Great Wolf Lodge may be synonymous with water slides, but the chain of family resorts also has a high tech game that keeps children entertained for hours. MagiQuest is a staple at every Great Wolf Lodge, which is why you always see dozens of children waving magic wands as they explore the resort’s nooks and crannies.
Over the years, Great Wolf Lodge has kept the MagiQuest experience fresh by introducing new quests, or new games like Compass Quest, each of which offer repeat visitors something new to conquer. ShadowQuest is the latest installment in the series. With ten separate quests and a battle with the Yeti Malaki in the final showdown, ShadowQuest is the most challenging of the MagiQuest games.
During our first visit to Great Wolf Lodge, I was confused when I saw legions of children waving magic wands at every object in the lobby and hallways. It was neat to see treasure chests opening up at the wave of a wand or faces appearing in portraits, but I didn’t really understand the game until I gave it a try myself. MagiQuest is a combo of a scavenger hunt and a video game. You wave the magic wand to interact with the objects you find. Some items light up, others play a video, and there are some parts where characters from the game come to life on giant screens.
Great Wolf Lodge recently invited our family to try ShadowQuest and, after getting through the first couple quests, my wife commented, “There is a lot to this game. I think we could play this for hours.” According the the employee at the MagiQuest store, our guess wasn’t too far off. Great Wolf Lodge estimates that it can take 4-6 hours to complete ShadowQuest.
The nice thing is that you don’t have to complete the game in one shot. You can take a break and then pick up again right where you left off, no matter if it is the next day or even months later during your next visit. Your wand stores your game progress, so you never lose a thing, even if you take frequent water slide breaks like our family.
During our visit, it seemed like 95% of the children were playing ShadowQuest. This, of course, made it easy for me to ask for help whenever I got stuck on a puzzle. ShadowQuest has some tricky elements where timing really matters. There are images of sailing ships, mountains, and swamps which slowly transition between day and night. If you wave your wand at the wrong time, you get an error message and won’t uncover the hidden items.
My family had a lot of fun playing ShadowQuest and it is a great game, even if you haven’t played the other MagiQuest challenges. The game is challenging, so it appeals to older children. But my five-year-old son still had fun waving his wand whenever I prompted him and he enjoyed seeing the various effects, like the statues around the resort coming to life. If you have a younger child who doesn’t want to play a game, you can have the wand programmed to just trigger effects as they walk around the resort.
To get started with the game, you just have to visit the MagiQuest gift shop on the first floor of the resort. They have a variety of wands and accessories, which is nice for the kids because they can pick a wand and customize it however they would like. If you’re planning to try a few different activities, it is worth considering one of the “Paw Pass” bundles which will give you several items for a reasonable cost. For example, the $59.99 + tax Paw Pass gets you a MagiQuest wand, a MagiQuest game, a stuffed animal, snacks, a souvenir sipper cup and drink, arcade credits, and several other perks.
It is worth checking out ShadowQuest during your family’s next visit to Great Wolf Lodge. The game provides several hours of adventure, is challenging, and is just plain fun to play.
can u use ur old magiquest wands and continue playing with that?
You can use your old wand, but you’ll need to pay to have the new game loaded onto it.