DisneyQuest was a fantastic idea that was just too ahead of its time

Disney once had a fantastic indoor entertainment chain that might have been ahead of its time! Here’s why DisneyQuest should have lasted longer!

Throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, the arcades were a dominant part of American culture. Just about every shopping mall had an arcade of some sort, with teens and young adults pouring millions of quarters into these machines for various adventures. It’s no surprise Disney World had plenty. Through the decades, there were arcades on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom that were eventually moved to Tomorrowland as the LIght & Power Arcade. 

The resorts, of course, had their share with the Contemporary Resort boasting the fantastic Fiesta Fun Room. This massive arcade was packed with video games, skeeball and more and open 24 hours a day. The original version of Innoventions in Epcot boasted a grand selection of Sega games that shifted to other systems over the years. 

So, video games were hot, and Disney wanted to get into that while expanding its presence in other cities. Thus, in 1997, they announced the creation of DisneyQuest, not just an arcade but basically a mini-theme park of its own meant to capture the times. 

The DisneyQuest experience

Disney was actually ahead of others in virtual reality in the early 1990s. That included an Innoventions display where guests took a carpet ride through Agabrah. Disney decided to use that as the basis for this new style of “parks,” with a building big enough to hide the tech. 

First opening in October of 1998, DisneyQuest was the highlight of the West Side, an expansion of stores/restaurants that was added to the Disney Marketplace and Pleasure Island to form the Downtown Disney area. The five-story building was notable for the huge logo nicknamed the “hurricane Mickey” and the bright colors. 

After paying for the ticket, guests took the “Cyborlator” with the Genie from Aladdin, welcoming them to the Venture Port. This was the third floor with signs for the four main zones, which were Explore, Replay, Score, and Create. Folks preferred going from floor to floor to take it all in.

Floor 1: Virtual Jungle Cruise used some of the VR tech that Disney developed as guests rode inflatable rafts before a screen showing jungle adventures loosely based on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids movie. Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold was a later addition, predating the movies with guests riding platforms, one steering a ship while the other three fired off cannons at targets for a higher score. 

Floor 2: This had the original Aladdin VR ride with more chairs for guests. There was also the fantastic Cyberspace Mountain, where guests could design their own roller coaster, putting in as many loops as they wanted with various speeds. They’d then board a small simulator that would create it, complete with spinning around for the loops. 

Animation Academy showed off how animated characters were created, while the other displays were more interesting. Guests could create their own Toy Story toy from various items, Living Easels let them craft their own portraits and Radio Disney allowed them to create their own songs. All three then offered the option of buying those creations, thus making them fun souvenirs. 

Floor 3: Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam was based on the animated Mighty Ducks series, set up as a huge board where a dozen players controlled what amounted to a huge pinball game on a massive screen. Nearby was the wild Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blaster, which took bumper cars to a new level. The carts ran over “moon rocks,” which were foam balls sucked into the car. The riders could then load them into cannons to fire at other cars for points. It was a pretty crazy affair and always busy.

Floor 4: Ride the Comix had guests put on VR helmets with swords to take part in a comic book-style adventure fighting evil. There was also the Replay Zone, home to a fantastic bevy of arcade games from classics of the ‘80s to the then-biggest modern ones. 

Floor 5: Another version of Ride the Comix alongside Invasion! based on the Extraterrorestrial Alien Attraction where guests rode vehicles to fight off aliens. There were also more games and the Food Quest food court. 

Over the years, some attractions came and went, with a “Cave of Wonders” slide closed down for safety reasons and “Treasure of the Incas,” where guests used remote control vehicles on a huge course that closed thanks to the rise of cell phones creating issues. 

The short-lived expansion and end

With the Disney World version a hit, a new version of Disney Quest opened in downtown Chicago in 1999. I personally visited it a few times to enjoy it, and it seemed to be doing well with plans for a new facility in Philadelphia. But just as ground was broken there, that ended with the Chicago version closing in 2001.

The key issue was that while the Chicago one attracted people from downtown, it was harder for suburban families to get there and navigate the always-tough Chicago traffic. There was also the fact that the facility could be empty during school hours and lack appeal. A changeover in Disney management also affected it so any future DisneyQuest facilities were canceled. 

As for the Florida version, it stuck on for a long time, still attracting guests. However, the 2000s saw the arcades take a huge downturn in popularity as the coming of online gaming and systems like the PS2 and Xbox meant gamers finally had cutting-edge tech at home and not needing to go out. Slowly but surely, arcades vanished from malls, and the once huge game rooms of Disney resorts were barely more than closets, with the Fiesta Fun Center shutting down in 2008. 

DisneyQuest finally closed its doors in 2017 to make way for the NBA Experience diner. Some of the props were distributed to other Disney parks while others remained lost. It seemed like a failed experiment, but perhaps it was just too far ahead of the curve. 

Why DisneyQuest should be revived

There has been a new nostalgia kick for arcades in the last few years. A good example is Galloping Ghost in Brookfield, Illinois, where guests can pay a simple cover charge and then stay as long as they want to play any of over 700 games for “free.” Other places have followed suit as folks are enjoying these classic arcades again.

Also, Virtual Reality has improved by leaps and bounds in the last decade. What was once an overly clunky experience is much better with affordable helmets and better technology. Had today’s VR existed back in 1999, the DisneyQuest attractions would have been more fantastic, especially with their budget. 

In short, DisneyQuest was a good idea that was simply coming along before the market was truly ready for it. Back then, folks could go into any arcade for those games and not sure of paying for some VR stuff. Today, such chains of indoor amusement parks are around the U.S., but they lack the Disney touch. 

Today, guests of WDW could easily see the advantage in a ticket for such a facility of games and VR experiences to be a new hit. A full revival is unlikely yet DisneyQuest is fascinating as an experiment that Disney didn’t know would become more relevant as time went on.