Disney Junior And LEGO DUPLO’s Magic of Play Tour

Over the next few weeks, Disney Junior and LEGO® DUPLO® are joining forces, to travel across Canada, for the Magic of Play Tour!  As noted on the Disney Junior website:

Disney Junior and LEGO® DUPLO® are hitting the road together with fun filled, FREE indoor events in 8 cities! Build and discover the many ways to play with LEGO® DUPLO® bricks while you watch and enjoy your favourite Disney Junior shows! Plus take home a special Magic of Play activity booklet! It’s all totally free, but get there early so you don’t miss out on the fun.

Recently, my family was fortunate enough to attend a VIP experience of the tour,  at Vaughan Mills!

When we arrived, K and I were both immediately impressed with the setup. The booth was divided into a bunch of building stations and play areas, along with tons of DUPLO® blocks. There were several friendly, enthusiastic attendants working the booth, too. At first, B and J were pretty hesitant. Once one of the attendants started to engage them, and hook them up with pieces to build their structures, they were good to go!

 

 

Another neat thing about the booth was that it had a TV in it, which played some Disney Junior shows. It was a good way to take a break from all of the playing!

Now, we weren’t the only VIPs, as there were other invitees at the experience, too. It was cool watching all of the kids interact with one another, and assisting in each other’s creations. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of jacking of each other’s blocks. Way to play nice, children!

A side of the booth had cut-outs of Jake (from Jake and the Never Land Pirates) and Sofia  (from Sofia The First). Perfect for photo-ops! I saw some of the other parents taking advantage of this. Their boys and girls were way more into smiling for the camera than mine were, however. I asked B and J to stand by the cut-outs, so I could snap a shot of them. This is what I got (lookin’ pretty fresh, eh):

 

Oh. Right. No worries! They were too busy building masterpieces, to stop and pose for pictures! Hey B, what did you make?

 

Well, happy birthday to you! Yo J, what do you got?

 

Nice?!

Huh? No, you can’t have that playset. It’s not for sale, just for show.

 

No really, you can’t have it. Quit trying to open up the display case!

Stop looking at it so forlornly!

Ahh, jeez. Please stop looking so sad.

Snacktime! Oranges. J was so in the building spirit, that, after she peeled her orange, and took the pieces apart, she tried to put them back together. Irrationally, she kept get getting madder and madder when the pieces wouldn’t stay together. Us trying to appeal to her sense of logic fell on deaf ears, as did the offer of a new orange. Soon enough, the tears started flowing. I’ve noticed that there’s always at least one crying kid, in pretty much any situation involving kids.  I guess that we were due to be the parents of that kid.

Anyway, when J’s upset, she wants a soother. However, we’ve been trying to get her out of this habit. So, when she asked for it this time, I said no. She then did what any soon-to-be three year old girl would do – check K’s purse for a soother, and then, after coming up empty-handed, walk over to the coat section, and start checking pockets for one. I’ve noticed that there’s always at least one pickpocket in pretty much……………man, even I can’t justify that. Sorry, VIPs in attendance that day. We didn’t take anything, promise!

Because we’ve learned to pick and choose our battles, we let her have her pacifier.  This made her happier than Pharrell.  In the meantime, while this was going on, B was playing with some train tracks. I could be wrong, but it look liked he made an elevated track to nowhere, complete with some dude in a car who’s plummeted off of the edge.

We were there a for about an hour, and could have easily stayed longer, but we had to get going. Before we left, K tried to get a nice picture of us:

Yes, that is me pleading with J to take her soother out, for one lousy photo. No dice, of course. She’d pose for the camera, but only with the soother. Fine. Whatever.

Say cheese, guys!

Dang it!

Whatever. Still the best picture of the three of us that we’ve ever taken. Welcome to my world.

All kidding aside, big ups to Disney Junior and LEGO® DUPLO® for inviting us to check out the tour. We seriously had a blast!  Here is where the tour will be visiting, over the next few weeks:

	February 28 – March 1	Laval, Québec	Carrefour Laval
	March 6-8	Montréal, Québec	Fairview Point Claire
	March 14-15	Vaughan, Ontario	Vaughan Mills
	March 21-22	Surrey, British Columbia	Guildford Town Centre
	March 27-29	Calgary, Alberta	Chinook Centre
	April 4-5	Edmonton, Alberta	West Edmonton Mall
	April 11-12	Toronto, Ontario	Fairview Mall
	April 18-19	Etobicoke, Ontario	Sherway Gardens

 

It’s fun, it’s free, it’s indoors, and it’s definitely worth making time for with your kids, if it’s in your area!