STAR WARS SMUGGLERS RUN

I have great memories of playing on monkey bars that all the kids thought looked like a spaceship on my elementary school playground during recess imagining having Star Wars adventures playing with classmates in our pretend Millennium Falcon. That was the closest I'd figured to ever be when it came to taking a ride on science fiction's most famous spacecraft. My inner child was ecstatic to pilot the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs with my son as co-pilot during our own Smugglers Run at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme park within Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Smugglers Run is a motion simulator within Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge that provides riders with the experience of flying in the Millennium Falcon. It is a more intimate version of Star Tours that seats no more than six people in a cabin and has interactive elements that let riders control the ship's actions and impact elements of the simulation. Dodge obstacles, fire weapons at threatening TIE Fighters, and escape into Hyper Space as realistic digital imagery immerses you in a flight through the Star Wars galaxy. Hit it Chewie!!!

A visit to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge transports you to the planet Batuu in a galaxy far, far away. While wandering through this remote outer rim planet's Black Spire Outpost you will discover a life-size model of the Millennium Falcon parked outside the entrance to Ohnaka Transport Solutions. The ride queue for those who want to take a spin on this piece of junk wraps you through this space port owned by the infamous Hondo Ohnaka.

My kids were geeked to see Hondo at Galaxy's Edge as this character connects the theme park with the animated Star Wars series. My kids have grown up watching the Clone Wars, Rebels and Bad Batch animated series and actually are much more fans of the Star Wars cartoons than the movies. I actually am more a fan of the animated and live action television shows than the recent Disney Star Wars movies so have to admit being glad to see Hondo there myself. In fact, Hondo is there in all his glory with an incredible animatronic of the Weequay pirate voiced by Jim Cummings who portrays Ohnaka's character in the animated series.  

Hondo recruits you to participate in a Smugglers Run utilizing the Millennium Falcon and ushers you aboard. Entering the spaceship is like walking onto the set of a Star Wars movie. Leaving the space port the hallways of the Millennium Falcon are filled with screen accurate details. You can even sit at the holochess table! 

Eventually making your way to the cockpit, each member of your crew is given an assignment. Two pilots sit in the front row–the left side moves the ship left and right, and the right side moves the ship up and down. The next row controls the weapons where riders press buttons to shoot down enemies and obstacles in the way. The back row holds the engineers who work to repair the ship during the flight. You want to ride in the front row because it has the most immersive content and best view. While the ride is still fun wherever you sit, honestly the best experience is with front row seats!

The ride is made up of several interconnected simulators on one giant turntable. Riders that manipulate the simulator's controls more skillfully and quickly than other cabins can actually earn more to do in their mission such as capturing more cargo or navigating an asteroid field as the other platforms catch up. So, there is a benefit to trying to master the simulator's controls versus just going along for the ride.

Riding the Millennium Falcon was a blast! The experience absolutely earned a Geek Daddy nod of approval for the spectacular Imagineering efforts put into crafting the space port and Millennium Falcon ride queue elements and the thrilling Star Wars adventure you are able to partake in with the motion simulator. If you are heading to Disneyland or Walt Disney World don't miss out on blasting off in the Millennium Falcon ride!

Legendary Yoda from Spin Master Toys Trains Padawans on the Ways of the Force

**A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **

Learn the ways of the Force with Spin Master's LEGENDARY YODA interactive animatronic toy.  Experience being a padawan training to be a Jedi knight under the guidance of Master Yoda with this 16 inch high toy that is one of the most realistic Star Wars toys A Geek Daddy has ever seen.  Our family has enjoyed hours of fun playing with Legendary Yoda as he demonstrates light saber dueling skills, imparts Jedi wisdom and teaches you how to use the Force.



We've enjoyed practicing handling a light saber on our back deck with Legendary Yoda on multiple occasions and the toy has worked really well though the instructions very clearly state "not for outdoor use."  I believe this warning is primarily for two reasons.  First, the toy is powered by 7 motors that provide for it to operate with an incredible 360 degree level of motion and there is the risk that water, dust and other outdoor elements could damage these mechanics.  Secondly, sunlight hinders your ability to see Yoda's light saber illuminate which takes away from the play experience when using the toy outdoors.  Though I do have to say it is still fun to play with outside!



As you can see indoors, Legendary Yoda's light saber is clearly visible as he engages into Warrior Mode.  Equipped with his signature green light saber, Legendary Yoda will share with you advanced techniques any Jedi will need to know in order to defeat an evil Sith opponent.  He also shares some of his Jedi Master humor with padawans.  Don't despair from Yoda's mocking as with continued patience and practice he will provide you with the wisdom of a Jedi.



Legendary Yoda's Wisdom Mode provides voice recognition to six key phrases allowing any Jedi want-to-be to converse with the toy and trigger a variety of mechanical actions.  In Wisdom Mode, Yoda will utilize the Force to answer any Yes or No Question you may pose to him.  Yoda is programmed with more than 100 phrases to keep his banter from being too repetitious during continuous use.  Just like Santa Claus knows if you have been bad or good so does Yoda with his built-in Dark Side sensor that becomes activated during Wisdom Mode.  Spin Master has also included a walking stick accessory that can be switched out with Yoda's light saber to provide a scholarly appearance for the Jedi Master while engaging in Wisdom Mode.



Once you've experienced Warrior Mode and Wisdom Mode, utilize the toy's Force Mode to use this mystical power for yourself.  Legendary Yoda really moves when you use the Force to control pushing him back across a room.  Who hasn't wanted to mimic using the Force from a Star Wars movie scene in real life?! Legendary Yoda gives you that chance, but beware if you see his hand light up because he may respond against you with his own glowing "force blast."

The toy requires 6 C batteries to operate and doesn't utilize its own rechargeable plug-in battery which is a bit of a drawback as I hate buying and replacing batteries for toys; but it does provide a lengthy amount of play time with the 6 C batteries as our family has played with the toy for several days without having to replace them.  Just be prepared to have to buy batteries for this toy as they are not included. Legendary Yoda's motion works well on flat surfaces such as cement, tile and hardwood floors and thin carpet but avoid shaggy rugs which will hinder its wheels not allowing it to move or spin.

Legendary Yoda has earned A Geek Daddy nod of approval because it is a dynamic toy that has provided our family with a tremendous amount of enjoyment playing with it.  The interactivity, iconic phrases, and mechanical motions that are incorporated together to bring Yoda to life truly makes this a wonderful toy to play with.  Any Star Wars fan, no matter if they are young or old, will enjoy playing with Legendary Yoda from Spin Master Toys.  Are you ready for Legendary Yoda to teach you in the ways of the Force?

Legendary Yoda is available from Toys R Us and can also be purchased directly from Spin Master Toys.  Legendary Yoda is recommended for Jedi 6 years old and up.

Our Hike With The Dinosaurs

All my nieces and nephews who are around the same age as my kids were in town over the Fourth of July weekend so we decided to take them all over to the Detroit Zoo to go for a hike through the dinosaur exhibit.  No not real dinosaurs or a display of fossils but rather through a 5 acre trail lined with lifelike animatronic prehistoric creatures.

The DINOSAURIA exhibit is open through Labor Day from 9:30 to 5pm (until 8pm on Wednesday nights) and you need to purchase tickets for an additional expense beyond the price of admission to the zoo to be able to hike with the dinosaurs.  You can purchase Dinosauria tickets at the zoo entrance or at the exhibit itself for $5 per person for anyone older than 2 years old.  Though if you have an annual zoo membership and ask at the Members Entrance you can purchase a four pack of Dinosauria tickets for $12 letting you get a slight discount so you'd be paying $3 per person.  Hey it adds up that discount ended up saving us $24 dollars for our our group that day.

Walk through the fossilized remains of a dinosaur and through the mists of time to find yourself transported back to prehistoric times.  The mist is actually water so be prepared to get a little wet as you venture through the dinosaur rib cage plus watch your step as it can be muddy and slippery in some spots.

The dinosaurs are created by Billings Productions which has created a niche for themselves in producing high quality aninmatronic dinosaurs and marketing them to zoos across the country to provide an enhanced experience for their visitors plus some extra revenue generation for the parks hosting the displays. CLICK HERE for a list of zoos that host displays featuring Billings Productions dinosaurs to see if there is one near you.  The company also produces a line of giant bug animatronics that I haven't personally seen myself but look really impressive on their website that you may also want to keep an eye out for when visiting a zoo or theme park hosting a Billings Productions display.

My kids love the movie WALKING WITH DINOSAURS so were thrilled to see a realistic looking Pachyrhinosaurus with babies standing right in front of them.

They also had a blast running around the trail discovering new dinosaurs around every twist and curve of the path.  WARNING! Two things to watch out for! First, two of the dinosaurs spit at you. I'm not going to say which ones so you'll enjoy being surprised if you visit but my nephew wasn't paying attention and got blasted right in the face.  He was fine but really embarrassed.  Secondly, there is a somewhat explicit scene of a predator eating its kill.  As the kids ran up on that scene in front of our group of adults in the group we didn't have a chance to screen them for that.  The kids weren't phased at all though and seemed to understand that animals get eaten in the wild.  My nephew blurted out it was like seeing a lion eating a gazelle.  So it obviously wasn't a big deal for our family but I understand it could be for others so I thought I'd give it a mention.

If you want to expand upon the educational aspect of your visit, there is also an augmented reality app you can download and use on your smart phone while hiking with the dinosaurs.  It is available for Android and Apple devices and takes about 5 to 7 minutes to download so you may want to load it onto your phone before you head over to the zoo.  When you arrive at the dinosaur exhibit open the app and in the drop down menu look at the specific zoo you are visiting and select that location.  Then using the camera on your phone zoom in on the various informational signs posted around the exhibit.  Wow! virtual dinosaurs will appear on your phone's screen through the augmented reality app that you can interact with.  The app also provides you additional information on the dinosaurs to help you turn this entertaining experience into an expanded educational opportunity.

I have to say that the dinosaurs created by Billings Productions are impressive.  The adults and children alike in our group had a fun and enjoyable time during our hike with the dinosaurs. From a parenting perspective the scariest thing I wanted to run away from during our visit was the gift shop you are dumped into at the end of the trail which results in children swarming you yelling out "gimme gimme" and grasping at you for your wallet. Oh the horror!

Seriously though younger children may be frightened by the shear size of the dinosaurs ... and their teeth ... that also roar at you, but we had a 3 year old, 4 year old, two 6 year olds and a 7 year old in our group and none of them were scared of anything we saw during our visit.  Speaking of teeth I wonder if it is ok to feed a dinosaur a twinkie?

Because it combines entertaining and educational elements to promote an interest in learning, the Detroit Zoo's Dinosauria gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval.  Plus those dinosaur robots are just darn cool!

Oh and the baby dinosaurs are pretty adorable too!