Wizard Quest

Some of you out there may remember back when video games were just starting to take root.  In an effort to exploit the “new fad,” some of the kid-centric television networks put together these game shows that simulated a video game experience.  Kids, and sometimes their parents as well, would go on these game shows and compete, jumping and climbing their way through a video game-like environment.  Unfortunately, you had to be one of the lucky kids who managed to get on the show in order to experience it.  Fortunately, some folks in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin decided they wanted to make something similar that anyone can enjoy.

Imagine my excitement when I discovered that there was this place called Wizard Quest where, for the price of a ticket, you can spend about an hour and a half running around a 13,000 square foot environment that has been built to look like all sorts of fantasy worlds.  But it’s not just a show of pretty sets and fantasy-themed decorations.  The whole thing is design to be an adventure, so you have to figure out puzzles in order to “beat” the game.

Wizard Quest is set up to have all the cool stuff that I always wanted to mess around with when I was a youngster.  There are secret passages, hidden doorways, traps and other amazing things.  The goal is find the dragons, answer the questions they ask and then receive rewards called “glimmers.”  By using these glimmers, you can release the trapped wizards and eventually win the challenge.  It costs about $13 a ticket for around 90 minutes of adventure, which isn't too bad when you consider the price of your average big-city movie ticket.

Man, I was never lucky enough to have something like this around when I was a kid.  The best I got was a jungle gym and some swings down at my local public park.  The whole thing makes me want to pop another one out just so I can take them and use them as an excuse to go running around Wizard Quest myself.  Then I think of the 18-years of torture and change my mind again.  Guess it’s just not that cool.

If you happen to have some kids who are into the fantasy craze (or one you can convince to act as a decoy), you might want to check out Wizard Quest.  To make the deal sweeter, it happens to be right next door to a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum and several other attractions.  You can get your adventure on and then go look at some weird crap to boot!

Wizard Quest Portal photo courtesy of wizardquest.com