This past Saturday at the Center Street Promenade in Anaheim, the KaBoom! Play Together Tour, powered by Disney Parks, made its first stop. This tour, which will be traveling nationwide, brings forth fun activities that families can take part together in. With six city stops all together, it is something that all families can enjoy.
This tour involves activities that families can complete together. Teamwork, communication and having lots of fun makes this experience unforgettable. Not only do children and their parents get to work together, it also encourages parents to think of fun ways to play at home. Let’s take a look at this unique and enjoyable experience.
The day first began with local city officials giving their support for this tour. City of Anaheim Mayor, Tom Tait, thanked KaBoom! for their strong encouragement in the local area. There are several KaBoom! parks in Anaheim, each motivating families and children to be more active. Also in attendance was KaBoom’s Bruce Bowman. As he spoke, his words rallied up the families stating that KaBoom! tries to make communities more playful. He even thanked Disney for celebrating families. The thing that really stood out was his comment, “Play matters to all kids.” He gave a great opening speech, which included KaBoom’s goals of helping families stay active together as well as spreading the ideas of healthy living. Disneyland Ambassador Megan Navarette also spoke, thanking all those in attendance as well as all the voluntEARS. She too had a similar message of encouraging families to be active.
As the ceremonial ribbon was cut, it was time to play. Families proceeded into the event. It was neat seeing families dressed up together as a team. Families had the option of registering beforehand on the KaBoom! website or as a walk up on the day of the event. Each group was given a purple wristband, a book and a carabiner with two attached cards. The book gave great ideas of ways to play together as a family.
Once inside the event, there were several lockers located on the side for personal belongings. Since you would be moving and playing, it was perfect placement. Across the way was the hydration station. This included reusable water bottles and thirst-quenching water. The bottles also had a loop on the side that allowed you to attach it to the carabiner that families received upon entry. It was awesome seeing how organized and well thought out everything was.
One of the first teambuilding stops was located in the Family Bonding Center. Families were handed a blank white flag and it was their task to decorate a flag that represented them as a whole. On the wall, posters of a color index gave off positive traits of families. You could either choose to decorate the flag with the traits your family is strongest in according to the color index or let your imagination run with whatever works best. The flag would also help families keep track of the events they completed. With each task completed, they would receive a stamp on their flag. Once the flag was decorated, it was time to start the obstacle course.
This obstacle course included five different sections. Those sections being: build, hop, solve, roll and raise. Two of the same obstacle course were located on the premises for efficiency.
First off was build. Families had to work together to create a tunnel that each could pass through. With many blue squishy pieces of foam to use, the design possibilities were endless. What was great about this activity is that everyone in the groups had a part in decorating their tunnel. After they were all able to cross through the tunnel, it was onto the next activity.
Hop included a fun game of hopscotch. The goal was to hop your way to the middle while doing something silly with each of the animals you hopped on. With five different animals in the boxes, there were five things to do. For example, when you hopped on the lion, you gave your loudest roar. When you hopped on the chicken, you would act like a chicken shaking its tail feathers. It was a great way to use imagination.
Up next was the solve section. This location included a puzzle that was families were to solve together. With foam pieces in various shapes, solving the puzzle allowed you to move onto each level. The faster the task was completed, the better.
What looked like to be the most fun was the roll section. This part meant that their entire family would roll the biggest beach ball you have ever seen in your life, down a path that was full of turns. It took teamwork and motivation to make sure that the ball did not fall off course.
Lastly, it was time to raise your family flag! By raising your flag, this meant you completed the entire course. A Radio Disney employee was there to congratulate you and announce your big accomplishment as a family. Seeing the children raise their own flag showed that they had much fun and took pride in completing what they had worked so hard on.
Once the course was completed, it was time for refill at the hydration station or just relax at one of the shaded benches. Off to the side was a play zone that included more blue foam pieces to play in.
Overall, this event was well thought out and you could see the joy in the faces of the families. Not only were they able to bond but they were exercising together.
KaBoom! Play Together Tour will be making several more stops. The stops include:
Anaheim – Center Street Promenade, Saturday & Sunday, August 16-17
Sacramento – Adjacent to State Capitol Bldg., Wednesday, August 20
San Francisco – Marina Middle School, Saturday & Sunday, August 23-24
Chicago – Lincoln Park, Grove 2, Saturday & Sunday, August 30-31
Atlanta – Old 4th Ward Skate Park, Saturday & Sunday, September 6-7
Kissimmee, FL – Mill Run Park, Saturday & Sunday, September 13-14
If you would like more information about KaBoom! Play Together Tour Powered by Disney Parks, please click here.
Enjoy! Don’t forget to go outside and play.
