Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Closing

[Jrobo]

This game helped me to learn the park.
All the cut throughs and little nooks.
It brought me to places I'd have otherwise overlooked and not even noticed.

Nothing like the look on somebody's face when you opened a portal and they just look at you like how did they do that! Haha
Or the Joy of handing over a deck of extra cards to kids playing the game for the first time.

I know it won't happen but I really hope that they Update this game with newer tech and animations
But keep the same spirit of the game.

I Still can not believe that I am going to miss playing this game one last time by a mere handful of days.

Sad

 

[samsteele]

High profile rides bring people in, but in my opinion, it's the in-between magic of activities like SoMK that make you want to come back again and again.

And I wonder if that isn't part of the rationale. For years, there's been a sense that Disney isn't interested in return guests who budget for a lower cost WDW trip so they can come back another year. Disney already has their loyal AP and local base to fall back on. They want the once in a lifetime or once every decade family of four that will splurge out on a $15-20 K extravaganza with all the $ bells and whistles. Prods some of us who have a budget to take longer Disney breaks and travel local. Everyone has a tipping point. Even Disney diehards.

 

[MarBee]

Bummer! We were going to try it for the first time on our April 2020 trip that obviously never happened

 

[Grasshopper2016]

I'm inclined to cut Disney a lot of slack during the pandemic. But the thing is, this move fits into a pattern of cost cutting that was underway well before Covid. Shorter hours, reduced entertainment, decreased ride capacity, etc. Disney seemed to be going out of its way to raise costs and reduce the quality of the experience. There was a great deal of justified frustration and anger on these boards. It is so sad to think that, when we finally get past the pandemic, the Disney World that we used to love -- the place we have been daydreaming about going back to throughout this endless crisis -- won't be there anymore. I can understand the need to cut costs to survive the pandemic. But Disney is making permanent changes, not temporary ones. And it was already doing so before all of this started.

 

[randumb0]

I have all 70 original cards. I wonder if they will be worth more now or later

 

[vinotinto]

I just don't see how this can save Disney that much money. They had a CM at the Firestation, which they will probably still need to have (are they going to leave it completely unmanned)? And, that's it. The technology was already up. In a time when projects are (understandably) on hold because of cash flow, why take away a non-ride attraction that costs little?

 

[yulilin3]

I just don't see how this can save Disney that much money. They had a CM at the Firestation, which they will probably still need to have (are they going to leave it completely unmanned)? And, that's it. The technology was already up. In a time when projects are (understandably) on hold because of cash flow, why take away a non-ride attraction that costs little?

The fire station is going down four refurb but you are completely right, i think they just didn't want to waste resources in fixing the portals which were glitchy sometimes

 

[marcyleecorgan]

this is not a good look for them...

 

[cdoc29]

What address did you write to?

I sent an email through Disney Worlds Website

 

[LauraLap]

This is definitely a bummer as my husband and son loved doing this when we had more time on longer trips. Hopefully something even more amazing comes around soon.

 

[Flynnismine]

Like everyone else, I'm so very sad to hear that SOTMK is being scrapped, my DD (11) just discovered this on our trip over Christmas week last month. She loved it so much that she spend all day on Christmas eve playing SOTMK instead of riding rides with me . She said there were a few glitches here and there but nothing that took away from the experience/fun of playing it. She completed the first level and went back to the fire house and they gave her another pack of cards and another player gave her another large deck of cards so she could cast more spells. You would have thought that she had won the lottery Most folks that were playing seemed excited to watch others ahead of them and several times my DD had to wait behind 3 or 4 other groups playing ahead of her at the same portal. I've always known the game was there but never took the time to play or introduce my DD to it over the years because she's always been all about the rides. This trip she seemed to be less about the rides and more about the little details that most folks don't take the time to explore but I guess things like that don't make Disney money

 

[DisneyOma]

And I wonder if that isn't part of the rationale. For years, there's been a sense that Disney isn't interested in return guests who budget for a lower cost WDW trip so they can come back another year. Disney already has their loyal AP and local base to fall back on. They want the once in a lifetime or once every decade family of four that will splurge out on a $15-20 K extravaganza with all the $ bells and whistles. Prods some of us who have a budget to take longer Disney breaks and travel local. Everyone has a tipping point. Even Disney diehards.

Well, they've lost out on our money for the past 3 years, and we used to spend $$$ every year. We've paid for bells and whistles, but there are fewer and fewer good ones left. Not sure what the DVC/AP people are getting for all the $$$ they spend now?

 

[Disnsyncey]

Just adding, my friend is MK today with her 3ish (maybe 4?) year old? He is in the “scaredy cat” phase and won’t ride half the rides he has before.....they were almost ready to leave at noon and I told her about sorcerers and they are having so much fun! (And holy wait times Batman! Yeah, an hour for the carousel hahah)

 

[dachsie]

There is a change. org petition set up for this. if you use the hashtag you will find it. not sure it allowed to be posted here

 

[Flynnismine]

I signed the petition and donated. I really hope ALOT of others sign as well and the ball gets rolling on this so Disney might hopefully take notice.

 

[yulilin3]

I signed the petition and donated. I really hope ALOT of others sign as well and the ball gets rolling on this so Disney might hopefully take notice.

Donated?

 

[Flynnismine]

Donated?

It said it was to help promote the petition through other platforms. It was only $3 so if it's a scam, I'm not out much

 

[TiggerBouncy]

It's being retired. Not coming back

Do you have inside knowledge of this? I heard the other day (I will have to hunt it down to find it) that they were told from a CM that said the closure is "temporary". Of course we do not know how knowledgeable this person was, but as I recall, I saw it on something that was not "click-bait". I think it may have been DFB / AJ Wolfe who said it. She's usually pretty reliable.

I think AS IT CURENTLY EXISTS, the system right now is being retired. But Disney still has a lot of assets there and there is potential to do something new with the technology they now have at their disposal. I don't think it's dead. I think it's being re-imagined.

 

[yulilin3]

Do you have inside knowledge of this? I heard the other day (I will have to hunt it down to find it) that they were told from a CM that said the closure is "temporary". Of course we do not know how knowledgeable this person was, but as I recall, I saw it on something that was not "click-bait". I think it may have been DFB / AJ Wolfe who said it. She's usually pretty reliable.

Yes

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Yes

OK. I can't argue that. But I still say that they have a lot of built up assets with the system (granted it's not THAT expensive, but still). I think Disney will find a way to re-imagine the experience with the use of mobile technology and other new tech that has been developed and expanded in the last 10 years. They have shown they have an appetite for experiences that are relatively low cost in terms of manpower, but keep guests out of lines. SotMK was a perfect example of that. So, while I can't argue the screens may go dark for now, I am willing to bet something else will take it's place within a few years tops.