Friday, October 4, 2013

Disneyland, but Cheaper

It is NOT this easy.
So the kids and I recently remembered that we have the very fun and engaging Kinect Disneyland.  So we've been trying to play it.

Trying is the keyword.

I basically don't know how families stay together after trying to play this with my 3 year old, my (now) 6 year old, the 1 year old wandering around, and my husband.

First, the baby.  When two other big kids/me are playing, and he wanders in front, it somehow totally removes us as player and accepts him.  This is beyond annoying.

Then the 3-year-old.  She desperately wants to play this.  She's probably the most age-appropriate for a Disneyland game... and she can barely do it alone.  It is impossible to help her with the proper motions, and have you ever tried telling a 3-year-old, "Lift your left hand.. no your left. Your other hand.  The one close to me. Now lift it.  Less.  Lift it just a little.  Now lower.  Higher.  Like this.  Do what mommy is doing.  Oh for the love of Pete, you're on your own."

The 6-year-old has a great grasp of it, and can properly control it.  Phew.  I suppose I also fit in this category.

And then there's my husband, who somehow always has to walk across the room, and since this is the most finicky Kinect game it either picks him up as a player, or the brief second he passes the Kinect totally blanks us all out.

I can't understand why some Kinect games are so good at tracking and keeping you logged in, despite madness in the room, and others are just absolutely awful.  Disneyland fits in the awful category.  And it's marketed for children.  Ironically, Once Upon a Monster is also awful, and also for children.  Does Xbox/Kinect want parents to kill themselves over their children crying that the characters won't dance with them??

I don't think it's reason enough not to buy the game.  It is super fun.  I am an unapologetic Disney lover.  Disneyland was truly the most magical place on Earth for me.  And it is faithfully recreated in this game.  It's so fun to walk around and see the same corners of the park that we walked in.  "Hey look! That's the bathroom where we cleaned up that giant poopy diaper!  Ahh..memories."

Just, when/if you buy it, prepare yourself. I suggest a glass of wine.  Or just playing it after the kids go to bed. You know you want to.