MouseAdventure Fall 2004

As always, MouseAdventure was a full day of activity. Even though an opportunity to sign in on Saturday gave some teams a bit of extra sleep, the Disneyland picnic area was hopping with activity by 9:30 on Sunday as teams streamed in to sign in and learn about the day ahead of them.

For once it looked like the weather would be on our side. While definitely not cool, the temperature cooperated and stayed in the 70s. The 170 first-time players wouldn’t be aware of this, but I am confident that it was this cooler weather that made for so many smiling faces at the end of the event.

As always, the sense of fun was coursing through the players. Returning were many players who always put together wonderful outfits, and with so many new players it was great to see that some of these old-timers with new competitors not just in the game but in the MouseAdventure haute couture scene. One of these days when we find ourselves with an abundance of time, we’ll definitely have to find a way to give everybody proper display.

Teams seemed to have a good time as they were sent all over Disney’s California Adventure to solve puzzles, examine pictures, and marvel at my mad Photoshop skills as I pulled a David Copperfield act and made the Paradise Pier Hotel disappear. Puzzles included deciphering Morse code at the S.S. Rustworthy, learning the lifespan of a tree at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, and reading a bunch of lenticular signs while in a large crowd and trying to ignore the Ugly Bug Ball.

The most fun, though (for the staff anyway), was small on points but high on entertainment. For 30 bonus points, teams could send one player into harm’s way at S.S. Rustworthy. That player had to spend 10 seconds as the target for one of the pressurized water hoses children play with at that attraction.

Needless to say, it wasn’t long before the children (and some adults) learned that if they hung around they’d get something better than wooden seagulls at which to shoot water.

Throughout the week leading up to MouseAdventure, I had joked repeatedly that things were going so smoothly that something was bound to go awry. Turns out I was right. Although we’d tried to book a ballroom somewhere, everything in the area was full due to a large conference. And as MouseAdventure grows, our concerns have grown that eventually someone would decide we’re in the way. That finally happened, and we pushed our luck one time too many. As excited players waited for the final results, a security lead decided that it was too crowded in the picnic area, and our presence too questionable.

Unfortunately, we had to hurry through the announcements and clear out the area, but everybody took the turn of events with an even keel the entire staff appreciated.

Disney California Adventure
October 10, 2004


Divisions

  • Quests Only
    Combined with Trivia

Winners – Quests Only

  1. Fellowship of the Mouse
  2. Ralph Wiggum, FEJ, and the P.O.P.
  3. SuperStar Losers

Winners – Combined

  1. Brother Bears
  2. Mushu Two
  3. Blew By You

Winner – Best New Team

  1. Team Trogdor