by J. Scott Lopes
Guest Blogger, AllEars.Net

I recently embarked on a quest at Magic Kingdom, a quest that took me to every corner of the park. It was the Disney Pin Quest, a scavenger hunt that leads you to acquiring a complete set of pins. (There’s a Disneyland version of this Pin Quest, which is almost identical. You can read about it HERE.)

In order to start the journey, you need to purchase an adventure kit and clues. The starter kit, which costs $14.99, includes a lanyard, a decoder medal (more on this later), a pouch, and a map.

This kit can be purchased at the following locations:

— Fantasy Faire, Fantasyland
— Big Top Souvenirs, Storybook Circus in Fantasyland
— Briar Patch, Frontierland
— Frontier Trading Post, Frontierland
— Curtain Call Collectibles, Main Street, U.S.A.
— Tomorrowland Light & Power Co, Tomorrowland

I started at the Trading Post where I purchased my adventure kit and first clue. (Each clue costs $9.99, by the way.)

You purchase the clue, and once you find the answer, your reward is a pin.

When you first start out, or if you get stuck, friendly cast members are there to help you.

Once you are rewarded with the pin, you use the decoder medal to read the coordinates (a letter and number), which you then use to find the next location on the map. The map does show 10 locations, but only 6 are part of the quest. As you collect each pin, the NavigatEAR will stamp your map, and you can also write the letter from the back of the pin in the spot on the map that corresponds to the clue number (this will spell out a hidden message).

Once you get the letter and number coordinate you will be able to find their intersection on the map to locate the next location. After collecting all six pins you return back to the Trading Post or Curtain Call CollectIbles to use the hidden message, so that you are able to purchase the final completer pin.

I had a lot of fun and recommend that everyone try this. It’s also a great activity to do in a group — I had family along for my journey, which was helpful at times.

One warning: there can be a lot of walking involved. In my journey, I used the Walt Disney World Railroad to travel between some locations, and most of the time the next location was on opposite ends of the park. I took my time completing the quest and took in a few attractions — as well as a Dole Whip! — in between collecting clues and pins, but the quest took me about four hours. If you focused on just completing the quest without interruption it probably would take closer to two hours.

The adventure kit is $14.99, each clue is $9.99, and the completer pin is $4.99. Altogether, this quest costs about $80 plus tax, not counting any applicable discounts.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J. Scott Lopes is a long time Disney fan who first went to Walt Disney World as a child in 1989 and has enjoyed traveling to Orlando ever since. He is interested in all things Disney Parks-related, especially in the Walt Disney Imagineering division and all of the work and detail that they put into everything that they engineer.

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