Unfortunately, this attraction is not available at the park. Let's take a look back at what it was in its glory.
Villains have invaded the Magic Kingdom and it is your job to help defeat them. Sounds pretty cool right? Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom provides some more to do as kids grow up and unfortunately out of some of the rides that Disney showcases at the Magic Kingdom.
What is it?
Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom (SOMK) is an interactive game found in Magic Kingdom. The premise is that Hades has enlisted the help of Cruella, Yzma, Ratcliffe, Scar, Ursula, Maleficent, Jafar and Dr. Facilier to obtain shards of a power crystal. If the villains succeed they will be able to use the power crystal to take over the Magic Kingdom. Merlin has enlisted your help to fight the villains. The idea behind the game play is you take a deck of cards and fight villains in an attempt to return the crystal shards into the hands of good and thwart Hades' and the other villains in their schemes.
Where do I go?
When first starting the game, you need to head to the Red Firehouse in Town Square. There you will create a game and get your first pack of cards. They will also walk you through how to activate portals, play cards and progress the game play. The great thing is even if you go months/years between playing just check-in at the firehouse using the same card/magicband as before and your quest will pick-up right where you left off.
Quick Note: The game automatically starts on easy where pretty much any card you play will advance the story. If you complete the game you can start a new quest on a higher difficulty which will introduce new henchman (cut scenes), harder quests, more stops, and needing to know strategies in which cards to use and how to play them.
After you complete check-in you will be sent out into the Magic Kingdom to fight the villains. You will be started on Main Street and at the end of that chapter you will be able to choose in which of the other three lands you would like to continue your quest. The four areas that have portals are Main Street, Adventureland, Liberty Square/Frontierland, and Fantasyland. See the map below to get a sense of where the portals are located within the park.
Pro Tip: Even though Fantasyland is a huge part of the park, the Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom portals are all very close together between the castle and carousel and this makes for a great location to quickly play another part of your quest when you don't have much time to spend.
How do I play?
Use your map to help you find the location of the portal you are assigned to. Once you arrive at a portal you will see a SOMK seal on the ground and you will need to look around for the keyhole. Before you scan the keyhole, make sure you have your cards out ready to battle. When you scan, the screen will activate your scene and you will work your way through the encounter. During the encounter, you will be asked to show cards to the screen to trigger attacks and defenses. At the end, make sure you pay attention because it will tell you where to continue your adventure.
Each villain takes approximately 30 minutes to one hour depending on how fast you walk, how focused you are and which of the four zones you are in.
After you defeat the villain it will ask you if you want to continue your adventure and ask what part of the park you want to play in next. Try to have a plan on what part of the park you want to go to by considering FastPass+ and reservations.
Once you defeat all eight villains you will earn the title of Sorcerer of the Magic Kingdom and will have saved the day!
What about the cards and how much does this cost?
First, you need to know about card categories...
The three groups below are found in the free booster packs that you get any time you check-in at the red firehouse.
1-22 are star cards. Star cards are pretty rare in the booster packs so these will be more difficult to collect but are still free.
23-40 are moon cards. Moon cards are fairly common and should be relatively easy to collect.
41-60 are planet cards. Planet cards are very common.
The remaining two groups cost money.
61-70 are lightning (or bolt) cards. Lightning cards are only attainable in booster packs that are sold in shops for $14.99. In this pack you get a variety of star, moon and planet cards with a guarantee to get a couple star cards and one lightning card. Beyond cards, this pack also comes with materials to turn this into a play at home card game by providing villain cards, damage counters, and a rule book.
P1-? are party cards. Party cards are exactly what they sound like. These are special cards that are only passed out to one per guest at the Not-So-Scary Halloween and Very Merry Christmas Parties.
Second, you need to know about card details...
If you are playing on Easy, let your kids pick their favorite cards or vary it up so you can see all the different attacks. Each card actually causes different animations to appear based on the card you show!
If you are playing on a higher difficulty, you need to know the cards each have a type. The types are Charming, Quick, Wishful, Energy, Strong, Gross, and Flying. Then they have three ratings; attack, boost and shield. The values range from 0-6 on each and do matter. If a villain with a wishful weakness (like Flotsam and Jetsam) is attacking you, you may want to use Belle's Mountain Blizzard (Card #2) because she has a shield of 3 but if you are attacking them you may want to use a stronger attack like Cinderella's Magic Ribbon (Card #25) which has an attack value of 4. All of this is only important if you are playing at higher difficulty. You will also want to use multiple cards of the same type to boost the effects. For the example above, I would use Belle and Cinderella simultaneously to attack which takes the villain out faster.
If you are playing on Medium, here is a list to help you succeed:
Enemy Weakness (Use) Strength (Don't Use)
Drum-Playing Soldier Energy Attacks Gross Attacks
Governor Ratcliffe Flying Attacks Wishful Attacks
Lawrence Quick Attacks Wishful Attacks
Shadow Demons Wishful Attacks Energy Attacks
Dr. Facilier Gross Attacks Charming Attacks
Jasper Charming Attacks Quick Attacks
Cruella De Vil Gross Attacks Wishful Attacks
Alpaca Guard Charming Attacks Gross Attacks
Kronk Quick Attacks Strong Attacks
Yzma Gross Attacks Charming Attacks
Goon Guard Quick Attacks Gross Attacks
Maleficent Strong Attacks Wishful Attacks
Dragon Maleficent Energy Attacks Flying Attacks
Flotsam and Jetsam Charming Attacks Quick Attacks
Glut Flying Attacks Gross Attacks
Ursula Energy Attacks Charming Attacks
Banzai Flying Attacks Gross Attacks
Scar Strong Attacks Charming Attacks
Cloud Scar Quick Attacks Flying Attacks
Iago Strong Attacks Flying Attacks
Jafar's Snake Energy Attacks Quick Attacks
Jafar Charming Attacks Wishful Attacks
Chernabog (final chapter) Wishful Attacks Strong Attacks
If you are playing on hard, the strengths and weaknesses change and you have to figure out what they are mid-game by using game clues and reactions to your attempts to defeat the villains and henchman. This game mode is not for the faint of heart.
Third, you need to know about collecting...
If you are like me, a big draw to this game is the idea of having a complete set. Cards 1-60 can be gained for free with a little bit of work but cards 61-70 and the party cards are going to take some time and money so let me help you out with some card collecting tips.
Check-in every time. As long as you scanned the first portal assigned on your last visit, you can check-in to the red schoolhouse to start your day and get a new booster pack.
Have everyone in your party participate. For every person that joins the party, they will give a set of cards. Even if the kids will be the ones playing, make yourself a part of the game party just to get more packs of cards.
Trade in the park! You can ask to see the trading book at the red schoolhouse to look through a few pages of cards and trade something you have a duplicate of for a new card. You can even sometimes score party cards in this binder as cast members like to throw them in as a special treat around the party times of the year. There are also many traders that spend time in the fireplace room at Tortuga Tavern, check it out as many traders are happy to let go of 1-60 cards for next to nothing because we have plenty to spare of the free cards. The other stuff might be a little harder to get.
Go to a party! Make sure everyone in your group gets that card during the party. you only need one for your set and now have extras to trade in exchange for the other party cards.
Trade online! There are several Facebook groups devoted to trading SOMK cards and this can be a great way to find cards you are missing.
Thanks for reading and I hope this helps you prepare to play Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. It is a fantastic way to beat the crowds and enjoy some down time in the park.
Are you ready to take the next step? Fill out our information form on the Booking Your Trip page and let's talk about your Disney adventure. If you are looking for more information, the Disney Planning Insights Podcasts and Princesses and the Mouse Blogs provide more information to help you plan your next Disney vacation.
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