There is not a whole lot of news to report on the arcade restoration front. Summer is actually the best time to work on things but a never-ending schedule keeps me from dedicating any significant time to the seemingly endless list of projects. However, I just returned from a 7 day trip to Walt Disney World with the family and had the opportunity to spend a few hours at Disney Quest. Disney Quest is an “indoor interactive theme park” located in Downtown Disney.
The price of admission was included with our vacation package so the kids and I decided to head there on our last evening while the rest of our group shopped. I can honestly say, there was no way we would have gone had the price not been included already. The price of admission for guests 10 and over was $42.50 per person. For children aged 3-9 the price was $36. For myself and the four kids to even get in the door it would have cost almost $200. The price of admission can be less if you purchase your tickets in advance but it’s still pretty pricey.
Regardless, the place was absolutely packed. The facility is 5 floors, with each floor consisting of a different “zone”. Upon entering, we were directed to an elevator which took us to the third floor of the facility. Coincidentally, that is the floor that houses the classic arcade games. I didn’t make a note of the games they had but it was a fairly large selection. They had the typical Ms. Pacman/Galaga combos, the Donkey Kong/DK Jr/Mario Brothers combo, a 25th anniversary Space Invaders but also a large selection of dedicated classic arcade games. Dedicated games that I recall seeing: Lunar Lander, Mr. Do, Tron, Galaga, Galaxian, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Asteroids, Super Pacman, Ms. Pacman, Pacman (w/ speed chip), Pengo, Qbert, Gorf, plus many more that I can’t recall right now. There was also some type of Buzz Lightyear bumper car ride on this floor. I tried to snap some pictures but all I had was my cell phone and the pictures didn’t turn out at all. All games are set on free play except for crane games and the like that dispense prizes.
I was immediately drawn to the Tron machine, a game I hadn’t played in over 20 years. I fired up a game and immediately noticed that the monitor was crap. It needed a cap kit. As a matter of fact, as I walked around the room 90% of the monitors needed cap kits and major adjustments. My son attempted to play a game of Frogger, which was located next to the Tron machine. The game would credit up but neither the 1 player or 2 player start buttons worked so it was impossible to start a game. After being pummeled by Tron, which had a less than responsive joystick, I stepped to a dedicated Galaga machine. While the monitor was again less than perfect, I did manage to beat the high score of 180,520 with a respectable 195,600.
I tried to play a game on the dedicated Donkey Kong cabinet but didn’t have much luck. I couldn’t figure out why the high score was only 16,200. I soon found out. The game had a replacement micro-switch joystick in it. The joystick stuck in the up position. While that didn’t matter too much on the barrel level, it made the rivet level almost impossible. Any attempt to climb down a ladder would immediately send Jumpman back to the top when you reached the bottom. I found if I jumped at exactly the right time I could get him to stay at the bottom of the ladder. Needless to say, my score of 40,800 was nothing to brag about but given the joystick problem I seriously doubt that anyone was going to top it.
We then went up to the fourth floor where we found a selection of more “modern” games. The kids all played a few games of Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution. These all worked fairly well as expected. We then attempted to play a few games of air hockey. The games were supposed to last 5 minutes but each time we attempted to play a game, the puck got stuck when someone scored. They only way to get the puck back was to credit the table and start a new game. The table next to us also had the same problem. There is also a snack area here that serves beer and wine. Most of the parents were getting liquored up while their kids ran through the facility, cutting in line for games we had been waiting on.
We attempted to go to the first floor to ride some of the virtual reality attractions but the lines were all too long. The second floor had some interactive games that the kids played for a bit but quickly tired of. We really wanted to do the roller coaster designer with the option to ride it in a simulator, but again, the line was too long. After about 2 hours, we headed out the door. The kids had no interest in half working classic games and it was too crowded to try anything else. For the cost of admission, I would expect the games, particulary the classics to be in better shape. I did notice a sign that was placed sometime after we entered offering 1/2 price admission after 8:00 (might have said 7 or 9, I don’t recall). Even at that, I’d pass unless you take a tool kit.
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