The owners submitted the record to Guinness as the maze was being designed, it was surveyed on Thursday, and given the award on Saturday.
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – The confirmation came with celebration on the morning of October 11.
After a surveyor marked the exact size of the Great Maze on Thursday evening, an adjudicator from Guinness World Records flew to Fargo and certified the structure as the largest temporary wood maze in the entire world.
The baseline for the record was 30,000 square feet, set by a maze in Denmark. The Great Maze came out to 40,411 square feet.
Adjudicator Michael Empric says he and the Guinness team hadn’t seen anything close to as impressive as the Great Maze.
“I think for the family that does the Great Maze, it’s really a point of pride,” he said. “They know this is an incredible achievement, and Guinness World Records can come in and say, ‘You know what, this is officially amazing.’”
This is the first year of operation since maze owner Kathy Johnson and her team decided to switch from hay to cedar – and now they’ve got a world record.
“I feel almost lightheaded. I can’t believe it’s finally happening,” she said.
She says there were still some nerves before it became official, but now it’s just gratitude that they’ve been able to add to their family’s legacy with this achievement.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I’ve been a little girl,” she smiled.
The maze is open for just a few more weeks – until the end of October – so if you’d like to test your mettle against a world-record holder, you’d better get out to West Acres.
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