Day 86, Game 86 - Kinect: Disneyland Adventures

Tonight, my kids and I went to Disneyland. Well, we didn't actually go to Disneyland, but instead we went to the virtual Disneyland, via the Xbox 360 and that magical device that is almost Disney-inspired, the Kinect. Well, we tried at least.

You should know by now, if you've been following my blog, how I feel about the Kinect. If not, let me just say this: I like the idea of it, but it just doesn't work nearly as good as advertised. Ever. Like seriously, it never works good. There have been a couple of fun game for it, but even those suffer from technological deficiencies. With rumors of the Kinect 2.0 coming packed in with the next-generation Xbox console, you can only imagine my excitement for having this shoved down my throat even more so than now. Yeah...

Anyway, this game is OK, for kids at least. Again, like the hardware, this game seems good on paper, but just doesn't work as good as it should. Of course, I was trying to play with a seven year old and a four year old, so that may have had something to do with it.

The premise is simple. You play as a kid wandering around Disneyland park (unsupervised, I might add), collecting coins, meeting Disney characters and doing odd jobs for them like finding a hat or posing for a picture with another character, in hopes of earning golden tickets. The game shows Disneyland in all its brilliance, too, and it actually looks really nice. There are crowds and everything (though not nearly as bad as I imagine them to be), trying to stay true to the illusion that you are at the park. You even participate in mini-games based on the popular attractions there at the park, which is really cool for those who can't actually go to the park to experience them.

The camera just didn't pick us up at all, and it was chore most of the time to complete the easiest of tasks and gestures. It almost felt like an exercise game, with the amount of wasted motion just to accomplish one goal, solely based on how inaccurate it was and how bad of a job it did of continuously not recognizing us. It was a struggle, to say the least. But the kids had fun, for the most part, and that's the most important thing, right?

So I bet you're wondering why I played this game tonight, right? Well, it was the equivalent of pre-funking before going out to the clubs. I was trying to experience, and let the kids experience, Disneyland, before tomorrow, when we actually GO TO DISNEYLAND! Yes, for our vacation, the wifey and I are taking the kids to Disneyland for almost a week. We fly out at the crack of dawn Thursday morning en route to beautiful Southern California to go visit the most magical place on earth. The best part of it all?

The kids don't know we are going. At all. They have no clue what's about to go down. We have completely planned this vacation, top to bottom, in secret. We are even packing for them tonight and getting everything ready to go. All they know is that they are taking me to the airport because I have to "go away for work." And I didn't even tell them that until tonight, when I had them go to bed earlier than usual. When we get there, I will have them get out to say their goodbyes, and then spring it on them. With any luck, their reactions are going to be amazing. But being as it will be 5 am, there is a chance their excitement might be overshadowed by sheer exhaustion. It can go either way at this point.

When I told them I had to leave, the first thing they asked was if I was going to be back for Easter. It broke my heart to lie to them and tell them I wasn't sure, but I would try, even thought I know the truth! I couldn't imagine being away from my kids for a holiday, so for all those parents who make that great sacrifice for their obs or other legit  and uncontrollable circumstances (and not just because they are deadbeats), I commend you, because wow, that must be the hardest thing in the world.

So there you have it. I will keep up on my blogs while I'm there, but don't expect the most insightful or lengthy posts. I have all my games picked out in advance, so that's helpful at least. And I won't be on twitter much at all, but when I am, it will be to post pictures and videos of our vacation, I'm sure. So I apologize in advance for being that guy. Also, I will have the video of us surprising them up online as well, hopefully YouTube and facebook, so be on the lookout for that, if interested.

Wish me luck, friends. As long as I have a better time at the real Disneyland than I did tonight in the virtual one, it should be an amazing vacation. Ciao!

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