The Wonderful World of Arcades! (DisneyQuest)

    In the 80's and 90's, arcades were all the rage. They were everywhere and kids would hang out there all the time, waiting to get their hands on the newest game that would come into the shop. Disney saw this trend and decided it wasn't going anywhere, which led them to create an arcade of their own. The idea they came up with was DisneyQuest, which opened in 1998 in Orlando as part of Downtown Disney, right next to where the Cirque de Soleil tent was set up. It was a wild idea and one that was never super successful, but boy did I love it. I think the idea was to get people who didn't even want to go to any of the parks to still be interested in the Downtown Disney shopping area, because for one thing, it was certainly cheaper than a ticket to Disney World, but also it was easier to get through, so it would be a more casual experience than going to a full park. There was even action from the Disney company about making DisneyQuest into a chain with other locations opening in Chicago and Philadelphia. One thing I actually didn't know until starting to research for this post was that the location in Chicago actually did open in 1999, though it was closed after two years of lacking attendance numbers. After this, the Philadelphia attraction was cancelled so it never saw the light of day. The Orlando attraction, however, had a pretty long life, but closed back in 2017, so today we'll discuss mostly just how this place was set up and how all the attractions played out. Let's start where every tour of this quirky, yet magical place would begin, the elevator!

(DisneyQuest lit up at night)

Blast off to fun!

    As you walked down the street of Downtown Disney facing the Cirque de Soleil tent, you'd see a big blue building to your left that said Disney Quest in giant gold letters, but once inside, you'd be greeted with a pretty barebones room. Just one or two people inside behind turnstiles in a blue room, and you'd step into what appeared to be an ordinary elevator which would soon prove otherwise. The lights would flicker out and one of the panels would be hiding a screen, the Genie from Aladdin would appear giving you kind of a rundown of what to expect from your experience here, and then he'd take you to the third floor after turning into a rocket. I'm sure this was really exciting for a lot of people, but as a child who was afraid of everything, what I'm sure was a charming beginning to a fun day, I was horrified at first and convinced that the elevator wasn't working properly. I only really remember seeing that little show once because the next time I went, that show didn't happen from what I recall, it was just a normal elevator ride. I'm not sure if it was just that day and it was not working properly, but I have to assume that it was taken out after scaring kids or something. Once the elevator doors opened to the "VenturePort," DisneyQuest began being awesome. As soon as you stepped into the entrance, there was what appeared to be a giant laser pointed right at you which towered overhead, flashing Red, Green, and Blue lights, maybe supposed to be reminiscent of the laser that sucked Jeff Bridges into the world of Tron? I don't know if that's what it was going for, but I like to think so. Once you were in the actual main area of DisneyQuest, you were presented with a question... where to first? There were four "Zones" that this massive arcade was broken into. These Zones were Explore, Score, Create, and Replay, with different attractions in each of them.

4 Zones for More Fun!

    All of the four zones were pretty interesting in their own way, and all kept to their different themes, so I'll start off with the one that was the most abandoned of the four, Create zone. The Create Zone was a cool idea in theory because all of the activities involved creating something in some way. They had drawing classes where someone would teach lessons on how to draw Disney characters, an area where you could step into a sound booth and record a cd, you could even design your own toy which you could purchase from the gift shop! It was a really cool idea, but there was a very obvious reason that this became such an abandoned part of the building. This was an arcade first and foremost, so why would I sit down and take a drawing class or record a cover of a song or do anything like that? That's what I always thought as a kid, and I'm sure that many other people thought the same thing. The one saving grace that the Create Zone had, however, was Cyberspace Mountain. Any kid that ever dreamed of creating a roller coaster and then riding it was finally able to live that dream. Bill Nye the Science guy would help you build your own amusement park ride and then you'd step into a motion simulator where it would actually simulate what you had created. It was a really cool idea, though I never actually tried it out because I was afraid, like always. The other three Zones were much more interesting to me, as you can tell, because I love video games, and boy were there lots of them. 

    The Explore Zone was characterized by different games that focused on adventure and exploration. The main attractions here were very creative and used technology I had never seen before. "The Magic Carpets of Aladdin" was a VR game that you could play with three other people. You sat on a little bench and steered using handlebars somewhat similar to a fancy bike, while looking through Virtual Reality goggles that took you into the world of Aladdin. The goal of this game was to fly around on a carpet and get as many gems as you can, you begin in the palace, and at some point, someone will find the golden scarab that takes you and your party to the Cave of Wonders. The amazing thing about this ride when I was a kid was that you actually could lose this game. If you took too long in the Cave of Wonders and no one was able to find the genie's lamp, the cave would sink into the ground and your whole party lost. It was really crazy for that to happen, but it also made it even more satisfying when you were able to find the genie and win the game, even if it did seem really random whether you'd win or lose. "Virtual Jungle Cruise" was an attraction that you'd sit in a raft, then they would inflate a cushion under you to simulate the feeling of being on water, and there was a screen in front of you that would show where you were going. There were paddles inside the boat which would help you steer around the time of the dinosaurs, as there wasn't a predetermined track, and you could always choose which direction it was going. It was really impressive, and if you went down some rapids, the cushions would bump you around as if you really were having a hard time, then it would spray your party with water if you went down a waterfall. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold" was a 4D attraction where you and a group of several people would have to work together to fight the pirates and sea creatures that wanted to plunder your ship. It used a lot of the same effects and technology used in "Virtual Jungle Cruise," but on a much larger vehicle that wouldn't rock quite as much because you were all standing and having to man cannons or steer the ship. I actually only did this one maybe once or twice, but it was a really neat attraction even though it was way harder to win than the Aladdin ride.

    Next up is the Score Zone, home of the "Mighty Ducks: Pinball Slam," "Ride the Comix," and "Invasion: an ExtraTERRORestrial Encounter," along with some classic arcade games. I'm going to get this off my chest by saying it once more... I never rode "Invasion," because, as I said, I was afraid of everything at that time. The attraction had terror in the title, so I was certainly not going to ride that one, and so I have no idea what it was. On further research, this attraction was a similar situation to the Pirates attraction, where one person drove a pod of sorts while the other people in your party shot at the aliens as they approached. "Mighty Ducks: Pinball Slam" was a weird attraction, and I never really understood how it worked. You stood on a "Puck" and held onto a rail in front of you and rocked from side to side as different things would happen on a giant screen in front of you. Twelve people could ride at once with all of you competing for the highest score and your goal was to either hit as many obstacles as possible to get points, like in Pinball, or to avoid all of the obstacles, though the objectives were never really laid out from what I can recall. I did well enough to win at least once, though, so that has to count for something I'm sure. Third and most important of these "rides" was "Ride the Comix," another VR game, though this one was on rails and had you standing the whole time with what was essentially a lightsaber. Sounds cool, right? Well, kind of. The area set up for this attraction was located on these jets that looked out over the Mighty Ducks attraction, which was at least one floor below, which definitely took away any enjoyment that I could have had from this experience. It was a cool feeling to be fighting these comic book-esque villains with a laser-sword, but the combat mostly entailed just waving your arm back and forth and hoping not to hit anyone near where you were standing.

    Finally we have the Replay Zone, which only had one real attraction, but had a lot of games. "Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlaster," was essentially Buzz Lightyear sponsored bumper cars, but it was a jam for sure. Instead of just having bumper cars, this was a car for two people, with the second person being responsible for firing foam balls at the other cars, which would cause them to spin out and flash lights. It was a really neat attraction, and a lot of fun to do, though there's not much to say about this one, other than the giant statue of Buzz looming overhead from the roof. The arcade games in the Replay Zone were definitely the highlight of this area though. "Replay" in this case more applied to the retro nature of the games in this area such as Centipede, Q*Bert, Donkey Kong, Paperboy, etc. Though there were definitely arcade games in this whole building, the most retro ones were located in this area.

Games, Games, and more Games!

    I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that when I heard about DisneyQuest for the first time, I lost my mind. You pay for admission, and then you can play all the games inside that you want without having to put in a quarter? I was blown away, and I continued to be constantly excited every time I went there. When I say they had games, there were some really fun ones. They had a Star Wars Episode 1 Podracing machine that looked like Anakin's Podracer from the movie, complete with throttle controls (definitely one of my favorites), a Mario Kart Arcade GX machine which allowed you to play with standard "Mario Kart" characters, but with Pac Man as well as other random Bandai Namco characters. I probably spent the better part of an hour with my brother playing game after game of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 when we found that machine upstairs from the "Mighty Ducks" attraction, and it was so much fun to just walk around and look at all the games, even when not playing. Guitar Hero Arcade was another standout, and one of my highlights for the entire trip was getting the top score on "The Metal" on Medium difficulty on that machine. It probably doesn't seem like a big accomplishment, because it's not, but it was a great day for me as a little kid. 

    There were so many fun games in this five story complex, the cliched phrase, "like a kid in a candy store," definitely applied to me and how I felt when visiting. DisneyQuest was a really fun time, and I think I've adequately explained why that is. I was sad when I heard that it was being shut down in 2017, but it definitely made sense. The last visit I had there was in 2014 or 2015 I think, and there were way fewer people than I remembered there being. A lot of the technology that seemed so cool and revolutionary when I first went in 2005 or so was not quite as impressive ten years later, especially considering a lot of it didn't work properly anymore. FoodQuest, the restaurant inside here had never blown me away in terms of food offerings, but the menu was much more bare bones than I remembered it being, offering mostly desserts and few things that actually counted as a meal, though they did probably still have chicken tenders and things like that. A Wreck-It Ralph statue was installed near the entrance on the third floor along with several "Fix-It Felix" machines, the game from that film, though people didn't seem too interested in getting their picture taken with the statue, other than me, of course.

    DisneyQuest was always a blast to visit and it makes me sad that future generations can't experience it, but I'm happy to spread a little account of my experiences. Downtown Disney has since become Disney Springs, and a lot has changed in the area. The land that used to be home to DisneyQuest is now used for high end outlet stores, and as a whole, it almost unrecognizable from the way that it used to be. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just different, and even more commercialized than it was the second to last time that I went there. Disney Springs is a good example of Walt's dedication to the idea of progress. He always wanted to keep moving forward, and though he passed away before anything in Orlando was opened, Downtown Disney has clearly kept that idea in mind along with the other parks in the area.

    Thanks so much for reading this, friends! I really appreciate your support as always, It's been really nice to write this post and recollect some memories from a time in my life which feels both recent and somehow ancient at the same time. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and let me know if there's any attractions that you think would be cool or maybe something like DisneyQuest that someone could check out. All I can think of in that regard would be something like Dave and Busters, but that is a much lower quality than what DisneyQuest was, and on a much smaller scale as well. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you're all doing well! I'll talk to you all next Friday!