Mouse Adventure Date Announced - April 29, 2007

[belleh5]

Sadly the SuperStar Losers aren't playing this spring. We didn't sign up in time. Hopefully we will all be together again in the fall and if it doesn't fall on Taylor's b-day. But I will still be down there this weekend to hang out with whoever?!

[innerSpaceman]

The irony is ... and yeah, I've said this before ... but this may the the last MouseAdventure I play. I feel like it's gotten so far from its roots, I don't even recognize it.

Sure, the event itself might still be in the parks and at the resort ... but as someone who bemoaned losing the prize ceremony at Carnation Gardens and having MouseAdventure central conveniently located near there ... it's quite a blow having to do registration and have the prize ceremony ... not in the Esplanade or at Big Thunder Back-o-Barbeque ... but at the bloody Paradise Pier Hotel!!

Crikey, that sucks.



Frankly, with so few of our friends playing, and lately not wanting to even know how badly we did ... I may not even bother to trek all the way over to the Paradise Pier for the results.


It's really too bad that, if rumors are right, Disney has cracked down on this so much that nothing official can be held at the Resort proper. And even more sucky if more juicy rumors are true that a fiasco involving MiceChat's first foray into MouseAdventureish territory 86'd it for everybody else.

[Alex]

Disneyland has simply made it prohibitively expensive to rent an in park venue. When a local radio station rents Festival Arena for 500 people, that radio station generally needs to also purchase 500 admission tickets.

Disneyland has decided they want that money even if the admission tickets aren't needed. If we tried to pass that expense on to the players, MA, would end up costing almost $100 per person. And it is certainly not an expense MousePlanet could just eat.

Believe me when I say every possible alternative we can think of has been seriously considered. And short of limiting the game to 30 teams and going underground again (which would have all kinds of perils now that Disney is on edge because there is some scavenger hunt type event going on almost every weekend now and many of them create more hassle for the park with 50 players than we do with 500) we're running with the options that at least allow us to do the game.

[Stan4dSteph]

There's a MA reminderer that you can sign up for. It will send you an email when registration opens. Here's a link to the email form.

[NirvanaMan]

Originally Posted by Stan4dSteph

There's a MA reminderer that you can sign up for. It will send you an email when registration opens. Here's a link to the email form.

Ah ok, tight. Thanks Steph. Now we won't miss the next one at least, I hope!

Sucks about a bad apple or two spoiling an incredibly tight, well-run event that still manages to stay fresh and fascinating year after year. I am always amazed in how well MA is managed and despite it's upsurge in popularity, still manages to cause minimal to no disruption to the average tourist.

The amount of work that must go into it is mind-blowing. Of course, we always manage to find the mistake or two that inevitably make it into the packets.

[innerSpaceman]

I suppose Disney could have just banned the practice ... but I don't see how they could manage that, logistically or legally. I mean if a group of people want to count how many Dumbos there are, how can that be a basis for removing them from the Park?

And I understand about Festival Arena being prohibitively expensive. But why isn't registration allowed in the Esplanade or the picnic area? Was that part of the purchase package?

What does this mean for where officials are stationed during the event? Do they have to linger near rest rooms now, or are they allowed to set up a table somewhere on resort property?




Reasons aside ... it doesn't change the truth on the ground. Logistically, it's not as charming as it once was. And the games themselves have been hit and miss. Oh, it's always a reasonably good time ... but it's been a while since there was a really creative and fun-filled game (imo) ... oddly enough, it was in DCA!


Add to that the fact that I've played a dozen times or so, and yeah - maybe even that my team's gone from hyper-competing champions to out-of-the-running has-beens ... it all adds up to a certain malaise.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I don't blame iSm for his malaise - but if the past holds true, he'll be back again next time

Thanks for the reminder link, Steph. I'm not surprised that people didn't use it, because like NM said, in the past we didn't need it. This jumped out and took everyone off guard.

It would have been nice if the staff saw this coming and sent out a mass email to all former teams, letting them know that it would sell out fast this time. (If MP hasn't been keeping the emails in a database I'd be very disappointed in their business practices.)

I suppose one could argue that no matter what, not everyone would get in....and if that's the way it's going to continue to be, the unity this event has had in the past may be in trouble indeed. Battling to actually get into the game - yuck. What a shame Disney has done this to MP's wonderful event.

[innerSpaceman]

I hate to say it. But it's MousePlanet's event ... and if the participation has to be limited, I can't see a reasonable reason why members of MousePad* shouldn't get first crack at it.







* if that's still a going concern. I think I post there twice a year, once after each MA ... and I think I skipped last time.

[Alex]

We didn't do that because we didn't expect it to sell out that quickly. Apparently being informed that we were up against a hard limit got all of the people who usually wait until the last week to register to do it right away. But the number of people able to play is only slightly less than in the last two events. When we though it would sell out quickly we were thinking a month, not 4 days.

The things we used to do in the picnic area were never allowed, we just eventually got big enough that we couldn't ward off security any longer. We've been hassled for the Saturday picnic being too big and formal.

Esplanade sign-in is no longer an option.

I certainly understand the loss of a certain bonhomie as the event has grown and run into the logistical roadblocks. And if that reaches a point where it isn't fun any more then I can understand that.

Yes, Disney could ban the games (heck, my local mall has a sign up saying that scavenger hunt games are not allowed). It would be difficult to police but assuming there is ever a point in the day where everybody comes together that could be disrupted. And players could be hassled, which even if itsn't effective would be a disaster for us.

[innerSpaceman]

Heheh, a website I devised a game for had part of our scavenger-hunt, puzzle-quest thingy at a mall before they all started outlawing them. My fave task is still from that part of the game: How many nipples are displayed inside Abercrombie?



Alex, could you perhaps elaborate on why the Esplanade check-in is "no longer an option" without revealing state secrets? Is it tied to purchasing the Festival area for big $$?