Let’s get personal for a minute…
Like most proto-era Millennials, Disney films were an important part of my childhood. While I spent plenty of time throwing rocks and crashing bikes, movies were one of the greatest teachers around. Disney films told all the stories any child would ever need: An exotic boy pretending to be a prince so that he could smash a girl. A mermaid princess pretending to be mute so she could smash a guy. A feral cat throwing his brother into a stampede so he could… be smashed.
In our family home we had a VHS rack — one of my dad’s many ” Why buy it when I can build it?” carpentry projects. Standing around 4 feet tall, it towered over my paltry existence. Assembled from the finest discount lumber our local provider could muster, it was coated in magenta with a deep purple trim. Four long rows of VHS tapes rested inside, but the bottom row was the only row that mattered. It was mine and it was filled end to end with Disney tapes. Each one stuffed into its oversized sarcophagus. You know the ones — white, rubbery plastic; a rounded spine that is too big to sit comfortably. The ones that would only close when you’d use enough force to earn you that participation trophy you brought home from little league so your parents could pretend you had some sort of talent.
(Yeah, those ones.)
And yet, despite my collection of films, games and merchandise which would make a Disney stockholder blush, I suffered quite possibly the worst fate one could have in that situation…
I grew up in New England, and Six Flags was closer.
Yes, while my western based family members enjoyed a childhood next to the world’s most famous animated icon, my pilgrimage was to give an impartial “meh” to Bugs Bunny. Sure, there was Batman, and often times, the accompaniment of my best friend, but even the most Magic of Mountains doesn’t hold a candle to the world of Disney.
In life, there are two paths a man can take as he marches through young adulthood into the inescapable clutches of middle age. The first is to embrace it. Take responsibility for your maturing demeanor and become a finely tuned member of adult society. The second option is to revert to a state of perpetual childhood, pretending your mortality is as fictional as the characters on your tv. The way for this man is to trade in the allure traveling to see foreign wonders for the comfort and illusion that only the finest of America’s theme parks can offer.
In case you had doubts, I went with option two. And today, as a tax paying member of adulthood, I unquestionably identify as part possibly one of the most eyebrow raising subgroups of weirdos: The adult Disney fan.
Why did I just tell you that self deprecating story of my youth? Well — Over the last few weeks, I’ve spent 45 hours of fleeting time in a virtual world meant for an 8 year old.
I’m quite certain I enjoyed it.
Disneyland Adventures is a family game for both Xbox One and PC. It is part of Microsoft’s “Play Anywhere” initiative. This means the same purchase will unlock access in both places, and saves are cross-platform via the cloud. Being able to switch between both was satisfying and easy. Though, if you have the option, I’d recommend playing on PC. The game plays nearly identical in both places, but on PC we are treated to a buttery smooth experience of 60 fps throughout. The console version often struggles to maintain a solid 30 fps when the setting becomes too dense.
What the developers at Frontier games (yes, the same Frontier that brought us Elite Dangerous) created with Disneyland Adventures is truly an achievement in nostalgia. A faithfully recreated digital version of the Magical Kingdom is at your fingertips, offering you infinite access to every kid’s dream world. For an east coast Disney fan like me, it’s a great way to sooth your appetite. Originally released in 2011 on Xbox 360, the first version was developed around the Kinect and required motion for every aspect. It was almost universally considered to be the best use of Kinect at that time. Unfortunately, the accessory never really caught on and motion controls died a very welcomed death in the last few years. While Kinect control is still available in this version, Frontier did a great job adapting the controls to an Xbox One game pad, and everything feels right at home at your finger tips.
It’s all here. The sights, the sounds, the colors, the feelings. Stepping into this faux existence offers a feeling of genuine exposure to the House of Mouse. Sure, there are a few liberties taken with licensing (you won’t find Indiana Jones anywhere) and commodities like shops or restaurants have been rearranged or stripped bare. Luckily, the bulk of the gang is all there, just where you’d expect. Everything from “The Haunted Mansion” to “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” is present and accounted for. Heck, they even made sure to keep the most important ride in Disneyland’s rich history.
(Yes, I’m talking about Captain EO)
I’d say the only thing that isn’t truly faithful is the populous the park sees daily and lack of crying kids not getting what they want. Virtual crowds are always at a minimum and the lines (yes they’ve still got virtual lines) are laughably short in comparison to the real thing. Wouldn’t want your trip to the most magical place on earth to be marred by long wait times, right? For something that is so obviously meant to indoctrinate you into a drool filled stupor of Disney lust, you really shouldn’t expect anything but the very best aspects of what you’d see during a real life visit. Despite that, being able to treat the Magic Kingdom as your own personal playground is entertaining. Running around aimlessly is one thing, but what are you actually meant to do in Disneyland Adventures?
Make a friend!
The first thing you’re going to do is go through the character creator and make a slick looking 10 year old version of yourself to run around. Note, this probably feels way less creepy if you’re not of double digit age. While the creator isn’t exactly robust, there are a few options to get you started. As you play the game, you will earn extras like costumes or t-shirts based on famous attractions which you can use to deck out your player.
Meet the cast!
This is the true meat and potatoes of the game. It’s the most engaging piece of content you’ll experience outside of exploration. At time, it’s also the most excruciatingly boring aspect of the entire package.
A majority of your time in Disneyland Adventures will be spent conversing with a stable of characters which is impressive in size. Everyone is here, from the olde days of Snow White, all the way to more recent friends like Woody and Stitch. Talking to them offers colorful ineractions, each specific to their character. Likewise, a conversation will almost always result in a request of you to go find X number of (Insert themed item from character specific storyline). What you need to realize about this is that this game isn’t about the characters. It’s not even about you. Disneyland itself is the main character and this entire game is clever propaganda to keep you immersed in the universe. It’s an incredibly effective way to learn the ins and outs of the park itself while making you feel like you’re completing a goal along the way.
Explore the park!
The attention to detail and accuracy is impressive considering the scale of the park. In real life, the Magic Kingdom only takes up something like 200 acres. However, the way the park is designed translates very well into a video game as it gives your surroundoundings a flow that feels grand in scale. Aside from the many trinkets you’ll be collecting for characters, you will also be tasked with doing various Disney centric goals like photographing the famous “Hidden Mickeys” throughout the park, waving a magic wand to snatch items, or even buying pins with the coins you earn. You can even stop and talk to park guides to learn some nifty facts about the park and its creation.
I would have loved to see the inclusion of rewards like concept art or classic audio and video from the past, but given who this game was made for, I totally get it. I also would have enjoyed a proper photo mode so I could capture some cool high res pictures of the most attractive spots in the park.
Ride the rides!
Nearly all of your favorite rides are here in Disneyland Adventures. While you can run right up to the entrance of an attraction, actually going on them isn’t really the same experience. Each attraction is a series of mini-games, based on the ride you’re entering. Because the game was once a Kinect project, they’re all motion focused. A majority of the time you will be presented with an on-rails experience, tasked with trying to collect as many coins as possible. Other attractions do give you control of the character, but the emphasis on motion from the original development often lingers. Frontier did a good enough job adapting the controls for these mini-games, but with a controller, they often drift between feelings of being overly simple to excruciatingly specific. As an example, there is one ride in the park where you need to follow Tigger on a pogo stick throughout the Hundred Acre Wood. About half way through, there is a bonus given if you wave to a supporting character standing off to the side. On Kinect, I would imagine this was as simple as moving your arm and actually waving. On the controller, it’s cut down to having your character positioned at exactly the right place and moment when pressing a button, which was never instructed. Even though I was doing what looked correct, it did not register, requiring a full retry of the level to complete. I have a feeling the target audience will be way too confused to see much success in completing as poorly implemented as this.
Despite those occasional control issues, the rides are entertaining. Putting a videogame spin on these classic attractions really make them fun to explore.
So, Disneyland Adventures is a solid videogame. Not only is it fun and relaxing to exist in this universe, the game’s time requirement and robust plate of objectives make it a great option for multitasking such as podcasts or side conversations about why you’re still doing that at this age.
It also makes for a great family game, especially if you have the ability to take advantage of Kinect support.
Finally, it gives Disney fans like myself an avenue to try and fill that void without dropping the coin necessary for the pilgrimage. It sure ain’t Disneyland for realsies, but it’s the closest you’ll get on that kind of budget. How much fun did I have with Disneyland Adventures?
Maybe a little TOO much fun.
