This is the first time that live-action roleplaying has gone mass-market in the United States thatI’m aware of. There are plenty of systems like Daggerhere or Nero that are widely played, and even a live-action RPG summer camp that runs in the Bay Area where I live, but as far as I know, MagiQuest is the first mainstream attempt.
It seems to be aimed at Harry Potter fans, utilizing infra-red projecting wands that players can use to cast spells or even to duel each other. Apparently, the wands also remember how much progress their wielder has made, making record-keeping presumably a lot easier. It looks like MagiQuest is setting up locations all of the the U.S. as well as in Japan.
I for one call this a good thing, not knowing a lot about it yet. I like opportunities like this to both roleplay and actually interact with other human beings live. I also think it is a good idea to piggy-back on what every Harry Potter fan wants to do – run around slinging their wand at their friends.
>unfinished 
A couple of years ago while on vacation at the beach, my family and I saw this. Being the geek that I am, I eagerly took my four year old, picked out her wand, and went “adventuring”. It was cool, very cool. Although she was a bit scared at first, she was “magically” opening treasure chests in no time. I wouldn't say it's aimed at HP fans, the wands are just coincidence. Overall the mechanics involved were indeed clever and the 'quests' were pretty well thought-out.
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I'm glad your experience was good and that it is broader than HP. I just pictured dozens of little kids carrying wands around and couldn't help the connection.
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If I had kids I'd leave for Washington now. That looks like it would be a blast for kids.
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If I was a kid, I would camp out in a place like this and try to live there, like Gollum huddled beneath the Misty Mountains, or that girl who had a baby while living in Wal-Mart.
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