In early June, I participated in a live chat with Imagineer Jonathan Ackley about Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. This interactive, role-playing adventure lets apprentice sorcerers help Merlin keep the Disney Villains from taking over the Magic Kingdom. It’s a fun experience that I’ve had a chance to play with my son. During the live chat, several readers asked about the remaining spell cards – numbers 61 to 70. I have good news; Disney Theme Park Merchandise is introducing a new trading card game in August that is based on Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. This at-home game includes a way to obtain those super rare spell cards plus a whole bunch more. I spoke with Cody Hampton, Associate Developer for toys and games, about what to expect.
“We wanted a way to extend the magic found with the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom experience beyond the park,” explained Cody. “We created a trading card game that allows guests to use the cards from their in-park experience in a whole new way at home.”
The trading card game will contain seven randomly selected spell cards (including at least one super rare spell card), one of four game boards, game rules, new tokens and a complete spell card checklist. I spoke with Disney Design Group Artist Quynh Kimball who worked on the game development.
“We worked closely with Walt Disney Imagineering while creating the game,” said Quynh. “They provided images from the in-park experience for the at-home version. There are four different game boards featuring Maleficent, Dr. Facilier, Jafar and Cruella DeVil. Much like the in-park game, the goal is to work together as a team to get the villain’s power level to zero. The game rules are very thorough but easy to understand. I think anyone ages six and up will have a fun time playing.”
The game will launch on Friday, August 17, at the Emporium at Magic Kingdom Park. It will eventually be released at several additional Walt Disney World Resort locations, and it will be carried via the online Disney Parks Store at a future date.
A new mystery pin set is also planned for release later this year. I shared artwork of the set during the live chat. Now, I’m happy to share with you the actual pins from this Disney Villains-themed set – how wonderful to see my favorite villain, Hades!
Read more about Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom in the posts below:
Comments
Hi, Steven! Do you have any idea when the pins will be released? I’m going crazy over these pins! They’re great and will fit perfectly in my villains pin collection!
@Alexa – Last I heard the mystery pin set will be released in November 2012. I don’t have an exact date at this point, but keep watching http://www.Disney.com/Pins
I live all the way in california but LOVE sorcerers of the magic kingdom. when will the booster packs be sold on the web?
@TK – The booster pack will be sold via the Disney Parks online store at a future date. Sadly, I don’t have an exact date as to when that will happen.
Any word on the exact release date in August for the packs you can purchase? Will cards 61 to 70 be exactly like the original cards that were given out? Thanks!
@Linda – I do not have a confirmed release date at this point. I know they would like to release the set in August. And yes, cards 61-70 are the same ones that were distributed during early testing of the in-park game.
The headline says that the booster packs are “coming to Walt Disney World Resort”. Does that just mean just the hotels? I hope I don’t have to be a hotel guest to buy the booster pack. I don’t mind going over to one of them, but it would be the first time merchandise is restricted to hotel guests. Also, based on the popularity and ebay sales, you better have a truckload ready for sale.
@Daniel – From my understanding, the plan is to release the booster pack in multiple locations throughout Walt Disney World Resort, not just the Magic Kingdom Park. This means Guests may be able to find them at Magic Kingdom, resort hotel locations and maybe Downtown Disney. I don’t know of any plans to restrict sales to anyone.
Very cool! I can’t wait for the pin sets to be released!
Hello, is there any word about a trading Pin based on the “Merlin Medal” graphic awarded at the end of game play?
Even better question, instead of the paper “Portal KEY Card” is there any word on a physical Pin or Jewelry item that will act as a replacement for the Portal Key card??
@Gilbert – That open edition medal pin is still on track for a late fall release. You can see an image of it by watching the replay of the live chat found in this article – https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/06/live-chat-talk-in-park-gaming-with-imagineer-jonathan-ackley/
I unfortuntely don’t know of any plans to make something to replace the paper key card.
Sure wish you would have something like thisat the disneyland resort out here in Ca. We so enjoyed playing the Kim possble at Epcot. Can’t wait to go t play the Phinneas and Ferb version. SOrcerers of the Magic Kingdom would be great at Disneyland also.
Please consider bringing these games to the west coast
Wahoo!
This is an awesome idea, but I had a question. Is the booster packs going to be sold nationwide or just in Walt Disney World? And if it is just going to be sold in WDW, is there any plans to move to nationwide selling?
@Rochelle and Katie – At this point, I don’t know of plans for the game to be carried at Disneyland Resort. We are planning to carry the game via the Disney Parks online store – http://www.DisneyParks.com/Store – at a future date.
Once the game is released at Walt Disney World, the other option would be to contact Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Merchandise Guest Services at 1-877-560-6477 or via email: merchandiseguestservices@disney.go.com
Since this is a trading card game version, will it be sold at Disneyland Resort? Living in Utah, and having family in California, we get to Disneyland and California Adventures more often than we do WDW.
I absolutely love playing this when i go to the magic kingdom! even though i’ve only played once and defeated two villains im simply in love! The only card im looking to find is Ariels because its super super rare
Steven, thanks so much for always providing such great information! Your blog is one of my favorites since you often make the time to come back and answer questions. Thanks again, we are really looking forward to our next trip!
@Jackie – Mahalo nui loa! 🙂 I appreciate the time you take to read the articles, so I’m happy to respond.
Is there a set date for the release of the booster packs? Also, do we have any specific locations on where they would be available. I’m guessing the firehouse would be one of them, just wanted to see if they would be sold at any other locations around the park.
@Angel – I don’t have a firm release date at this point. The development team is planning for August. I know they are also finalizing a list of release locations. Magic Kingdom will certainly be on that list but there may be some additional locations throughout Walt Disney World that will carry this item. As soon as I know more, I will share.
They should make a special Villians Meet and Greet as a prize for completing the game. That would make an amazing prize.
I love the Mr. Toad card.
I am so excited about this! We played the game this past February and I can’t wait to visit Disney world again (September of 2013!! Woot!) and play it some more. I will definitely be buying these to play while waiting for my next Disney adventure!
Do we know if they are putting in portals around the new fantasyland and/or toontown to expand where we can play? I have not heard anyone say one way or not. THANKS!
@Eddie – At this time, I’m unsure if the mystery pin set will be sold via the online store. Once released, however, you can contact Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Merchandise Guest Services at 1-877-560-6477 or via email – merchandiseguestservices@disney.go.com
@Joey – I don’t know of plans to sell only booster packs of cards at this time.
@Jennifer – According to Jonathan during the live chat, he said, “We’re always looking at our options, but nothing planned at this point.”
Will there be the more standard looking booster packs available in addition to the home game packs?
Will the pins be available for online purchase or just in the park?
This is great news. I too am curious to find out if this is the only way to obtain the lightening bolts (cards 61-70), or if they’ll be re-inserted back into the free packs at low odds (ie 1:100 packs). On the topic of the free packs, their distribution will continue upon the release of these boosters, correct? Just want to make sure these paid boosters are not replacing the free packs.
@Robin – Jonathan was asked a similar question during the live chat. He said the following (which I believe still holds true at this point):
“We’re currently doing a lot of investigation into how to run medium and hard levels. we don’t have any specific date. We’re continuing to test those features.”
Unfortunately, I have not heard an update if or when those different levels would become operational. Please stay tuned.
@Randy – The only way to get cards 61-70 will be the retail booster packs (along with a random assortment of cards 1-60). The “free packs” with cards 1-60 will continue to be distributed at the Main Street Fire Station / Sorcerers Recruitment Center.
YES! Super excited about this. We have been involved since beta testing and it’s great to finally have the cards put back to use. Any idea of when the parks will open the game to the higher advanced levels we use to play? Last I knew, we have all been reset to “easy” and the harder levels were much more enjoyable, but we heard bogged down the lines… Thanks
Chernabog is in the final quest (no spoilers for others) but yes – he is there.
I just noticed something: Chernabog is one of the villains in the pin series. Is he one of the villains in the game? I didn’t think so…
I have got to get this for my autistic daughters! Just my opinion, but do you realize how valuable games like this are for autistic children? It helps with critical thinking, communication and socialization skills. Schools ,if made available to educators, could use it in classrooms to help autistic students benefit more from their educations.
@Allie – Wow! It sounds like you really enjoy the game. Best of luck with the story 🙂
@Rochelle – Thank you for the comment. I’m glad to hear that you and your daughters have enjoyed the game. I’ve heard similar comments about Disney pin trading over the years. So I’m glad that you found a similar thing with Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
I am SO excited about this!!!!!!!! I absolutely love the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game. I can’t wait to buy pins and booster packs! 🙂
My friend and I are such big fans of the game that we’re even writing a fan-fiction story together, based on the game! In our story, our characters discover that the magic and the plot of the game is actually real, and they have to learn spells and work with Merlin to defeat the villains and save the parks. 🙂 We’re even posting it on fanfiction and DeviantArt now!
Any idea if the 61-70 cards will ever be released in the parks again through the regular packets? Or will the only way to get them be to buy the 11.95 whole home card packet thing? I would be more willing to purchase if I could just get the booster packs with the cards rather than a whole game (board, tokens, etc) but I would much prefer to be able to get them through the parks like the used to be released.
@Marion – I spoke with the development team who said that there are no plans at this time for cards 61-70 to be included in the packs distributed at the Main Street Fire Station / Sorcerers Recruitment Center. They will only be found in the retail booster packs.
Any idea of what the price will be on the at home game? Also are they ever going to release packs containing new cards for those that are only interested in playing in the park?
@Greg – Yes, I do. The entire trading card game set which includes the booster pack of seven cards, one randomly selected game board, and tokens will be $11.95 each (please note that all retails are subject to change without notice).
@Eddie – See note above 🙂 I don’t know of any plans yet for what you describe. Currently, the booster packs will contain cards 1-70.
I do know that there are tee-shirts coming as well as a card binder. There will also be one open edition pin which I showed during the live chat back in June. The pin arrives in late fall; no word yet on when the tee-shirts or binder will be released.
This is great news!! One question: Do you have a price on the “booster packs”, yet?
It’s great to hear that cards 61-70 are finally going to be re-issued real soon. Yaaaaaaay!
I hope we’ll hear some news about all-new spell cards (71 and beyond) real soon as well.
This is very exciting news! We pretty much figured that the rare cards would become available again, and it’s good to know that they indeed will be. Can you confirm that all of the cards sold in the 7-card “booster pack” will also work with the in-park version of Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom? For example, the Winnie the Pooh card pictured above, one of the super-rare cards, will that continue to cause a spell to activate at the Magic Kingdom portal locations? Thank you!
@Paul – I can confirm. The cards sold in the “booster pack” will work with the in-park game. They are the same cards (numbers 1 to 60) that are distributed at the Sorcerers recruitment center on Main Street, USA. The super-rare cards will also work with the in-park game.
OMG!!!!!! I’ve been waiting for this and it’s actually happening! And it’s even better, as there are also pins for it! Yay! Means I’ll have to pay a lot of shipping costs to Germany but hey^^
@Sabrina – I’m so glad to hear you are happy. And Germany?! How cool!! The closest I’ve been to Germany is World Showcase at Epcot. I would love to visit one day as I’m part German.
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