Fun games, good food, and great conversation. Oh, and it does appear that my middle son, B, is sitting unsupervised, but I swear that I’m just out of frame!

Last week, my children and I attended a wonderful party hosted by Disney Interactive Media Group–the folks who bring Disney video games to life. Hosted at the always fabulous Hollywood and Highland (home of the Kodak Theater where the Oscars are held), the event was catered by Wolfgang Puck and it was a dream come true for my five year old who got to play video games he had never seen before.

Tasty eats, including Club Penguin slushies!

My son A playing Club Penguin. I think I may a future gamer on my hands!

The event highlighted both online games and regular video games on platforms like Wii and Xbox. Prior to this event, my kids had no exposure to online gaming, except for educational games on the PBS website and Starfall.com. My five year old was instantly in love with World of Cars Online, Pixie Hollow, and Club Penguin. With summer just around the corner and the heat in the San Fernando Valley unbearable at times, I think they will be great quiet activities for him while his brothers are sleeping. My son, A, was a HUGE fan of the tractor tipping in the Cars World and loved seeing the aspects of the Tinkerbell movies come to life in Pixie Hollow. (Yes, he is comfortable with his manhood and yes, there is a male pixie for boys who want to enter this magical place.) The graphics in Pixie Hollow and Cars Online are fabulous and all three virtual worlds/games can be played for free. Those who decided to join the worlds for an additional monthly fee get “enhancements” for their characters and to their gaming.

My boys playing Toy Story 3 with one of the game developers.

When it comes to the regular video game platforms, A loved playing the game Split Second on Xbox (also available on Playstation) and Toy Story 3 (which will be available on a variety of platforms).  Both boys tried Toy Story 3 (not yet available) and loved riding Bulls Eye as Woody.  They were both awful but it didn’t matter; they just thought it was cool to enter Woody and Buzz’s world.

But by and large, our favorite game of the night was the Disney Sing It game (due out in August). Played on the Wii platform, Disney Sing It is a sing-along game that allows players to test their singing skills and Disney song knowledge.  Disney has released Sing It with pop music in the past.  The new version will be lots of fun because it combines music from Disney movies (old and new) with scenes from the movies.  This is a game I cannot wait to play at home with my family.  To the left and below, Becky from Happy Hour Mom is playing Sing It with her son and her mom.

 

Giveaway!

One of Disney’s other online games is Toontown (different than the land at Disneyland).  It is an online game for ages seven and older in which players join a community of Toons and work together to defeat evil robot cogs. Toontown is full of fun activities — from street battles and minigames to parties and racing.  Like the other online games, kids can play the game for free, but get an enhanced experience with “membership.”  The other online games are about $5.95 per month.  Disney’s Toontown is $9.95 per month and I’m giving away two 30-day gift cards to one lucky Babes in Disneyland reader. 

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EXTRA ENTRIES!
You can do any of these things for an extra entry. Make sure to leave a separate comment for EACH thing you do.

1- Check out Disney Games and tell me which games looks the most interesting to you or that you already play. (1 entries)

2- Blog about this giveaway. Be sure to link back to this post. (2 entries)