answer to the Paleontology quest. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

• Solution – Common name: “Douc langur”
• Answer – Scientific (Latin) name: Pygathrix nemaeus

Stamp Collecting (20 points)

Troops received a set of stamp images featuring photos of real animals located in the Oasis.

The Abominations search the Oasis during the Stamp Collecting quest. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Troops had to find the common (English) name of the animals, then use the letter indicated by each stamp’s value to unscramble a word. That word was unique to one animal in the Oasis, and troops had to identify that animal for their final answer.

• Solution – Endangered
• Answer – Scarlet macaw

Animal Science (30 points)

Troops rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris, where they had to use the animal names on the animal spotting guides located in each vehicle to eliminate words from two word search grids; one for birds, and one for beasts. The remaining letters from both grids spelled out a question.

• Solution – For the answer to this quest, write down the license plate of the Harambe Wildlife Reserve Land Rover parked outside warden post number four.
• Answer – TZ 16414

Hidden Quest

The Animal Science quest also contained the hidden quest, which was written backwards in the unused letters at the end of the beast word search grid. The hidden quest was worth an additional 20 points.

• Hidden quest – Congratulations on finding the hidden quest. According to the trekking guide of Anandapur what is the phone number for the Hotel Bukit?
• Answer – 41497

Bird Study (30 points)

To earn this badge, troops had to walk the Maharajah Jungle Trek to the bird exhibit. Troops had to locate the gallery of bird photos arranged in the same pattern as the grid provided, then using the laminated “Birds of the Royal Forest” guides, cross out words from the grid that corresponded to gallery photos of birds found on the guide.

Troop 9 tries to spot some birds in the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Those words that were crossed out were then used to form a question.

• Solution – What royal king decreed the forest of Anandapur a royal preserve?
• Answer – Bhima Disampati.

Collections (30 points)

Troops located the missing words from sets located around the Asia portion of Animal Kingdom, then used those words to eliminate letters from those provided. The remaining letters unscrambled to form a word, and the answer to the quest were the other two words or phrases that completed that set.

Heffalump and Woozle search Asia for answers to the Collections quest. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

• Solution – Boots
• Answer – Backpacks, oxygen tanks

Insect Studies (30 points)

Troops were provided with a small plastic magnifying glass, which came in handy on this challenge. A series of questions from the attraction “It’s Tough To Be a Bug” was presented, along with a small grid of bug icons.

The duo known as “2 Old Broads do Disney” get ready to solve the Insect Studies quest. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Each question had similar bug icons, and when answered, the icon of the correct answer was filled in on the grid. Once all the bugs were filled in, a question was revealed.

• Solution – What is the name of the theatre?
• Answer – Tree of Life Repertory Theatre.

Hiking (40 points)

This quest took troops on a trek along the Pangani Forest Trail to find the answers to a series of questions based on signs and other objects found along the way. When written into the spaces provided, the highlighted words spelled out a question that could be answered by visiting the Harambe School.

• Solution – Capital of Gabon
• Answer – Libreville

Arts and Crafts (40 points, minus 5 for each incorrect bead, minimum of zero)

Who doesn’t love a plastic bead key chain? This quest led troops to Camp Minnie Mickey for the Festival of the Lion King show. A series of questions about the show indicated which bead to select for the key chain, paying special attention to the size of beads as well as the shape.

Jussst A Dinosaur! solves the Arts and Crafts quest on their way to winning the best new team category. Photo by Andrew Rich.

• Answers

1. ZAWADI
2. ELEPHANTS
3. SHEEP
4. TIMON
5. PUMBAA
6. TIMON
7. KIUME
8. KIBIBI AND NAKAWA
9. WARTHOGS AND LIONS

A bonus quest worth 20 points was offered for troops that wanted to do a square stitch lanyard in addition to their key chain.

Kevin from Simba’s Pride works on completing a braided lanyard for the Arts and Crafts quest. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Auto Mechanics (50 points)

Troops were sent to DinoLand in search of specific license plates in the Dino-Rama planter located next to TriceraTop Spin. The phrase was copied into the provided space, and as license plates were found in order, the letters below the symbol or letter where the plate was found were used to spell out a question that would be answered by searching behind Chester and Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures.

Several troops try to solve the Auto Mechanics quest, but an few inches of gravel added before the event made it much more difficult than planned. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Disney landscapers made this quest a little more difficult than we had intended when they added several inches of additional gravel to the planter after the quest had been written, covering more letters than were previously visible.

• Question – What was the price of gas?
• Answer – 28 9/10 cents

Foreign Language (50 points)

Ever notice all the Swahili words used around the Africa section of Animal Kingdom? Troops were given a list of English words and phrases, then instructed to search for their Swahili equivalents. Those Swahili words were then placed in a grid and the letters in the shaded squares were arranged in numerical order to form another Swahili word. Troops had to search for the price of the product that was named.

The Ladybugs search for Swahili words in Africa. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

The answer was located in the Mombasa Marketplace, where items are arranged on shelves close to the ceiling.

• Solution – Karatasiyachoo (Swahili for “toilet tissue”).
• Answer – 15.

Math (50 points)

Troops searched for the numbers in DinoLand that answered 12 questions. They then calculated for a three-digit number that was a date, expressed as million years ago, and were instructed to provide the date and name of the geologic period to which the date corresponded.

The MouseSCOUTeers take a break during the Math quest. Photo by Stephanie Wien

A geologic timeline located in the Dinosaur ride shop provided the key to this answer.

• Solution – 453.
• Answer – Ordovician.

Photography (5 points each)

Each troop was provided with a small clip-on digital camera to photograph 12 specific subjects throughout the event. All members of a troop were required to be in the photo to receive credit, so the normal MouseAdventure rule against asking cast members or guests for help was suspended for this one quest.

Troop 11 hoped they would get double credit on the Photography quest by getting two Disney characters in their photo. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

We’ve posted the best of these photos to a gallery on Picasa (link), so you can see how creative the Troops got in interpreting the requested subject matter. Here are some of our favorites:

With a Disney character

Heffalump and Woozle find out what can happen when you ask someone else to take your photo.

With two elephants

The Runaway Brains were one of only two teams who took their “two elephants” photo on the Kilimanjaro Safari, which was not an easy task.

With a frog statue

Yensid’s Apprentices pose with a statue of a frog.

With a Yeti print

This wasn’t the “Yeti print” we expected teams to photograph, but it counted!

With a dung beetle

Denny’s Magic Mice found a different dung beetle than most teams.

With a flightless bird

Captain Awesome and everyone else pose with a flightless bird.

With a “Do Not Feed the Animals” sign

The Abominations found a “Do not feed the animals sign,” but misread the quest directions and didn’t get their entire team in the photo.

With real fish

The Castaways pose with a tank of live fish, and one very confused little girl.

With an animal in the petting zoo

Tigger & Tiger went to Planet Watch to get a photo of an petting zoo animal.

With a crate being shipped to Dr. Kulunda

The Animal Kingdom Faunatics found the crate being shipped to Dr. Kulunda.

With a sign that says “Disneyland”

Simba’s Pride found a photo of a Disneyland (Paris) sign at a Disney Vacation Club booth.

With the rhino in the Tree of Life

Pluto’s Puppies found the rhino in the Tree of Life.

Observation (5 points each)

We provided troops with 14 photos taken around Animal Kingdom and asked them to identify each photos; each correct answer was worth 5 points.

Yen Sid’s Apprentices look confused, but they took third place honors in the event. Photo by Andrew Rich.

Kingdom Trivia (5 points each)

In a twist on the usual trivia, all the answers to this quest were located in the park, and answers could be found along the way as troops solved the various other quests.

Jiminy’s Crickets takes some time to organize their event materials. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Troop photos

We’ve also created an album of candid photos from the event on Picasa, so you can see even more of the fun (link). Thanks to Jeff Moxley for the Troop photos.

Results

Results of MouseAdventure World Explorers II: Animal Kingdom were announced at an informal post-event gathering, and all troops present received their merit buttons for quests correctly completed. Winning troops receive a prize package of Disney books, DVDs and CDs, to be delivered directly to their homes. Unclaimed merit buttons will be sent to troops who could not attend the post-event gathering.

The total possible score for this event was 670 points, including the hidden quest and the lanyard bonus.

First Place – Castaways (600 points)

Troop 16 – Castaways

Second Place – san diego mouse catchers lite (540 points)

Troop 30 – san diego mouse catchers lite

Third Place – Yen Sid’s Apprentices (535 points)

Troop 1 – Yen Sid’s Apprentices

Best New Troop – Jussst A Dinosaur! (415 points)

Troop 26 – Jussst A Dinosaur!

After completing the Animal Kingdom event, 24 World Explorers flew to California to participate in our MouseAdventure Holiday: Trick or Treat event at Disneyland just 8 days later. Those players received an additional Coast to Coast Merit Button for their team’s sash, and also received an individual commemorative button.

Full Results

Staff acknowledgements

When we hosted our first Walt Disney World event in 2009, a crew of 20 staff and volunteers helped pull it all off. This time, we did the same job with just seven on-site crew members, and they all did an incredible job in making this event run so efficiently.

Joe Stevano and I did the research for this event over the course of one really long, really hot, really humid weekend in August, and wrote the quests over the next few weeks after we returned to California. I flew back out to Florida a few days before the rest of the crew to double check the quests and make sure everything was still where we left it. Once Joe, Jeff Moxley, Stephanie Wien, and Mark Goldhaber joined me in Orlando, we spent another long, hot day rewriting and retesting the quests to handle the sudden disappearance of a certain turtle that was vital to the Math quest, and to work around the several hundred pounds of gravel the landscape department had dumped into the middle of the Auto Maintenance quest site. Andrew and Jennifer Rich joined us late Thursday night, and after another round of testing, we were ready to greet the troops Saturday morning.

Back in California, my husband Tony Phoenix worked to help Joe print and assemble the game packets before Joe flew to Orlando to meet me, and then spent the event weekend printing and assembling the materials for our MouseAdventure Holiday Trick or Treat event, which was held just eight days later back at the Disneyland Resort. As always, credit goes to Jeff for the amazingly robust registration system. Amanda Smith also deserves a mention for helping to copy edit the game materials, and of course Joe gets all of the praise for the layout and design of the quest materials.

Our next events

MouseAdventure is planning three events in 2011, though dates and details are still being worked out among the crew and with Disney. We will post event and registration dates as soon as we confirm them, but those announcements may be as little as 90 days before the event. We do hope to return to Walt Disney World next fall for our third MouseAdventure World Explorers event, and we can definitely use your help to spread the word to prospective new Walt Disney World players. We absolutely love writing games for Walt Disney World, but we need to grow the Florida event to make it more affordable for our Troops. If you have friends, family, or co-workers who are Disney fans, tell them about MouseAdventure and encourage them to come out for an event!

• Spring 2011 – Disneyland Resort
• Fall 2011 – Disneyland Resort
• Fall 2011 – Walt Disney World

In 2011 we will once again recognize teams that compete in a MouseAdventure event on each coast. To participate in this challenge, teams must register for the Spring 2011 event in Disneyland and the Fall 2011 event in Walt Disney World, and the majority of players from the team must participate in both events. Prizes will be awarded to the team with the highest combined score. Additional details will be provided prior to the start of registration for the Spring 2011 event, but this is a good time to start talking your team into a trip to the other coast!

Keep reading MousePlanet for more information about our upcoming 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.

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