MouseAdventure Spring 2001

All week we had been told to expect partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 70s. One cautionary note was sounded when we realized the UV index was predicted to be a 9 rating, meaning that sunblock would be a necessity. More than sunblock, most MouseAdventurers needed shade and a good amount of water. It may have been in the 70s, but it felt like it was in the 90s, and the teams running around and working up a sweat must have felt the heat even more intensely.

The turnout for the event topped 150 (including non-playing children), with almost 50 teams registering in advance. Registration began at 10:45 at the picnic tables just outside the main gate of Disneyland, where teams signed in and received a page of rules and what to expect. They were then funneled in to Plaza Gardens, where a picture was taken of each team. As soon as all the teams had an individual picture made, it was time to move on to the giant group photo. Ever try to take a picture with 150 of your closest friends in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle? Trust me, it’s fun!

The captains were called together for a more detailed explanation of the rules. Once they had it all down, they began a “mixer,” where they had to visit with their fellow captains and exchange a predetermined Disney question, with the object being to collect as many questions as they could. When five minutes elapsed, they would return to their teams and answer ten of their collected questions before starting on the event proper.

Meanwhile, the teams (absent their captains) were trying – usually in vain, but it’s all good fun – to think of five Disney movies they could name while coming up with the correct year of release. You might think this sounds easy until you realize they weren’t allowed to name any movies that were released in 1990 or beyond. Could you think of five off the top of your head? This was not multiple choice.

When all the preliminary games were over, teams headed to our registration table and got their packets, which included an EyeSpy game, a scavenger hunt, and trivia questions if their team was in the “Combined” category. Teams also took their first ticket book. There were five ticket books, lettered A through E. E-Tickets were harder and thus worth more points, while A-tickets were the easiest. When one ticket book was done, it could be turned in for another book. These ticket books form the “meat” of MouseAdventure, with puzzles inevitably leading teams off to the far reaches of the Park to come up with answers.

The last component of the competition is interactive in nature. Teams had unique KeyWords that could be exchanged whenever they met other teams out “in the field”, with points gathered for each correct KeyWord. There were also KeyLetters unique to each team, and these were exchanged to build up the largest list possible, with the goal of creating a word out of your collected letters, Scrabble-style. Only three teams were able to complete all the elements. That’s part of the challenge to MouseAdventure: prioritizing and/or just being fast about answering all you can… but accurately.

By 3:00 it was all over, and the scoring began in earnest. Two frantic hours later, we had determined the winners of both categories (Scavenger Hunt-only and Combined with Trivia) and were ready to announce their identity. Too bad the nearby Parade of the Stars was too loud to allow for a punctual beginning to the awards. A few short minutes later the next choir or band was scheduled to begin at the Plaza Gardens Stage, so we hurried on to the awards.

The winning teams then got their crack at the prize table, stocked with unique items, promotional giveaways, or collector’s editions. There were such things as a California Screamin’ model roller coaster, DCA official albums, DCA opening day posters, Disneyland CDs, pins sets, several signed books by author David Koenig, and even a few of the more expensive Walt’s Time and Brush with Disney art books.

Disneyland
April 29, 2001


Divisions

  • Scavenger Hunt Only
  • Combined with Trivia

Winners – Scavenger Hunt Only

  1. the-mouse.com
  2. Minnied Out
  3. Mickey’s Marauders

Winners – Combined

  1. The Denton Affair
  2. Kronk’s Krushers
  3. DF4