As I waited patiently in the line to get into Epcot this morning, eagerly awaiting my first visit to the Flower and Garden Festival (More on that to come in a later post) I started receiving a flood of notifications that Update 9 for Disney Magic Kingdoms (DMK) had officially launched.  I immediately opened the game, downloaded the new content and pulled my husband Carl off to the side of the entry way so that I could take photos and start the trek towards Merlin and Chip.  If that’s not dedication to the cause, I don’t know what is!  Now that we’re home, sun burnt and, thanks to Epcot, slightly tipsy, it’s time to take a look at the new content released so far.  Keep in mind that while Beauty and the Beast content is viewable in game, I will not be covering it until tomorrow when the event officially starts at 10AM EST.  So for now, let’s get to know the first of our new heroes, Merlin!

Welcoming Merlin

Merlin, who has been with us since the beginning, woke up today and realized something.  He’s been hanging out in our Kingdom without being welcomed!  Well that all ends today.  As Merlin realizes he hasn’t been invited in like a vampire standing creepily outside your front door, he’ll ask you to welcome him.

In many ways it feels as though Gameloft is also saying “Yeah, this is a long time overdue.  Our bad.”

Merlin is an extremely easy cahracter to welcome.

Sword in the Stone Book

This is easily the toughest item to get and with a little luck it should drop pretty early.  Given that you only need one, it shouldn’t be too hard.  Hey, remember when we only needed one item to drop to get Prince Charming and it only came from a chest.  And then remember how everyone lost their marbles because of it.  Aw, good times.

Carpet Bag

I know what you’re thinking.  If we need a carpet bag to summon Merlin, how will we summon Mary Poppins?  It’s a doozy to be sure.  This one will be done in no time if you have Pluto, who takes 60 seconds to complete the quest and drops them very often.

Merlin Ears

Another one that shouldn’t take too long.  Goofy will be on the case, as will Bo Peep and both of them dropped ears on the first try for me.

Welcome to the Kingdom, Merlin

With any luck, you’ll have Merlin before you know it!

And since he’s the only character from the film that you can welcome, you’ll be granted some extra gems, which I’m sure will come in handy for the event that’s around the corner.

Casting Spells

Merlin’s a bit special though.  For starters, his max level is 1.  My guess is that we’ll be able to level him up in future updates to acquire new spell.  For now, he’ll ask you to try out a spell to make sure his magic is still good.  Essentially, Merlin allows you to take the easy route.

He has three spells at this time.

Gathering Spell

The first allows him to gather all of the items and potions from buildings in the park.  This spell is free to cast and refreshes every four hours.  Keep in mind that it won’t collect completed quests so you’ll still have to do a bit of clicking around.

Once done, you’ll receive a report of what was collected with any items, potions and stars.

Happiness Enchantment

The second spell will raise your happiness to max.  This one costs gems no matter how you slice it, but it will cost less gems the higher you are on the happiness scale.  Basically, you get what you pay for, and if you’re paying for a huge jump in happiness, you will most definitely dish out some gems.

Happiness Safeguard

The third and final spell (for now) allows you to put a lock on your happiness.  This means that for 24 hours it will not go down.  Even if you’re just trying to build up your happiness, this is pretty amazing since you won’t lose any when you step away from the game!

Once you’ve used the first spell once, Merlin will be quite pleased with himself.

Merlin decides he’ll help you, at a fee.  After all, those fancy blue robes aren’t going to pay for themselves.

New Land

There is a single piece of new land to grab with this new land, and it sits at the very back of Tomorrowland.  This one will cost you a whopping 550,000 potions and will take a full day to unlock.  Hopefully we won’t have buyers remorse!

The Adventure Continues

That’s it for this post, but I’ll have my Chip post up shortly!  Are you guys excited for the event and the big announcement tomorrow?  Has anyone splurged on the other spells?  Let me know in the comments below!

For More DMK Articles, Head Here!

Join our Disney Mobile Gaming Group on Facebook!