The Quest for Clara’s Cure is a themed experience based on my love of enchanted forest stories and scavenger hunts.

This quest takes place in an enchanted forest. The forest contains many varieties of trees, bushes, and flowers. Some are natural and some are fabricated, to enable a natural feel with magical elements. In various clearings through the woods, there are tables made of rough wood with stumps for seating. Employees in elf costumes run games and crafts at these tables throughout the day, perhaps working with younger children while their siblings complete the quest. Boulders and giant mushrooms are also scattered throughout the woods. Various insects and small magical creatures rest on the trees and rocks and guests can hear a soundtrack of forest noises mixed with enchanted sound effects.

As the guests walk along the main path, it leads them to a small cottage. The cottage has a thatch roof and exposed wooden beams. It’s quaint and rustic, while also being warm and welcoming. Above the door, a sign reads “Clara’s Cottage.”

The guests enter the cottage with their party and wander the main room. There is a large fireplace in the back, with bookshelves on the walls. A large table takes up one wall, while a door on the other wall leads to the rest of the house. The table is covered in spell books and wands. The cottage has the feel of the office of an absent minded professor. The shelves are full to bursting with books and equipment. A cat bed and dish sit on one shelf, while another is full of small terrariums for various bugs and lizards. Plants and herbs in pots and planters line the window sill.

After a few moments, the guests are greeted by a small toad on the table. The toad (either animatronic or AR) says:
“Hey! Down here! Hi! I’m the witch, Clara. I’m so glad you’re here. One of my spells…well…I messed it up and I turned myself into a toad. I just need some ingredients from the woods to finish the spell to turn me back, but I can’t collect them myself. Can you help me?”

Presumably, the guests agree to help her.

“Oh, thank goodness. Alright, see these spell books and wands? These will help you collect the ingredients. I’m a sustainable witch, so I don’t want to pick any flowers or kill any bugs. All you have to do is check your book for the ingredients that you need to collect. Then, go look around the woods for those objects. Once you find one, tap it with your wand and the magical essence will be collected. Your spellbook will update to keep track of which items you’ve collected. If you have any trouble finding something, you can ask my elf friends. You can normally find them around the tables. Once you’ve got all of your items, come back here and we can complete the spell and turn me back! Please hurry, I really hate the taste of flies.”

Each guest (or pairs of guests) grab a spellbook and matching wand. The wand uses an RFID chip (or similar tag) to scan the objects that the guest taps. The wand is connected to the spellbook via Bluetooth or physical tether, and the pages update to check off the different items as they are collected. The spellbook itself only opens to the page with the ingredients, and could be made of an E-Ink style material to give it a paper-like quality.

The guests wander the woods, tapping various flowers, crystals, trees, and bugs. The “elves” running the crafts and games will also know the location of each item and will assist if anyone gets stuck.

Once they’ve completed their list of ~4 items, the guests will return to the cottage, this time through the side door. This door leads to the other room, which is the same aesthetic as the first and contains a large mirror on the wall. Once everyone in their party finishes (for this reason we will probably limit each questing group to an individual family), Clara the toad will guide them through the spell to return her to her human form. Clara will sit on a stool in front of the mirror and all of the guests will wave their wands at her and recite a spell. All the wands will glow and a thick wall of mist will fall between the guests and the stool. This will obscure the mirror, from behind which the human actress of Clara will emerge. As the mist clears, Clara will celebrate being human again and thank the guests for their help. She may offer them a small trinket, perhaps a crystal, for completing the quest and saving her. The guests have now completed their quest and can return to the forest to play games or continue to the rest of the park.

I just want to finish this by saying what a great time I had working on this. I’m just starting my career and this project reinforced how excited I am to work in this field in the future. I spent hours after my day job working on this, and I enjoyed it so much. Thanks for creating this challenge.