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Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Gameplay

The premise of this popular new interactive card game at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is that certain villains, organized by Hades, Lord of the Underworld, are teaming up to steal pieces of the crystal of the Magic Kingdom. Merlin is on board to fight evil, and enlists us – the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, to help defeat the foes.

 

How it Works (the short version):

  1. Head to the Main Street, U.S.A. Firehouse, pick up your cards and Sorcerers key card
  2. Follow the icons on the map to defeat villains at various portals throughout the Magic Kingdom
  3. Use your spell cards to defeat each villain and eventually become a Master Sorcerer
  4. Come back again and again to collect more cards and defeat more villains!
Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom key card lock
You can hold the key card any way, front or back to activate the portal

 

How it Works (the long version):

You start off by heading to the Main Street Firehouse. There you can watch a preview, check in with your ticket media and receive a key card, 5 spell cards and a map marking the portal locations. You are given a key card which will correspond with your park pass. So you cannot have 5 key cards and expect to get spell cards for each key. You must present your park pass with your key card, so everyone can play fairly. You then watch a tutorial with Merlin so you know exactly what to do when you set out on your quest. Now here you must make a decision with your group – you can all battle together under one key card, or if you each receive a key card, you will most likely be separated and sent to different lands to explore the portals at different times. When we first checked in, we got key cards for each of our family members, but only used one, so we stayed together. Now that we’ve been playing for about a week, my older kids or husband can go off and fight at a portal in a different location within the same land. We usually stay together until we all get portals in the same land though, so for example, if my son gets Adventureland and I get Fantasyland, we’ll go to one land and then wait until he gets Fantasyland too so we can be in the same area. Of course it’s up to you how you want to handle these battles, and keep in mind, not going where the portal tells you to can impact your wait time.

Who Can Play? As far as age-range for the game, this was something my 3 year old could play – at least the unlocking of the portal with the key card. He could still use the spell cards, but only if we told him how to hold them, etc. I’d say in a year he’d be perfect at figuring out the right way to hold or picking out the spell cards he wants. However, from the sounds of level 2 and 3, it would probably take an older child or adult to weigh the options for each card’s skill points and so on.

Once you start collecting your cards, you will get doubles or duplicates of some of them. Especially with our family, we are getting 4 sets of 5 cards each day, so our collection has added up quickly. In the case of dupes, guests can trade with other Sorcerers players and pick up some missing cards that way. So far, we’ve run into new players, who don’t really have anything to trade, and seasoned players, who have almost everything and don’t really need to trade. But we have picked up I’d say about 10-15 cards through trading and it’s a great way to complete your collection. Especially if you have friends playing, they can hold cards for you and will be more willing to trade.

There are 70 cards – but at this time cards 61-70 have been pulled from play. Cast members are saying they will be selling those last 10. As of right now, the packs arriving at the Firehouse don’t have cards 61-70 within them, so you’ll have to wait, or find someone that’s been playing from day 1 of beta testing who’s willing to trade. The game has been officially started since February 22, 2012 and during medium and hard, which cards you use to defeat villains now matters.

 

Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom cards
Our first set of cards from the first time we played

 

All About the Cards:

Once you start your collection of cards, you’ll notice some numbers and symbols on the face of each card. in the bottom left corner there will be a number out of 70, which tells you simply the number the card is in the collection. For example, Sorcerer Mickey is 1/70 and Cabellero Donald is 43/70. In addition, the cards are listed by spell – Mystic Spell (blue background), Princess Spell (purple background), Toy Spell (red background), Machine Spell (black background), Warrior Spell (dark blue background), Monster Spell (green background), Hero Spell (dark teal background), Animal Spell (dark green background), and Fairy Spell (pink background).

Within each spell card, there will be three types of numbers: attack, boost, and shield. So Merlin’s card has a 5 Energy attack, 0 Energy boost, and 1 Energy shield. Other cards will have other types of spells. Options are Energy, Charming, Wishful, Quick, Flying, Strong, and Gross. Right now, in level one, these distinctions don’t really matter as any card defeats any villain. However when the game really goes live, or in higher levels, the type of card and type of attack will most likely matter.

Lastly, above the number is a symbol, with one of three designations – a star symbol, which indicates a rare card; a moon symbol, which signifies an uncommon card; and a planet symbol, which indicates a common card. There are also cards out there with lightning bolt symbols, which seem to be the 61-70 cards that are now pulled. Hopefully we’ll get more facts as the game gets out of testing mode.

UPDATE: throughout the course of playing, my son has been using a few cards continuously. As a result, these cards have become more powerful. Now when he uses Lumiere’s spell card, he often shoots 3 candles, rather than the one. Similarly, my husband was using the Mike Wazowski’s Great Entrance card today and over time the animated spell scene changed to show different monsters. I know when I first used that card, all that showed up was Mike opening a door. This makes for a fun way to keep things continuously changing as you play. And spells that may seem rather boring at first could change to something more magical over time.

UPDATE 2: friends playing on hard are now reporting how certain cards will defeat certain villains easier. For example, one friend spent 2 1/2 hours trying to defeat Kronk on hard, and discovered that Flower, Thumper and Eeyore worked, because they are woodland creatures! So the game is now making you think and really pick and plan the best attack card for each villain. It’s not just the spell or type of spell, but the character casting it that matters.

Game play:

Just head to the portal the Firehouse initially tells you to go to, and then you’ll be instructed where to go next. After you’ve played once, you can pick up where you left off, unless the system has been reset. You can always check where you are supposed to be by scanning your key card at any portal and it will tell you where you need to be. If the game has been reset, it will tell you to head to the Firehouse to get reassigned. There is also a booth in Liberty Square, behind Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, staffed with cast members, who can fix errors, show you the tutorial and help you out. (You can also sign up there with usually no line compared to the Firehouse) In no time you’ll have all the portals memorized and be able to go from place to place without even needing a map.

 

Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom Tortuga
Tortuga Tavern’s fireplace portal, perfectly themed!

 

The game itself involves defeating 8 villains at this time:

  • Main Street, U.S.A. – Cruella DeVil
  • Adventureland – Jafar, Yzma and Scar
  • Liberty Square/Frontierland – Dr. Facilier and Governor Ratcliffe
  • Fantasyland – Maleficent and Ursula

Once you defeat ALL of those villains, you will have a final battle with Chernabog and Hades, and become a Master Sorcerer. Then you proceed to medium and from there, hard. You must check in with either the Firehouse on Main Street or the Sorcerer’s Training booth in Liberty Square, to be set up for medium or hard. They will then tell you where to go to continue your games, and give you 5 additional cards for moving up. Here’s a video of the Master Sorcerer announcement. If you don’t want the finale to be spoiled, don’t watch! You can check out another video on my YouTube channel of the scene before this one, where you actually battle Hades.

 

The first portal you go to tells you the story of the villain, and where to go next to help out. The next portal you will get to pick spell cards (you can combine spells up to 6 at a time!), and usually one of the portals will ask you to use the Sorcerer’s Crest on the back of the card (I actually don’t like this since you don’t get to pick the spells!). The final battle for that land’s villain will let you use two separate spell castings (again, up to 6 cards for each one). Then you have defeated that villain and Merlin will tell you if you’d like to continue to help, which land you should head to next.

Now that we have been playing Medium, I can update that the main differences here are an additional spell added to the scenes where you use spell cards vs. Sorcerer’s Crest card. Where you once cast one spell, you’ll cast two, and in the final battle, you’ll cast three spells, not two. It’s a little choppy in parts because you are just getting repeats of scenes where you had to cast spells before, but in some scenes, there are a few new lines thrown in.

Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom Shootin' Gallery
The portal next to the Frontierland Shootin’ Gallery, one of my faves!

 

I highly recommend playing in both daylight and nighttime. At night you can see many details and lighting effects of the portals that just aren’t visible in bright sunlight. It’s also usually less crowded, though you must wait to play in Fantasyland until the fireworks have ended. After playing at night and in the day when the park was a crowd level 10, I have to say I much prefer night time. Waiting in the sun for your turn at the portal isn’t the most fun, and I can only imagine during the summer months it could be downright unbearable.

If you’d like to see more photos, I’ve created a flickr set for all our Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom adventures. Just click to see the portals – I’ll be adding more as I make future visits to the Magic Kingdom.

Pros and Cons to the game:

As far as pros go, for the most part, I’d categorize the game as unobtrusive to the average guest. You don’t have to pay attention to it as you are passing, though some portals are hard to ignore and can all be a bit loud. I don’t think a single portal detracts from its land or the space it is in. If anything, the only problem is the fact that passers-by will often ask WHAT you are doing, and you’ll have to give a quick synopsis of the game, usually while your animated scene is playing. In addition, those with quite a few cards can expect smaller children who’ve just started playing to ask “where did you get all those cards?” and even “can I have some?” so just be prepared for lots of questions. Since first writing this review, the additional issue of lines for portals has cropped up. On a weekend day, a queue for a portal can be up to 10 deep and definitely puts a damper on making the game fun. I am confident that Disney is aware of this issue and will attempt to come up with a solution as time passes.

I can see how those on a one-time trip to Walt Disney World or even a once-a-year visit would perhaps get frustrated by the time it takes to become a Master Sorcerer, but of course, that’s what Disney wants: return visitors. Or, for guests to plan a day longer vacation to be sure you get enough game time. In the 4 times we’ve played, we have not gone on a single ride in the Magic Kingdom, and we’ve spent about 17 hours playing (not counting time spent dining). Again, being locals, this isn’t a big deal to us…but those on a yearly vacation may feel they are missing valuable ride time. What we did get to do was notice more details around the park, and enjoy the various parades and nighttime shows from different angles than usual. And just like pins or Vinylmation figures, the cards become your own prize collection, free – for now, and unlike Vinyls or pins, you get to actually use them in the park. There is a reward for your patience and your play.

 

Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom
The window I like to call Merlin’s lab, looks amazing at night!

 

My hope, when the game goes officially live on the 22nd, is that cast members at the Firehouse are able to better explain the ins and outs of card use. What the symbols mean, what you want to do or not do in the second or third levels – even if only to give us a vague idea and let us figure it out for ourselves. [Note: now that the game is live, this hasn’t really happened yet. I can understand letting us all figure out the little secrets and tips within the game, but I do wish more help were available, with so many variables in play] In addition, there needs to be a more pronounced explanation about keeping the map and cards. A handful of times, I have heard, “do we get to keep these cards?” or “do we have to give the map back?” from guests. I understand that given the only other comparison game within Walt Disney World – the Kim Possible missions, you are instructed to return your Kimmunicator, but it makes me sad to think that people are worried they have to give their cool cards and map back, and the problem is easily solved by cast members up front.

With ALL of that said, I’m so excited to see where this game goes in the coming months and will of course update this page as I find out definitive facts or news. [I’ve decided to wait on reporting news that I hear until I can confirm it first hand through gameplay or experience.] Disney really is working to make this an amazing experience. Now go get ’em, Sorcerer!

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  • About | Press | Guest Writing
  • Disney Dooney & Bourke Collection
  • Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Gameplay
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Instagram post 2193121348379911561_8048168 🕯 One of my favorite things ever to do is look at Christmas lights, and @otisney indulged my request to do that after our lovely dinner at @eathungrypants. We didn’t even realize that Lake Eola in downtown Orlando had these fun displays around the lake but we were glad we stumbled across them after visiting our magical wedding venue at the @drphillipshouse.

This giant ornament was a fun and popular spot for selfies and group photos. There were a few spread out around the lake. I had some fun editing the colors a bit. They turned the lights off at 9 tho so if you visit, plan accordingly!💡 We also drove around College Park and that’s the last photo in this group, they had a lovely display at a park there.

Do you enjoy driving around and seeing holiday lights? It’s easy to stay in the theme parks because so much is happening, but it’s fun to get out and explore too!
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Instagram post 2192389663457526685_8048168 Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Walt Disney was a man, not just a name on a theme park. He was a visionary as many of us know, and really changed the way we create things and how we see the world even 53 years after his death.

One of my favorite places to be is the @wdfmuseum in San Francisco. I love it for both its well-presented content and also the setting; the Presidio (a former military post) overlooking the majestic Golden Gate Bridge.

Part of what you learn at the Walt Disney Family Museum is about the man that Walt Disney was. Where he came from, his family, his wife, his children. Even the fun things like where they traveled, including Yosemite National Park (the second photo here). But also the struggles that he had as a person and professionally. Seeing Walt as a relatable human who did amazing things really brings home so many of the quotes he’s said about doing the impossible or moving forward.

I think it’s always good to take a moment and reflect on where things started. While it’s very easy to just throw out the “I hope we never lose sight of one thing, that it all started with a mouse,” it really started with a man. A man that had dreams and thought differently and found a way to make those dreams a reality. Even by going “up the waterfall” as Julie Reihm is realizing in their discussion about Pirates of the Caribbean in this first photo.

So today we wish Walt a happy birthday and we remember why he started the things he started. The things that have brought so many of us together in so many different ways. The things that keep us seeking new dreams, encountering new realities, and venturing down new paths...because a man with a dream showed us that it was possible.

Happy birthday Walt. #thankyouwalt
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Instagram post 2191563938552900050_8048168 So, I know today is a big day in the world of Disney parks, as many folks are riding Rise of the Resistance as I type this. Instead, I’m reflecting on one of the best days/nights of my life - my wedding day with @otisney. 💜
4 years ago today we gathered family and friends, some of whom we only knew because of social media and “DisTwitter” or my blogging at zannaland. I wish we had an unlimited budget and could’ve invited everyone we knew! I also wish I could rewind to that day and relive it again.
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I can still remember the air of excitement and all of the planning and preparation coming together. There were some bumps along the way of course (how could the caterer run out of potatoes for the mashed potato bar?! and the DJ played played our first dance song for its full 3 minutes and 32 seconds rather than the minute and a half we asked for lol), but I wouldn’t change anything (well maybe the mashed potato situation and blinking in most of my photos haha). The night was just so perfectly us; relaxed and surrounded by love and silliness.
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4 years later and SO much has changed, but we’ve gone with the flow, grown, and changed with the seasons. Our love for each other has grown too and though we made this leap and joined our lives together in our later years, everything happened the way it was supposed to, and our #HappilyEverOtis is unfolding before us, filling our lives with love, support, and laughter.
💜
Thank you to everyone who took part in our day, has been a part of our story, and continues to be a part of our lives. It meant so much to share our day with you, and we appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy holidays and theme park activities (there was actually an event announcing the addition of the Three Caballeros to Gran Fiesta Tour that day!) to witness our new chapter. Thank you to @DisneyRoots for capturing so many of those memories. I love the candid photos as much as the posed ones!
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And thank YOU for taking the time out of YOUR busy day, with holiday activities or Disney theme park events and news to read  this caption.💜💜💜Happy Anniversary @otisney! I love you more today and every day!💏
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Instagram post 2189656644726707733_8048168 Such a fun day/night at @legolandflorida for their #LEGOLANDflorida Holidays! The Christmas tree light show was amazing (check my story or watch the whole thing on our upcoming vlog!)
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All of these festive events are included in your @legolandflorida park ticket! Thanks to #LEGOLAND for having us out! ❤️💚
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What was your favorite part that we shared today?
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Instagram post 2188931105741248379_8048168 Finally made it over to the #ChristmasTreeTrail at @disneysprings (check my story for all the trees and fun sights!)
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I love all the trees this year and even tho it was a Saturday afternoon, it wasn’t too terribly crowded. We didn’t have to wait too long to see some trees and not at all to see others!
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It definitely put me in the holiday mood and ready to decorate my tree. Scroll thru and watch my story and tell me your favorite tree. What makes it your favorite?
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🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
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Instagram post 2186618907480033189_8048168 “But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name”
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Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I’m so very grateful for YOU! What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving? #MerryMenagerie #ColorsOfTheWind #DisneysAnimalKingdom #DisneyHolidays #AnimalKingdomHolidays
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Instagram post 2184984619894526652_8048168 This year’s ICE! at @gaylordpalms is PHENOMENAL. This is by far my favorite theme and the details and design this year are just so amazing. This slide room with the scene from the train crashing through the ice has such incredible forced perspective, I didn’t want to leave! I’ll have more photos throughout the season and our video will be up later today! #polarexpress #polarexpresstrain #gaylordpalms #visitice2019 #cagp19
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Instagram post 2184491878907488580_8048168 How about this for a room with a view?? We love  @gaylordpalms so much, a huge thank you to them for having us out for the preview of ICE! It’s been a while since we’ve stayed here but it’s just as beautiful as we remembered! Have you visited or stayed here? 🌞
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@gaylordhotels #CAGP #VisitICE2019
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Instagram post 2184314566383677356_8048168 Happy #SpaceshipEarthSunday!🌐
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I took a little liberty with editing the colors but I really like the shades of blue and purple that showed up.💜💙
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#SpaceshipEarth remains one of the last places (along with the Land pavilion🌱) to get some of the original #EPCOTCenter goodness that still exists.
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Even with changes planned for Spaceship Earth, I’m hopeful it will remain an iconic attraction and keep its important messaging. The preview for it at the #EPCOTExperience gives me goosebumps, and hope.🤞🏼
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🌐What about you? How do you think Spaceship Earth will change and what would YOU like to see added?🌐 Happy Sunday!✨
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Instagram post 2183549684860281816_8048168 Everyone’s going crazy for the new ⛄️Anna and Elsa❄️ costumes in their meet and greet, but @tikibirdz and I are just out here hangin’ with our ‘munks! 🐿🐿
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Full disclosure, I don’t think these guys are meeting and greeting any time soon, but yesterday we got to see them in some new holiday looks, and they also had blinking eyes 👀 👀 and their mouths opened and closed! 😮🤭😳 So I knew we had to go meet them and say hello. I told them they had that “new chipmunk smell” when I hugged them, cause they did! 😂 I’m not sure if they were just testing them out here and they are really just going to be in the stage shows or parades where it makes more sense for them to open their mouths. Kinda weird for a meet and greet where they don’t talk anyway lol 🤷‍♀️
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But anyway, Chip and Dale are the best so there you go. Who’s your favorite character to meet? Besides these guys, I love getting Chewbacca hugs!
  

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