The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom is a brand new game that Walt Disney World has been beta-testing for the better part of a month now and has it set to go live on February 22, 2012. Today while getting some extra cards and playing the game a bit more, I got the chance to speak with Imagineer / Creative Director / Producer Jonathan Ackley.
For those that haven’t played the game yet, it is quite a simple premise but leads to hours of entertainment.
Merlin the Magician needs your help to keep the Magic Kingdom safe from the evil Disney Villains who are led by Hades and trying to take over. Using the assistance and magic of 70 other Disney characters through spell cards, guests can help keep the Magic Kingdom from harm. The cards can be used at portals around the park that can be found by a map and clues in order to defeat the Villains.
Image gallery of Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom portals
It’s also fun to try and collect all the cards by way of playing the game multiple days and also trading with others around Disney World. Ackley knows this is a big step for Disney and is proud of the work they’ve done and how it looks so far.
“Disney is a great company to work because…well, you can come up with a crazy idea and its ok,” says Ackley. “Someone can say ‘I’d like to do something with lasers,’ and they’ll have a team ready to work on it. Where can I get an 80-foot robot? Oh, that’s three doors down. Don’t startle those guys.”
Image gallery of Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards and map
Speaking with Ackley, I advised him that so far I’ve already collected 68 of the 70 cards in the first series. The remaining two though are in the hard-to-get numbers 61-70 which are not available right now. It has not yet been announced how they will be able to be acquired, but that set was available for the first couple weeks of testing until taken out of circulation.
“You see, we have been doing a lot of testing and realizing what needs to be done here and what we can do there,” continued Ackley. “Being able to get all 70 cards without a problem isn’t quite right so to get the final ten…it will require a bit more and that is keeping the magic in the game.”
For the time being, guests can get five free cards per day by visiting the Main Street Fire House or the podium behind Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Liberty Square. Rumor has it that more packs of cards will be available for purchase, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
