Disney's Music Block Party

Ok, so I managed to come across some tickets for the Music Block Party which was held in Toms River, at High School North this weekend. I thought that some of you might be interested in reading about it and seeing some photo's that I took while I was there. It is Disney after all.

This event is definitely aimed at the Pre-School aged kids. The performers that are there are the same one's that can be seen on Playhouse Disney in the mornings. Choo Choo Soul, Ralph's World, They Might be Giants and Dan Zanes were performing this weekend. We were hoping to see the Imagination Movers, but they were not there this weekend. Here is a link to the event page so you can check out what Disney says about it. Disney Music Block Party Tour

Overall, it was a great day, there is a lot to do, as there are tents from Playskool set up with toys and Playdoh. There are also tents set up from Disney, with things like green screen photo's, a dance "hall" which is run by Radio Disney and a Musical Instrument tent for kids to bang on drums, play a keyboard, strum violins or guitars, and play with brass and wood wind instruments. It is a very hands on event for the kids. There are food tents, and they do allow you to bring lawn chairs and water. The Disney site states they are doing bag checks, but we did not witness this at all, and easily walked in with a small cooler bag with drinks. As the event costs $36 a person, with the only allowance made for kids under 2, I would recommend bringing your own food or snacks. I also recommend getting there early so that you can grab one of the tables that face the stage and are under cover, which helps keep you out of the sun most of the day.

I will say that I do not think that the event is worth $36 pp as a whole. I do think that it is a great day to spend with the kids, and that kind of makes up for the steep cost. I don't know that I would go with the entire family again. I think that my wife and I agree that it was nice for all of us to go, but it would have been better, if one of us took our son and the other stayed home. $100 for the day for the 3 of us, plus food costs, is just a little steep for this event.

The event itself, is setup very well. They go as far as even putting "flooring" on top of the grass, so they make walking in the fields easier. The set decorations are mostly blow up type. They have two misting tents set up, with two separate bathroom areas where there are plenty of port-a-johns. Everything is very clearly marked.

Each of the acts that perform, are on stage for roughly 45 minutes, with stage equipment changes taking 15-30 minutes. Choo Choo Soul performed first, and then Genevieve, of Choo Choo Soul, hosted the event. After their performance, Ralph's World came on, followed by They Might be Giants and finally Dan Zanes. We saw three of the four acts, as my son had grown tired of the event and was ready to go home. We had arrived there at 2 and Dan Zanes was setting up to go on at 6 when we were leaving. This is a LONG day for the little ones. Each of the acts were good. They performed their songs that are seen on the Disney Channel, and the kids all loved it. There is an area set up right next to the stage that is a kids only zone, so they are able to get right up close to see the show.

After each of the acts, the performers are mingling through some of the different tents. My son was able to play drums with and talk to Dan Zanes in the instrument tent. As we were leaving we were able to get a few photos with DC. Ralph from Ralph's World was also around and they are all signing autographs at one time or another during the show. This is a wonderful experience for the kids to get up close and personal with the performers they see on TV all the time.

Well I know it was long, but I hope that you enjoyed the report. Here is the link to my photo's if you want to check them out. As a side note, I did enhance the color in the images, but only to bring them back to the brilliance of the surroundings as I remembered them. I will also put a few in the post here for all to see.

This is the Entrance to the event


This is the center piece of the event. It is in the middle of the covered seating area


Explaining the trumpet to my son


Genevieve and DC performing


Ralph's World performing


They Might be Giants performing

 

OK, so here is the kicker to this thing. I said in my review that had my wife not gotten free tickets to this event that we would not have gone due to the price. ($36 pp). Well, apparently we weren't the only ones that felt this way, because Disney announced today that they have canceled the remaining shows except for the one in Long Island. I guess this was doomed to fail from the beginning but it is a shame because the concept behind the idea is a good one.