On Friday, August 29th the Adventureland Trading Company ended its run in Disneyland by offering one last Juju opportunity. Guests wishing to get their hands on the rare Juju would have to purchase a “Story Tag” from the Indiana Jones Outpost, share their tale on the form and then bring it over to Aladdin’s Oasis to receive their prize.
I was walking down Main Street USA as the rope drop announcements played over the speakers on Friday and headed straight to Adventureland. When I get there I was surprised to see a Cast Member holding an Aventureland Trading Company placard at the end of a consistently extending queue. I took my place in line right next to the Tiki Room restrooms. Soon after I joined, the queue had to be separated and continued by the Dole stand.
As I waited to purchase my Story Tag I heard my queue neighbors discussing which Jujus they had obtained and which were their favorites. They also looked up how much some of the ones they were missing were going for on eBay.
This is when I realized I had gotten this game all wrong.
I had thought of it as an experience and attraction that rewarded you with keepsakes to justify the price. Now I believe Adventureland Trading Company is actually a merchandising opportunity with the game element thrown in as a bonus.
The way these guests spoke of their Juju collections is the same sentiments I hear from pin traders or Vinylmation fanatics. To them the game was secondary to the prize. That would explain why there was such a fervor for an additional Juju that would only be available for a single day (if that).
After about 40 minutes I made it to the counter to purchase my Story Tag. I then headed over to Aladdin’s Oasis to wait in line and write out my story. Different guests had different approaches to the Story Tags; some wrote their real adventures with the game, some wrote fictional tales set in the spirit of the theme and others drew pictures of their experience. I choose to write what was really an extended version of the joke I told in my Skipper School Training with a few extra references to the game thrown in.
Once inside the Oasis, guests were given to option of telling a story by passing the “Story Stick” or getting on the microphone and sharing their tale with the audience. I had intended on grabbing the mic, but mistakenly got in the wrong line. After I realized the Story Stick line was moving much quicker (since eight guests or so could participate in each round) I decided just to stay put.
After we created a (completely ridiculous) story together, our Story Tags were collected to be displayed throughout the rest of the day. It was then that we also received our special Skull Jujus (which, incidentally, were the same ones given out at the 2013 D23 Expo)
As I exited the Oasis, the line to purchase Story Tags was still back to about where I had joined it originally. If the purpose of the event was to gauge the popularity and success of the overall game, I believe the Adventureland Trading Company will be rolling back through Anaheim sometime in the relatively near future.