Lego Kidsfest Hartford December 2-4, 2011

[legogod]

My sister has started a ritual for my birthday. She buys me Lego Kidsfest tickets for
me and my daughter because she knows we'll both have a lot of fun. This started
last year and we went again this year-just yesterday-to the Hartford, Connecticut
stop.

I thought I'd write a little report / review of my findings if you're interested in
attending.I know what you're thinking: KIDS fest. There's no way I am going to have any fun
there. I am done riding tricycles and swinging from trees and buying bubblegum at
the corner candy shop. If you think this way then the child inside of you is dead and
you should read no further.

Soul still alive with childlike splendor? Follow along!

We were a little late getting there and the convention room seemed a bit more
packed than last year. Word of mouth and better advertising have hit home. I did like
the quieter time walking around taking in the sights, but you have to be ready for the
crowds either way. There were many more build stations this time around and I saw
just as many adults helping out.

New this year:
Lego Create-A-Story
A nice looking street (think minifig scale with Green Grocer like detail) needs to be
populated. I thought this was a pretty neat device to get a child's imagination going.
Almost like colorforms where the scene is painted for you-you apply the details. A lot
of minifigs were available at this build. They are almost non-existent everywhere else
as each build focuses on the bricks. We did this about halfway through the day and
little builders were still going strong.

http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/modtown1.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/modtown2.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/modtown3.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/modtown4.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As you can see in the pictures the streets and houses were getting massively
populated while the sports fields were being left alone.

Mystery Mural

There were two of these last year. One collectible minifigure mural and one
snow/holiday mural. They handed out exclusive minifgs when you completed a piece
of the mural last year and we ended up coming home with four. This year-one mural
and you get nothing for participating. I was looking forward to the minifig. Oh well.

The mural this year looks to be another winter scene.

The Big Brick Pile

I don't know how we missed this. On our way out there was a massive area covered
with brick. Kids were walking, sliding, and of course building here. They were all
sitting on the bricks. It was a weird sight because I find it painful when one of those
buggers comes between me and the floor...
Just a little way down was the Duplo build area with the same concept. I think kids
like the idea of rolling around in Lego and this event provides them with the
opportunity to do so. Like Scrooge McDuck and his Gold coins. The builds going on
were both complex and fantastic and seemed to rise right out of the "rubble." A nice
treat that I will have to catch next year. Note that the builds around the convention
were limited to certain pieces. The very large pile on the floor was mainly bricks 1xX
and 2xX.

Chromatic Build

Last year was yellow bricks and it was one station. This year there were two smaller
stations with Lime Green and Pink. Build whatever you want out of the same color
2x4s. I saw a lot of pyramids today...

This is a fun exercise in placing pieces to resemble something. With such limited
bricks and placement it's a brainstorm to figure out how you're going to do so and so
as a build.

Creation Nation

Much like every other build but this one offers you one baseplate and a wide variety
of pieces (The best variety of pieces you will find on the floor). You build whatever
you want on your baseplate and it gets placed on a large outline of the United States
on the floor of the Convention Center. They end up taking a finished shot after the
build is over and the United States is filled with wonderful Lego creations.

Emma and I built our little home (with a suitcase as a portable television set) and
added it to the display. Well, a young lady added it for us-no one is allowed near it.
As the build develops over the weekend it is fun to see how it mimics real
architecture landscapes. The rises and falls of large buildings, mountains and
machines makes it an entertaining look at this toy and the cool way that no two
people look at the same thing in the same way.

Garden of Giving

The fundraiser for this year. Build a flower and Lego donates one dollar to a
charitable organization. Emma built a pretty flower and put it on display with the rest.
It was kind of sad though, as there was only enough room to display so many. They
just kept track and broke them down to make room for the next wave. Don't get me
wrong-there seemed to be about six 8' tables circling the area but there were so
many people building our flower wasn't going to last long. A lego Star Wars polybag
set was handed out to the children for completing a flower.

Challenge Zone

I don't remember this being here last year-but this is on our list to do forever. The
people running this event were high-spirited, funny and encouraging. Ten tables
were set up with a trough of bricks in the middle. The challenge? Build the best
(SECRET) you can in four minutes and win a prize. The secret is announced right
before you start building. Ours was "battleship." That of course in Lego terms can
mean anything-flying battleship, seal rowboat... endless possibilities. We ended up
building a tire barge with a large propeller. Emma spoke for us into the microphone
and I was quite proud at that point. Each team had a chance to say what their model
was and the coordinators commented on them. Very fun and everyone wins! Lego
Star Wars polybag handed out to all kid entrants. Time: About 7-15 minutes with line
waiting.

Race Ramps

This one is a hit or miss depending on how many children are building. With
everyone requiring wheels to make a car and young children putting as many wheels
as they can on their own vehicles-WHEELS ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY. They were last
year and are again this year. Had to hit up a few tables and the wrecks at the bottom
of the ramps to collect some wheels. A lot of competition/camraderie/funny
business happens here. This section was packed when we hit it and very hard to
move around much less find an open spot to race someone. The racing only seems
to happen with people one knows too. There's no set up or judge waiting there to
call the race. It is a free for all. Kids love it, and I could leave it. I think it might be a
bit better with a little more structure...

So...those were the building areas available to us- more than last year with variety of
pieces and amount of places. There were no cries of "FOUL" when I picked up some
Lego and started building. I usually found a quiet spot and moved to let children in-
but most of the children there just began to build alongside me and didn't care a
whit if I was touching bricks or not. I felt a little weird last year, but overcame it this
year.

AFOL Corner

Very nice builds complemented the kid-centric atmosphere. The AFOLs enjoyed a
more central location last year and were pushed back into a corner this year. The
Lego Master Builder Academy took their floor space. Instead of writing what I felt
about it- here are some pictures you might enjoy. I didn't write down all of the names
of creators and creations with the time crunch and I apologize:

http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol001.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A rotating cafe.
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol002.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Stained Glass Mosaic
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol003.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Microbuild City
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol004.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Fishing on a decrepit dock.
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol005.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Awesome alien encounter/mecha space battle.
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol006.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Close up- 2 mechs battling alien.
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol007.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Someone died in the damage...
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol008.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Cargo/Container ship. Massive.
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol009.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Monks in the country.
http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/afol010.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Gangster car.

Lego Retail SCORE ahem, I mean store.

Huge sale at the shop today. Prince of Persia. The $30 set (Fight for the Dagger),
$20 set (Ostrich Race), and $10 set (Desert attack) were available if you bought
them all at the same time for $18.51. That included tax. They even beat the PQ
Pyramid sale at Target by $15! Picked up a Pyramid for 49 bucks. That's all I got
because that was more than enough for me. The PQ set was a bit banged up but I
don't complain when they're that cheap. I don't remember the sales being this good
last year and you have to factor in price of admission. Tickets for Kidsfest are $20 a
pop.

When exiting the convention center, a happy employee gave both my daughter and
me a Duplo brick with the Kidsfest Logo on it. Pretty cool:

http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/duplokidsfest.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Things we didn't go to:

Ninjago
A lot of spinning battles were going on. Not my thing but they had a cool giant ninja
there:

http://www.mysticstudios.net/Images/ninjago.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This little guy was about 6 feet tall.

Theatre
I was thinking if I wanted to go sit down and watch TV I'd stay at home...

Overall, I enjoyed myself and my daughter did as well. If you do plan on going pack a
light lunch. It saves you money (the prices for their meals are atrocious) and time (no
waiting in line to order then pay.) Do a once around and figure out which things are
popular and which ones you'll be able to do in a heartbeat. This way you can stagger
waiting and jump from venue to venue with little wait times.

I hoped I helped and if I've raised more questions I'm here to answer.

Jared

[hleonffu]

Great review, Jared.

I attended the last session on Sunday (12/4). Even at this session, there seemed to be more people attending than last year. My wife, daughter and I still had great fun. We spent most of time on Creation Nation and Monochromatic builds. I also agree that AFOL displays were pushed to the side and was very hard to move around.

Had the following store specials:
8129 AT-AT Walker for $69.98 (36% off)
8128 Cad Bane Speeder for $37.49 (25%)
10215 Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter for $74.99 (25% - same as BrickFriday)
Free Kidfest T-Shirt with $75 purchase.

Bert