Sunday, June 4th was a busy day at Disney California Adventure. Raver Day was happening, The new Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout attraction was drawing record crowds, and 22 teams showed up to find out the burning question…”WHAT’S IN THE BOX???” The 2017 Disney Challenge kicked off in Cars Land outside of Flo’s V8 Cafe. With only a couple of interruptions from Lighting McQueen and Mater, the event crew got through the opening announcements and moved on to the big reveal. The mystery that plagued our players from the day we announced the subtitle of this year’s challenge: “The Return Of The…” As we opened the box containing the item that was making its triumphant return…the crowd hushed as it was revealed. The Monkey Wrench was pulled from the box to an overwhelmingly silent “huh?” from about 95% of the players. (Exactly the reaction I was going for!!!) Since The Monkey Wrench was last seen in 2011, most of the challengers had absolutely no idea what this plastic thing on a string was. However, once explained, the name became clear. This little guy was really going to throw a Monkey Wrench in their strategies for that year if they wanted to contend for the massive amount of bonus points it could be worth.
At 10:00am, the teams were on their merry way. Most stuck around Cars Land to figure out Rick’s License Plate-inspired Finish Line Puzzle. Others just took a seat and planned out their day. At 10:30, The Monkey Wrench was released, and the game took a twist. Teams started lining up to steal it from one another, as their photos started appearing on Twitter. The Event Crew did not help the chaos by Facebook Living and Tweeting our location, as well as the last known location of the Wrench. At 2:30pm, The Event Crew tweeted their location, and one team found us. “Suitcase and a Dream…and a Stroller” (who made their own triumphant return after an absence) snagged the Monkey Wrench and proceeded to play Hide and Seek from the rest of the teams anxious to get the final 25 points. No one found them by the 3:00 cut off, and they ended the game with an amazing 35 bonus points, which rocketed them up to third place.
Our former 2015 Minnie Disney Challenge Champions “Frank ’n WeenieS,” who were out in full force with all four players, took second place with the exact same score as our third place team. For the first time in the history of The Disney Challenge, our long ago implemented but never used “tie breaker” system was put into place. Scoring 17 Secret Bonus Points to Suitcase’s 15, The Weenies pulled ahead. However, what no one expected was a brand new team consisting of some very recognizable players snuck in and grabbed first place. “X-S Tech,” made up of some of the creators and writers of the famous Mouse Adventure Scavenger Hunt, was crowned The 2017 Disney Challenge Champions.
It was an amazing year and an amazing Challenge. We look forward to seeing all of you (and some new faces) at the next one. Be on the lookout for the announcements regarding The 2017 Mini Disney Challenge taking place on November 5th.
Click Here to see The 2017 Disney Challenge Answer Key, Rules, and Team Scores and Places
~Written by Dave Mancini, Event Crew Member