Adventure Trek at Six Flags Great Escape Lodge (Queensbury, NY)

My goal with this blog has been to document the wonderful and the weird in the world of MagiQuest. 

Today we are taking a dive into the deep end of the weird.

Friends, I present to you... Adventure Trek!

Location: Six Flags Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Water Park (Queensbury, New York)

https://www.sixflagsgreatescapelodge.com/

Physical Address: 89 Six Flags Drive, Queensbury, NY 12804

Realm Type: Non-Standard

Chronicle: Quest of the Guardians

Primary Landmarks: Adventure Trek Clubhouse, Adirondack Heights, Lake George Waters, Old Queensbury Way, Deep Forest Paths

Adventures and Gameplay: The game structure of Adventure Trek is a little bit different. It is divided into three adventures, each of which consists of five missions followed by an encounter. For the most part you can do the Funzerker and Splashateer content in any order, however you must complete all five missions before attempting the associated encounter, and all of the content from these two adventures must be completed to unlock the Imaginaut Adventure. As with MagiQuest, only one mission or adventure can be active at a time. 

Funzerker Adventure: Boomerang in the Outback Mission, Cold Comet Needs Firing Up Mission, Condor Which Way Is Up Mission, Demon Won't Come Out to Play Mission, Sasquatch at the Dog Pound Mission

Splashateer Adventure: Tall Timber Treehouse Leaky Bucket Mission, Take-It-Eesi-Creek Ran Dry Mission, Avalanche Rafts Snowed-In Mission, Boogie Bear Lost the Beat Mission, A Muddy Mess Mission

Imaginaut Adventure: Find the Radeau Mission, The Four Forts Mission, Golden Treasure Mission, Iroquois Heritage Mission, Great Escape Excavation Mission

For each completed mission, you earn a badge. These badges have different functions that you must use during the encounters. They're basically runes with another name.

So, the question we've all been waiting to ask... what exactly is Adventure Trek?

Xavier Part Three: The Real Hero of MagiQuest?

So... why are we back to talking about Xavier again? There have been two major developments since the past entries about him were published here, and it has completely upended much of what we thought we knew! This new information was such a bombshell that it seemed necessary to return for a Part Three.

If you want to refresh your memory about past coverage, check out Part One and Part Two. For the purposes of this third post, I'm assuming that the reader is starting with a basic knowledge of who Xavier is, so if that is not the case please do take a minute to click back and reread.

Without further ado, on to the news! I will then follow up with some in-depth commentary with my own musings of what it all means.

Spruced Up in the Poconos

As promised, I returned to the Poconos with Lutra to update about the renovations. Things are looking good! Read on for more info.

Photobomb!

Things Afoot in the Poconos

Friends, all I wanted was fudge. But I found something much more intriguing than a sweet snack.

My trip back from visiting a friend in New Jersey took me right by the exit for the Poconos Great Wolf Lodge, and I stopped there for a quick food break. As you may recall, fudge is my favorite treat. The sweets shop had been replaced by a Ben and Jerry, so fudge was not on offer. But that is small potatoes compared to what happened next...

MagiQuest Colorado Springs: Far from Blucifer's Baleful Gaze (a post by Lutra)

Hello folks, this is Lutra, and this is the realm that I visited! I also took my girlfriend here, and this was the first MagiQuest she’d ever been to. Would she like it, I wondered? Would she think it’s as fun as Annacat and I do? The answer my friends is yes, she loved it, and we are likely going to go again someday.

The outside doesn’t look like much. But boy ever does it make up for it inside!

MagiQuest at Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs (CO)

A note from Annacat: This is just a basic informational overview of the realm. Magi Lutra was kind enough to provide us with an in-depth review, which will be in the following post. All pictures in both posts were taken by her. So, on to the summary...

Location: Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

https://www.greatwolf.com/colorado-springs

Physical Address: 9494 Federal Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921

Realm Type: Forest Realm

Chronicle: Guardians of the Realm Portals, Rise of the Totem Masters

Primary Landmarks: Howling Hills, Tangled Timbers, Cryptic Caverns, Whispering Woods, Coastal Cliffs, Dragon's Lair, Goblin's Lair, Pixie's Perch/Princess's Home

Magi Runes Available: Lightning, Enchant Creature, Portal, Distract, Ice Arrow, Protection, Freeze, Heal, Dazzle, Master Magi*

Magi Adventures Available: Red Dragon, Goblin, Pixie

*Note: In this realm, you must complete all three adventures (and, of course, earn all the other runes) before you can embark on the Master Magi Rune quest. This makes sense from a logical standpoint but is probably not the order most magi are used to completing our tasks in.

Totem Relics Available: 

Power Relics: Staff of Fireballs, Staff of Charlock's Vengeance, Scorching Wand, Hand Cannon, Caduceus Staff, Staff of Thorns, Wand of Bone, Unicorn Horn Wand, The Malaki Staff, Snowflake Wand, Staff of Ages, Ivan's Wand, Ruby Rod, Diamondhead Staff, Jasper Wand of Petrification, Staff of Sandstorms, Lightning Rod, Rod of Resonance, Rod of the Gathering Storm, Copper Wand

Weapon Relics: Charlock's Fang, Fire Brand, Steel Sword, Brazier of Eternal Fire, Sabrecat Fang, Mistletoe Dagger, Oak Stake, Wooden Club, Winterra's Fang, Ice Brand, Glass Dagger, Ancient Sword, Diamond Sword, Spiked Mace, Jewel Hilted Dagger, Rune Blade of Abjuration, Storm Brand, Bronze Bell, Laughing Jack's Cutlass, Hidden Blade

Shield Relics: Gauntlet of Justice, Wall of Flame, Ivarro's Iron Shield, Dragonscale Shield, Terrapin Shield, Gorgo's Gift, Shield of Bone/Hide/Horn, Lumina's Bracers, Mirror Shield, Prismatic Shield, Ice Wall, Ancient Shield, Spiked Shield, Diamond Shield, Runestone Shield, Stone Wall, Aegis of Illusion, Swash Buckler, Aegis of the Master Magi, Shield of Bandyshanks

Arcane Relics: Mana Drain Amulet, Amulet of Charlock, Amulet of Agonista, Ironskin Amulet, Scroll of Regeneration, Scroll of Barkskin, Scroll of Wild Growth, Scroll of Death and Decay, Sign of Inversion, Sign of Counterspell, Sign of the Blizzard, Elder Sign, Ring of Destruction, Dark Gem Ring, Mystic Gem Ring, Jasper Ring of Petrification, Aetherial Tome, Tome of the Master Magi, Tome of Breakhame, Tome of the Gathering Storm

I (Annacat) have not journeyed to this realm yet, but Lutra has. If you need any additional information about this location, please leave us a comment and we'll do our best to answer! :)

~Annacat

MagiQuest at Great Wolf Lodge Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls, ON)

Location: Great Wolf Lodge Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls, Ontario)

https://www.greatwolf.com/niagara

Physical Address: 3950 Victoria Avenue, Niagara Falls ON, Canada L2E 7M8

Note to magi unfamiliar with the region: There are two towns with the name "Niagara Falls" in close proximity to each other, Niagara Falls New York and Niagara Falls Ontario. This realm is in Niagara Falls Ontario, on the Canadian side of the Falls. Magi traveling from the United States should double check that they are carrying the necessary ID to cross the border into Canada.

Realm Type: Forest Realm

Chronicle: Runes of the Quest Master

Primary Landmarks: Enchanted Woods, Whispering Woods, Piney Path, Tangled Woods, Dragon's Lair, Pixie's Perch, Forgotten Hallway

Runes Available: Dazzle, Enchant Creature, Healing, Portal, Freezing, Ice Arrow, Protection, Celestial, Wolf, Master Magi

Adventures Available: Red Dragon, Pixie, Ursa Major, Silver Dragon

The exterior of the Lodge has a bright First Nations theme. (First Nations is the term for Canada's indigenous people.)

At this location, MagiQuest is played primarily on the upper two floors of the hotel, though a handful of quests will send you to the Forgotten Hallway on the floor below.

This realm is mostly pretty much identical in floor plan to Great Wolf Lodge Pocono Mountains, which I covered in more detail here.

The biggest layout difference is that the MagiQuest shop is not on the bottom floor as it is at many multi-storey lodges. It's actually at the back of the Trading Post, in a place called the Quest Cottage. This might lead to some congestion at peak times when both shops are really busy (my visit was in the off season, so it wasn't crowded,) but overall I think it's a good arrangement. It makes MagiQuest more prominent and makes it more clear to guests how to get started, and it would also be easier to get help from an employee if you had any problems.

Obviously the quests are not exactly identical between any two locations, but you will see some cool things that may remind you of other realms - for example, do you spot the Portal Star in this picture? Don't forget to enchant it five times, and then do so again. ;)

"Twinkle, twinkle, Portal Star,

How high above the realm you are..."

Unlike the Poconos, Niagara Falls does not have ShadowQuest or CompassQuest. As a result of having less content within the same basic area, there are a few spatial oddities, like the Forgotten Hallway being used in only a couple of quests and a weird stairway corner with a common game element in it - the fairy statue - that never gets used at all.

Seriously - you don't use this for any quest ever.

There's also a corner nook known as the "Training Room." No quests take you there, and as far as I can tell the staff never direct people there. Most realms have something like this, but in this particular realm it's sort of front and center right across from the Quest Stones, so it's noticeable but pretty much unused.

The decor relies more on enhanced photograph backgrounds rather than painted ones.

There are also a few uniquely Canadian touches, like this wrecked boat beneath a waterfall in the Dragon's Lair.

As with the other Great Wolf Lodge locations, is not necessary to be an overnight guest at the Lodge to play. Because Niagara Falls is such a popular tourist destination, there are loads and loads of hotels and motels nearby at various price points. During the off season, you can find very cheap accommodations within a short drive from the Lodge.

Overall summary: I had a fun visit. It was well worth the trip! The employees were (as always) friendly and helpful, the game elements were well maintained and in good working order, and this Lodge does a great job of accommodating non-Canadian guests.

If you need any additional information about this location, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer! :)

~Annacat