Monthly Archives: March 2012

Spell Cards For Everyone! 3/30/12

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There’s something I’ve noticed lately that has gotten under my skin and I want to share it with you guys and its the lack of spell cards being given out per party.

It seems to me that when new parties are checking in they are playing on one card but not everyone in the party is being given a pack of spell cards.  I heard a CM at the Firehouse location this morning tell a family of 5 this verbatim “I can only give out one pack of cards per key card, if you each want a pack I have to start 5 different keys, and you’ll all be split up.” Well it seemed to me the CM just didn’t want to start 5 new keys.  Well ya know what that’s too bad, you’re entitled to one spell pack per person, per day (additional packs if you beat the game of course). If you’re a family of 10, start 1o new keys and get your 1 pack per day.  You’re spending a lot of money on your trip and its to your advantage to gather as many cards as you can during your visit.  Now I am not condoning abusing the system, I just feel that if only one of the members of your party wants to play help them out! There is no reason why  you shouldn’t load up on cards if you legitimately can.

Just my two cents.  Have a great weekend!

I’ll be back with another new week of posts on Monday!

FAIL! 3/29/12

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FAIL!

Well apparently some players were allowed to stay on their levels whether it be Medium or Hard and others were not as a lucky.  Due to the madness of the imposed Easy Mode Lockdown!

Once again the amount of crazy misinformation and lack of communication of those running this attraction caused a major FAIL.

So my advice to you, if you’re on either of these levels try like hell to stay there.  Tell them you know of people still on those levels and it’s not fair for you to get bumped down when you know others are playing the game on medium/hard.

Now I’m just bitter… Oh well.

They just better get citrus swirl up and running again!

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Don’t Spoil The Fun 3/29/12

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Hey Folks, today’s post is a common sense tip.  Considering most people lack it when visiting the World I thought I’d offer this tidbit of info.

Since its official opening on February 22nd 2012, SOTMK has become EXTREMELY POPULAR (no surprise here) lots of day guests are playing, but mostly playing are AP’s & CM’s so when you see someone playing for the first time don’t offer help unless they ask for it.  Otherwise you’ll look like a total doofus.  What I’m getting at is if you see someone is on a particular stage where you know they’re going to only need to use the sorcerer’s crest, don’t ruin it for them by yelling out something like “YOU CAN’T CAST A SPELL HERE!”.  This might be their only chance to play the game don’t go and spoil the story lines for them.

Trust me no one cares that you’ve beaten the game on hard 5 times, that you’re collecting your 3rd deck, or how many times you’ve beaten this villain. Standing in line bragging to the first time family and butting into peoples game play while you’re waiting just makes you look ignorant and silly.  Especially if you’re there by yourself.  Have fun, but don’t offer unsolicited advice it just makes you look creepy.

 

 

Easy Mode Lockdown Personal Thoughts 3/28/12

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Personally I find this is very disappointing.  I realize capacity has become a problem, but if you break it down its really only an issue in Fantasyland first and foremost due to how close the portals are to one another.  Right behind the castle you have 3 portals right in a row, and 2 more portals virtually right across from those.

Another issue is the amount of villains your facing in that area, Ursula, Maleficent, & Hades/Chernabog which has the most portal visits for any villain with the combination of all those variables plus intro screens and end game screen.  Also considering that it is already an extremely high traffic area due to the amount of guests that want to walk through the castle, you are going to have waits and traffic jams.  It’s simply unavoidable.  (Yes I know Adventureland has 3 villains however, the portals have enough distance from one another to not cause log jams as often as Fantasyland)

The one thing that I’m hearing today from people both is that the game should be age restricted, which is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.

If you’re expecting to come to Walt Disney World and not have to wait in any lines for attractions or experiences you aren’t out of your mind.  The Walt Disney World Resort is one of the top if not the top tourist destination in the US.  With a new interactive experience such as this one where basically free keepsakes are being distributed it is going to become extremely popular.  However suggesting that older players, whether you’re a day guest, CM, AP, or local should be restricted to playing at certain times of the day is asinine.  As I said in another forum that’s like saying no one over the age of 16 should be allowed on attractions in Fantasyland or no one under the age of 16 should be allowed to ride Space Mountain.  That’s absurd, WDW is a place where everyone can have fun.  If playing SOTMK is all you want to do while in the Magic Kingdom that is your prerogative.

Here’s as idea for those who want reduced wait times for this attraction.
They need to develop an option to skip through the intro scenes when facing a new villain, for a repeat player its pointless to watch those animations repeatedly.  If repeat players where able to do that it would greatly reduce waits.  The only difference between the harder levels and easy is  2 more spells per villain, except Chernabog which is 3.

If I’m Disney I’d be loving this.  Here’s why, I spoke with many guests over the past week and roughly half of them told me they extended their stay by a 1/2 day or more just so they can continue to collect more cards and continue the game so they can play on the HARDER LEVELS.

The bottom line,  players no matter what age that are seeking to beat the game on medium or hard shouldn’t be penalized just because XYZ Family from Anytown, USA can’t handle waiting in lines at the portals.

It’s ridiculous.

Where did you get that? 3/28/12

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The number one question I’m asked while waiting in line at the portals is “Where did you get that?” What people are referring to is my 4 pocket card album, aka my spell book.  Yes as nerdy as it sounds and looks carrying around a card album is a great idea and very convenient.  Not only does it keep your spell cards in great shape, it also makes for easy organization when you’re looking to cast spell combos.  Now I’ve seen some people using a variety of things from photo albums, big 3 ring binders with card protectors, ziploc bags, etc.  I am telling you this is the way to go.  You’ll get the most out of using one of these, and there is a variety of places you can go to get one.  Here’s a couple of places online and local stores you can check out.

  • Walmart
  • Amazon dot com has them, by searching 4 pocket card album variety of prices and styles
  • Local card shop or comic book store

Here is a example of my spell book so you can see how easy it is to group them together

 

Now as I said yesterday with that survey I took, it’s only a matter of time until WDW has some merch in this regard so if you feel like waiting, you can over spend and purchase what the mouse has to offer.  As for me I’m sticking with what I got.

Easy Mode Lockdown, Surveys & More 3/27/12

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As someone tweeted earlier in the day guests that were trying to level up or had been playing on Medium or Hard have all been bumped back down to Easy until further notice.

Throughout my day of playing and trading I spoke with many guests, both locals, CM’s, and no one was really sure what was going on.  After I was done for the day I stopped by the distribution area behind the Christmas Shop and found a CM who was more than willing to talk to me.  Now of course take this with a grain of salt, lot’s of CM’s like to blow smoke its their nature, they’re good people, however they like to stir the pot, and trust me as a blogger I love it when they do : )

I asked him flat out, is the easy mode lockdown true? His response 100% yes, he went on to tell me that Ops had be conducting time studies to see how long players on Medium/Hard spend at portals, and what their success rate is on beating villains on the first try.  He told me the reason this was started is because there have been a huge amount of complaints from guests about how long they have to wait at portals, and how come other players get to cast numerous spells against one villain and their experience isn’t an depth as a more advanced player.  He also went on to say “Well it’s just AP’s & CM’s playing anyways, so they think it’s taking away from the day guest.  Since we’re the ones taking all the time to play.”   Well here’s my response to that comment, if all we want to do is play SOTMK during our time at the park that is our choice.  So as of now, it’s locked on easy.  Hopefully not for long, as far as I am concerned if I am forced to play on the easy level that will deter my game play and maybe that is what they want…

While playing in Fantasyland today, I was approached by a CM doing research surveys, I gladly obliged her and took it.  Most of the questions involved my thoughts on gameplay, pros, cons, waits at portals, animation, storyline, etc…  Then came the merchandising question….  One question asked me I was willing to purchase the following :

  • Posters
  • T Shirts
  • Spell Books (Binders)
  • Card Protectors

As suspected Disney has become wise to the amount of people carrying around things they are getting from outside sources to protect their cards.  It’s only a matter of time until this all comes to the Emporium.

The last bit of info I’ll share for the day is probably the most ridiculous rumor I’ve heard thus far.  This came from CM who told me they work in merch specifically at MK.  He apparently was told the price point for the “booster packs” he said that starting next month “booster packs” will be available at the Emporium for $3 per pack.  Yes that’s right $3! I hope that’s true but I highly doubt it.  If that’s the case cards 61-70 will be worth nothing on eBay and the resale market for them will die.

I’ll close with this little tidbit,  a longtime CM whom I trust and am very close with told me this last night in regards to cards 61-70.   “At first we were really upset to see those cards being resold at such ridiculous prices, however we  realized it was our own fault pulling those out of play in the first place thus making them such a hot commodity.  We caused that problem ourselves.”

So maybe the “booster packs” will be pretty cheap, if not than very affordable.

Only time will tell….

Trading Tips & Etiquette 3/27/12

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Trading is an essential part of SOTMK especially if you’re looking to complete your deck, 1-60 that is. Even cards 61-70 can be had through trades as well.  Here’s some tips…

  • Star Cards are rares, be sure you’re only trading A STAR FOR A STAR, some people will take a 3+ cards (uncommons & commons) for a Star Card.  REMEMBER a TIANA for a TRITON IS NOT A GOOD TRADE : ) IMO I’m not a fan of trading multiples of cards for 1 especially if you’re not a local, you’re only getting a limited amount of packs during your trip.  Save your duplicate Star Card to trade for one you don’t have, someone will need it trust me.
  • As crazy as it sounds some people do have duplicate Lightning Bolts, that is if they haven’t sold them on eBay.  I witnessed 2 trades of those, it involved 5 Star Cards and a Vinylmation for a Finn McMissile.  The other was 10 unopened packs, pins, & a vinylmation for a Jasmine.  Yes people will part with them you just have to be creative and see what you can do to wheel and deal.
  • Be polite with traders and when you’re trading. I’ve experienced some nasty people first hand, and have witnessed it as well. It’s not uncommon to ask other sorcerers if they’d like to trade while waiting in line.  If you’re not interested a simple “No Thank You” will do. If the person says no let it be, don’t continue to pry and force a trade, it just makes you look creepy its that simple. Typically I carry around a lot of doubles of commons and uncommons and I will give them out to random families while waiting in line in order to help them complete decks.  I’ll open with, “Are you guys just starting out?” if they say yes I’ll pull out a stack of cards and allow them to choose a couple and I ask for nothing in return.  There have been a few occasions where before I can get to that point  someone in their party jumped down my throat assuming I just want to trade and take advantage of them for their “good cards”.  At that point I tell them what I was going to do, then they feel horrible and I have a laugh.

In conclusion everyone has a common goal here and that’s to beat the game and collect all the cards.  Work together and help others when you can! There’s no point in keeping doubles upon doubles of common cards, give some away, help out some traders.  You’d be surprised maybe some good karma might come your way when you’re battling with Yzma or you’ll get that last card you need in your next pack.