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Goodbye Laser Quest...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ส.ค. 2024
- Like many others, the news of Laser Quest shutting down its North American locations was devastating to me. I have 25-years of incredible memories going to Laser Quest and in many ways Laser Quest has become a part of my life that I've lost forever. I decided to make this video to not only talk about my sadness regarding this news, but also to pay tribute to one of the most fun and special places I've ever known. I hope many others who have visited Laser Quest, competed in its leagues, or were just lifelong fans will enjoy this video as I take a look at Laser Quest and how amazing it was, and also how much it will be missed by all.
Laser tag footage was borrowed from VegasJeff and the full video can be seen here:
• Vegas Jeff's Laser Que...
Song is Halcyon On and On by Orbital.
I know this video is already a few years old, but just as most people in the comments, Laser Quest will always hold a special place in my heart. It was probably one of my most favorite places to go as a kid. I was absolutely devastated to hear that they were closing all locations. I have many fond memories of Laser Quest that I will cherish forever. However, on the upside, a newer lasertag company bought out the old building near my house where Laser Quest used to be and reopened it under a new name. They changed absolutely nothing. The map is still the same, the building is still the same, even the airlock and briefing room are still the same. Only thing that's different is new laser packs. Its great that they reopened it, and I've already gone numerous times with my co workers, but it still will never be the same. Thanks for the memories Laser Quest, and thanks for your video. :)
Unfortunately my local Laser Quest was not spared. It sat untouched for over a year after it closed and sometime this last winter they finally gutted it to prepare it for another tenant. The maze, the airlock, all the cool murals and decore, gone. All of it. It sort of broke my heart all over again. I'm really glad to hear someone decided to keep your local Laserquest alive and I've heard several others were saved too. Luckily I took a ton of pictures of my Laserquest before it closed. Lol one of the Marshals actually got mad at me for taking pics inside the maze. It was worth it though :)
Your video really hits me. I just found out and I’m so broken about it.
I'm right there with you. Even though it was last Fall I found out I still feel sad about it whenever I think, "hey, it sounds fun to go play laser tag!" and realize I can't. End of an era unfortunately :/
This is a pretty damn good video. I’m a former employee and I loved working there. My former coworkers and I still keep in touch because we all had such a great bond while working there. I was only there for about a year but that was in like 2019 so the memories are still fresh. I’ve got a lot of stuff like the official script we had to read and everything. I’m probably gonna make a video on it and I’m sure you’ll probably be interested in knowing more about what it was actually like to work there.
Thank you! I've been trying to contact the management of my Laser Quest. I really want a laser pack and some of their signs, but understandly getting ahold of anyone in the company is very difficult right now.
@@wigglesarcade8261 yeah, I talked to one of my former coworkers yesterday and she said that they’re probably gonna throw most of it out. She worked there until they closed and she became a supervisor so she probably knows a little. It would be such a waste tho 🤧
@@wigglesarcade8261 i got corporate management email I got you lols
Sad to see this place go , used to work there a long time ago , best laser tag in the world hands down. Good time good people, now a thing of the past. Farwell Laser Quest
Marshall! marshall! marshall!
This company holds a very special place in my heart, and it's been an emotional trip to find out they're gone. It must have been 2005/2006 when I first started playing and I quickly fell in love with everything about it. If I had to estimate, between 2006-2011, I attended 60+ lock-in events, and played weekly at the location near where I grew up. I met some of the coolest dudes I've ever known through Laser Quest, and even though its been years since I've spoken to any of them, the impact they had on my life still shows through me today.
I joined a local team and competed on a higher level than most people even knew existed, traveled out of state for a NAC tournament at a pretty young age, in a scene where most people were 10-20+ years older than me.
I'm not gonna lie, I don't think we placed very high the year I participated in NAC, but I'll never forget the experiences I had and the friends I made. If any of the boys get nostalgic and stumble across this video, I could never forget you guys, and I sincerely appreciate the way you've helped shape my life. Kage, Cross, Colby, Stitches, Zephyr, Frodo, Bushwhacker, Dom, and the many others in-between.
Ah man - thank you so much for putting this video up. You've done a better job than you probably realise. I used to work at a Laser Quest in England back in the late 90s / early 2000s. One of my first ever jobs and I did it for years loving every moment. This vid caught me right in the feels and it's uncanny why. Orbital - Halcyon And On And On I used to play it there a bunch. I had it on the Hackers soundtrack and sometimes at night after a long shift I'd climb up onto the roof of our building while it was blasting from the arena's sound system - it echoed up through the building's vents in a hauntingly beautiful way as I sat looking down on the city.
TBH I think the only thing I didn't like was the rebranding to the dated 'Saved by the Bell' style throwback logo, but corporate can be forgiven for that!
And all the video arcade references - we had all of them over the years! MK 1, 2 & 3, Soul Edge, Area 51, Air Hockey and sooo many others (Sega Rally '95 being one of my faves). House of the Dead 1 & 2, Street Fighter Zero Alpha, Neo Geo with KoF, Puzzle Bobble.. I could go on and on!
I often reminisce fondly of those times - they helped shape me as a person. It's why I occasionally do random google and YT searches about it, and lo and behold I stumble across this video doing so.
Thanks for the memories my man! LQ will forever live on in our hearts.
This is probably my favorite comment I've read on one of my videos since I began uploading to youtube. I'm very happy this video was able to take you back to those better times, which is precisely what I hoped this video would do for people. I know it was a very special place to many, not just me, and I hoped this video would remind people of those birthday parties in the 90s they went to or hanging out with friends in the arcade before the match started.
Halcyon On and On is one of those songs that really captures the zeitgeist of the era it was made and popularized. It vividly takes me back to people, places, and events that I experienced during the mid to late 90s better than most things can. When making this video I couldn't think of a more appropriate song.
Again, thank you for the comment and I really appreciate you sharing your experience as an employee of Laserquest during its peak years. Take care man :)
@@wigglesarcade8261 Oof that music still hitting me right in the gut. '93 was my first laser quest experience as a teen for a friend's birthday party. Little did I know that I'd be running that airlock in a couple years haha. Check the UK LQ website - it may reassure you. By some miracle they've reverted to the old school branding. I hope somehow they pull through the remainder of what COVID has to give.
Take care also. Expect a random DM at some point in the name of nostalgia... :)
I remember going to Laser Quest too. Too bad it is gone, but it will remain in my heart.
Its so painful to see this go, I may of never went to a laser quest. But it feels like I've been there for a long time.
It was truly an amazing place. The fact that I have that lifelong connection to it too just made it even more amazing :(
I had a dream about playing laser quest again and quickly looked it up upon waking, wondering if they were still open. It's an incredible gut wrencher to realize I'll never play it again.
However, your video filled me with joy of memories spent there. Thank you
played there for years and worked there in the late 1990s so much fun plus rebuilding the equipment was fun to went to two of them arlington heights and hoffman estates even played in the champion ship game.
Yoo I dont know what the chances are that someone sees this, but in Canton, Ohio, the laser quest opened up under new management and is now called laser zone. Its exactly like laser quest, and if someone is somehow in the area, you should totally visit it!!
I drive by my old Laser Quest periodically in hopes that someone has done this, but so far it's still just sitting there. They removed all the arcade machines last Spring, but the air hockey tables are still there. Hopefully someone will reopen it, but I'm not holding my breath at this point.
@@wigglesarcade8261 Yeah, I dont think the people who live realize how lucky they are, or there's not enough advertising of the new place. Probably both
Someone bought my local laser quest, (some chain called LaserMaxx i think?), and they must've been nostalgic, because they only updated the sensor packs/laser guns as far as i can tell. They seemingly didn't touch much otherwise. I can't wait until my kids are old enough for a family visit.
Thank you for this video. I stumbled upon it recently and I appreciate the knowledge that im not the only one with a surprisingly strong emotional attachment to a business/building haha.
In all seriousness though, that place was filled with countless memories of unparalleled joy and heart-pounding excitement from the first time i went there as a young child and it still remains a source of extremely heartfelt nostalgia for me.
Maybe it's just the memories talking, but I've tried several other laser tag businesses and i can honestly say that no other experience I've tried can even hold a candle to the fully immersive experience of laser quest.
It was the source of the kind of memories that will continue to vividly retain their shape through all 5 of the human senses for the rest of my life.
I can still close my eyes and touch, see, hear, and smell everything, and i can even taste the crappy pizza they served at birthday parties and the fog machines and the smoky air it produced tickling and chilling my lungs for a split second.
I remember Laser Quest very well! I remember when I had my birthday party there (12th), and went with my Youth Camp (2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009).
As a former employee of 8 years Ty for the video. Fun fact.....does anyone know what the green monsters name is on the walls? Ogg, that's his name, the idea came from the original launch of the business when they promotionally crafted a comic book. Ogg was supposed to protect the Questers(players) from the monsters that lurked within the maze.
That's an awesome bit of info I was unaware of, even after years of visiting LQ. I appreciate the cool fact.
I know this video is several years old, but man some of my best childhood memories were at Laser Quest. I remember the overnight "lock ins" in middle school where we played laser tag all night long. I'm pretty sure if I dug, I could find my old member activator somewhere.
Thank you for helping me relive some very cherished memories of my childhood. 💙
You only live one time! I’m in my late 30s and I play at all major paintball events and have been doing so for over 20 years and I’ll never stop!
I’m an old employee at sunrise FL. 😢
Just found out it closed today. Had some great experiences there from circa 2013. Goodbye Laser Quest, goodbye critical, and goodbye lucky vest number 38.
I remember having a 8th grade overnight lockdown at the Laser Quest in Norridge. Most of the other kids were sleeping but my late best friend and I were still going at it until opening. Then I crashed when i got home but it was super fun. Thank you for bringing back those middle of the night memories.
Our local LaserQuest got picked up by the game center next door. They're keeping it going and even left up the old signage.
Bro this place always had the best bday parties. Whenever someone had a party there is was a HUGE deal. I remember my entire 5th grade class going apeshit, forming teams, making rivals. My friend Ioakim, who was the birthday boy wouldn’t team up with anyone but me and our friend Henry. Some of my best childhood memories were made there.
I for some reason, didnt know lazer quest was a chain, or that it shut down. But seeing that is had shut down makes me sad. It was a pretty fun place from the one time i went, and while i think the guns were a bit uncomfortable to hold, and that that was where i learned i had the aim of a stormtrooper, it was still a place i wouldve wished to return to, the set, while a little cheesy, was really cool and if the pandemic ever settles down and if lazer tag is still even a thing by that time, it would probably be nothing compared to the one time i went to Lazer Quest
I remember at lazer quest there was a big tall tower that everyone will go to. You will always see people lazer fighting to try to claim the tower. The tower had Windows where you can snipe down below. Lazer quest will always be my favorite lazer tag place ever.
I remember being one of the only kids in my class that knew of this place, because the one in my town was basically abandoned, but I still convinced my friends to try it with me, and it was our hangout ever since. There were only a couple of arcade games left, and the paint was peeling off the walls, but that never deterred every kid going there for their birthdays after we told them about it. My little brother's class probably prevented it's closing for a little longer they were there so much. Unfortunately, it went out of business before covid. The old gang and I drove ourselves out to the laser quest for some nostalgia and awesome laser tag, but all we found was a gutted building, and a sheet of paper thanking us for the memories. The door was propped open by the construction team tearing it down, so we wandered in. We got to see the arena with the lights on, and it was so surreal. Most of the ramps and obstacles were gone, but just seeing how big the place actually was, and how different it looked, crazy. We took lots of pictures of the debris and dusted off some of the old floor art. After a few tears and many pictures, we just sat outside the building and shared old memories. Now I'm finishing my freshman year of college and we're still good friends to this day.
Wow this video was incredibly touching, my whole childhood belongs to this place and now its gone forever I want to cry
I used to go here a lot as a kid. Sad I never got around to revisiting before they closed. RIP
We had one in Fullerton, California and I got to see it. It was amazing and one of the best Laser Tag arenas I ever got to see and play in; our's was temple themed. It was large and filled with multiple floors. It was absolutely amazing...
My 90s birthday and OG Friends lived and died there. The packs held me tight to the floor with Lazer rumbles blaring.
"we forgive you"
-that one meme
There was a Laser Quest in Greece, New York in the close proximity of Best Buy. I had only gone there for many months until I had learned the LQ in Greece, NY was closing in late November 2016. Thankfully, all was not lost for me to scratch the laser tag itch when I found LaserTron over in Henrietta, NY. I had a fun time at Laser Quest.
Best times ever with my kids here. Houston
anyone else remember the last line of the player's code actually being "play to survive"?
And it also used to say “I will not cover any targets” instead of “I will not cover any sensors”
Rip laser quest fullerton 199x-2020
Were you a member?
@@idiotdoomspiral1207 no sometimes went
😢 I miss this place so much..
I miss this place. Such good memories here. I was hoping to bring my kids here but they'll never get to go :'( I'll never forget the vibration from the first time my vest sensor got hit with a laser. It was so exciting.
My dad and I miss this place so bad when I heard I cried for a week
Laser quest made me a better person
So this is where Pooh Shiesty has his fun.
Just today, laser quest in the UK announced on their instagram that starting in 2025, they’ll no longer be using the same guns and vests that laser quest in the US used. I’m so sad :(
It’s getting close to 2024 and I’m still missing this place :(
Me too, me too...
@@wigglesarcade8261 I live in the city of Laguna Niguel in California, and I was always visiting my close location of laser quest which was the Mission Viejo location. And after laser quest went out of business, another laser tag company called Laser Land claimed ownership of the mission viejo location. And even though I still enjoy it just as much as laser quest, there are 2 downgrades that it has compared to laser quest:
1. The new laser guns force us to hold them with 2 hands otherwise they won’t work
2. There are teams which means that we have to shoot specific players instead of any player we want
Ughhh this video hits me right in the feels. I worked at the Laser Quest in Woodbridge, VA 2015-16 and it was my first job in high school. The upper management and store management were amazing prioritizing leadership lessons to crew members and we had quarterly crew events. Looking back, pulling the all nighters were so much fun and I have so many memories of people coming from all over to visit our Laser Quest.
In the years leading up to COVID the head huancho of Laser Quest North America who had been with the company since the North American launch in the early 90s fostered a family environment among management. Rumor has it the new CEO (2017ish I believe) came in and didn't acclimate well the the laser Quest culture nor did they try to gradually implement change. The gradual slumping all came to head a few years later with COVID
I worked there it was such a great place I only worked there a year I can't believe it's gone. Idc what cool career I may enter that was and always will be one of my favorite jobs.
I envy you! I had an acquaintance in high school that worked there for several years and he loved it. I really wish I could have had that experience or been in one of the competitive leagues they ran.
@@wigglesarcade8261 if it makes you feel better I never got to do one of those cool rounds where the games 1hr straight no breaks that would have been epic
@@wigglesarcade8261 i hope to make some kind of entertainment place that cone close is it too much to hoep LQ will come back i work at a paintball lasertag place its just not the same.
Just so you are aware. They plan on reopening up 8 centers. Great video btw.
I heard about that shortly after I made this video. It makes me happy that others cared enough and had the means to keep their local Laser Quests going. Sadly mine is still going away for good :/
Never say never.
awwww man I'm so sorrry this happened. I'm really shocked , but something surely must be done about it once the pandemic is done, even if its in another location near you?? lets hope things will be sorted though right :) . Oh the choice of music is perfect man , fits the era perfectly. Love mortal kombat and orbital
Yeah, it was a real bummer when I found out. I've come to accept that the one in my area is gone, and likely for good, but hopefully the economic/social climate will allow a place like Laser Quest to thrive again. Unfortunately they seemed to be losing business well before the pandemic, but COVID was certainly the final nail in the coffin.
I enjoyed Laserquest with friends while they were around. I still have my gun activation key ring on my keychain. If anyone ever notices it, only people who played there would know what it even is. This really was the best laser tag ever. Other smaller places around are always lame in comparison.
I wish I would have saved my keyring. I used to save score cards for awhile then eventually threw them out. Kinda regret that, would be a funny memory.
I went to Laser Quest during my birthday with my mom, dad, Jessica, Curt & Darla and their 2 boys
Laser Quest in Danvers, MA was a staple of my childhood days into early adulthood. I lost count of how many overnighters/lock-ins I’d attend with friends, where we’d play for six hours beginning at midnight. I even had the privilege of competing at the NAC in 2010 against North America’s best players. I love Laser Quest and hate that I’ll never get to experience it again. I’m right there with you.
Great video nonetheless.
We have lazer blaze, it honestly sounds like a metal rock band. Pretty epic.
It seems to fall under the same description as laser quest. To this day the lobby of lazer blaze has a house of the dead arcade machine. It is absolutely epic.
That's awesome! I really hope that someone either buys my Laser Quest and reopens it under independent ownership or someone opens up a laser tag place thats on par with Laser Quest. Regardless of what happens I hope they step up their arcade game in the lobby. Laser Quest used to have way more machines in the lobby and thats the one place I'd love to see change. Still, I'd settle for no arcade machines at all if it meant Laser Quest would remain open.
Laser Quest was the best. I've been to other laser tag places but the experience is very ... meh compared to the arena I experienced as a kid at the Laser Quest in Lincoln, NE. Laser Quest arenas were well-designed, not just a bunch of randomly-distributed inflatable barriers. You had "bases" - hidden nooks and crannies you could ambush other players, different game modes so you could team up with people, etc. Everything else just seems like a low-budget knock-off of LQ.
Lincoln LQ was the one I spent a lot of time at, being a member for a few years and getting to go to the NAC in OKC I think it was. Been so long ago
i will play hard, play smart, and play to survive~
=(
And we didn’t survive :(
Hey, I have some awesome news which is that there’s still one more laser tag place in the united states that still uses the laser quest guns and vests, and that’s Laser Zone in the city of Canton in the state of Ohio. So be sure to check them out! :D
I guess the Laser Quest in Spokane Washington turned Independent as well. I'm thinking about making a pilgrimage there this summer. We'll see.
Such a great place
It should be said that they are still going in the UK and Ireland, so they might even make a comeback over here again. You never know
I absolutely hope you're right. A few locations were bought out by independent parties and revived under different names, but unfortunately my Laserquest is now a martial arts studio. Here's hoping someone brings it back in my area.
I really hope that happens.
Couldnt have said it better myself🥺
here from kero kero bonito, they made a song a long time ago called laser quest lol
Pooh shiesty sent me
I had a ton of birthdays there as a child
fond memories of laser quest in the UK.
i just found this out in december, my childhood ;-;
Mine too :/
Was it just me or did it have a unique smell
yep, it was the artificial fog
#1 soldier member @ Memphis poplar / highland location all I played were iron man games
Who else didn’t go by the most of the players code??
I ran the whole time lol
@@wigglesarcade8261 I always ran and swore,
How they gonna catch us anyway? There’s always one Marshal
Good bye Laser Quest! I was a great player who played with even greater players. The NAQ tournaments were the best!
If COVID never happened, this place would still be opened.
They only went out of business in North America. They’re still in business in the United Kingdom which is where the company originally came from. But yeah, I hope they’ll re-open the North American operations someday.
Been going since Pokémon yellow.
Sorry for your loss man, maby you should go pay a visit to your local indoor airsoft arena. Just get a mesh mask and some eye protection. You can use the rental gun but you will not want to use the rental mask. Also make sure your eye pro is anti fog if it is not get some kind of anti fog agent to apply on the lens.
I wonder if laser quest in the UK is the same company as laser quest in the US and if they were the same company that opened the US operations for laser quest in 1993.
They were the same company, yes. My local Laser Quest opened in 1995, but others may have opened before that.
@@wigglesarcade8261 Good to know. Their logo is different in the uk, so I was confused.
I miss quest played mostly at Centerville but was able to get games in Detroit Akron canton and wyomissing.
Best lasertag ever? That's like, your opinion, man.
Better than say laser storm, Lazer runner, other low end systems, and maybe Q-zar, but of the big ones, laserquest was my 2nd least favorite , Qzar being at the bottom.
Being first exposed to it at a young age, it was imprinted as the best.
I'd take laserforce, zone (though I never played on nexus or Helios, only v-3 up to right before nexus when the packs still had the old style look), lasertron or lasertrek over laserquest any day. Even when a laser quest opened up much closer to me than the zones I drove far to play, I only went a few times.
I am at a disadvantage because my first experience was photon and everything pales in comparison to that whole experience, even if the mid 80s technology was inferior to what came out in the 90s and later, the implementation of the technology was far superior in photon, and the huge well designed symmetrical arenas, observation decks with phaser stations that didn't interfere with the game in the arena, lock on lights and separate sounds for a hit, miss, or hitting a teammate, along with it being real time scoring all the way back in 84 (86/87 when most other locations opened) made for an experience, and it was very competitive. And having cool aliases (codenames) started with photon.
Everything you loved about laserquest can be experienced or bettered at most zone, laserforce, lasertron or other decent lasertag gear equipped place.
My favorite of what still exists is laserforce, since it started as a copy of photon in the late 80s (vultrek which laserforce originally used then copied and updated as their own equipment over the years), so it has a lock on tone, different hit and miss sounds, real time scoring with play by play, and members can choose their own names of course.
It really do suck I went to laser quest every weekend to make new friends and to rank up to the top now that it is gone I’m gonna have to find a new laser tag dojo 🥺🥺🥺
So sad I’ll never get to take my nephews there. There is still a laser tag place nearby but not like laser quest
the denver one looks like its closed. FUCK
The other lazertag place in my city has the AUDACITY to think it could replace LQ just by outliving it
IM very sad the one near me has two floors it was the most epic one its sad to see it go
Did yours have two floors in the lobby or arena? Because mine had a multiple floor arena in it and it was pretty sick.
The other lazer tag place in my city has the audicity to claim that it can replace LQ. Sure you MIGHT have more confortable to hold blasters but you lack almost everything that made LazerQuest special.
Say sike right now I mean it 😟
I wish I were joking. Would have loved to go there for my birthday this year and last.
I was very excited to go back laser quest today but I found this question called is laser quest shutting down and *shot me in the crotch and made me fell down the mountain*(you know what I mean
Where I live they reopened it
Do you live in the United Kingdom? Because if so, then that’s the only reason why they reopened for you.
@@heavenandhello6629 Nah I'm in America. The Laser quest is under a different name (Laser Max) it's basically the same thing though. Exact same lasertag layout and place.
yeah its sad to see them go because all of the kids couldve went to but covid ruined that ?
You say laser quest a lot
Because that’s the point of this video. Got a problem?
This video shocked me, due to my wondering if LQ will ever re-open!, same here for me and my siblings and friends! I'm now and always apart of Fullerton Lazer Quest! Code name CD13SOA