At California Adventure

Cars Land and Buena Vista Street

Based on Emeryville’s own beloved Pixar characters — Cars Land recreated the town of Radiator Springs along Route 66 — the recently expanded Disney California Adventure Park just added four new attractions: Radiator Springs Racers, Luigi’s Flying Tires, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and the Red Car Trolley. Even Whitney (who has never seen either movie!!) was amazed at how true-to-the-movie all the little details were when she visited last spring.

Monstrous Summer starts Memorial Day

To celebrate the opening of Monsters University this year, Disney Parks on both coasts are kicking off a “Monstrous Summer” with All-Nighters from 6 a.m. To 6 a.m. on Memorial Day Weekend. Guests who join the party will be rewarded with special entertainment, including a Monsters University “TLT Monstrous” Dance Club and Star Wars characters in Tomorrowland, and late-night Character Pajama Party in Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland. Maybe you can beat the crowds if you and your partner swap care-giving duties on the night shift?

Other Monsters U entertainment and special merchandise will be available throughout the summer but without the overnight party vibe.

At Disneyland Park

New Fantasy Faire

Princess lovers will want to run to the Fantasy Faire, a new storybook village near Sleeping Beauty Castle. You can meet several Disney Princesses as they stroll through the beautiful Royal Hall, and watch two Princess-themed shows at the Royal Theatre. The musical shows tell the tales of Rapunzel and Belle as presented by a pair of silly vaudeville-style Renaissance storytellers.

Other Disneyland tips

• Things to know about a trip to Cars Land
• Disneyland advice

[Photos from Disneyland news]

Our event calendar is full of ideas for outings, but here are our top ten picks from Friday through Sunday this weekend.

1. A full morning of activities for your energetic tot at Studio Grow!
2. The songs are catchy. The dance numbers are classic. The movie is long, but entertaining. Watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at The New Parkway!
3. Le Petit Matisse is turning 1 and celebrating at Franklin Park in Alameda for painty fun.
4. Enhance your family’s cycling safety awareness at a workshop.
5. Enjoy the food and culture of the Himalayas at Live Oak. (Hapenning Saturday and Sunday!)
6. Discovery stations at the science fun fair in Kensington.
7. Free boat rentals at Lake Merritt to celebrate safety awareness.
8. A Fiddler on the Roof sing-a-long!
9. Celebrate Asian Pacific Islander culture in Alameda.
10. Have a kid tinkering with a self-led project? Get extra input and community by stopping by Open Lab via Hacker Scouts.

Photo posted by Jerry D. on four square.

Fun activities for kids include: enormous bubbles, lifesize version of the old Mouse Trap game, bicycle inventions, robotic cupcakes, R2D2, air-powered rockets you build yourself, and more LEGO than you’ve ever seen before!

Wondering what to expect? Alec reported his adventures at a recent Maker Faire accompanied by a five year-old. Wendy also shared her stories and pictures of her pilgrimage with the whole family. If you’re on the fence, please read about their experiences. My husband will be taking our eight- and six-year old sons this year while I stay at home to play with the toddler.

I can’t wait to see his pictures though!

[photo from museum commons]

Read detailed class descriptions at http://www.sf.doulaville.com/family-education.html.

May 15 – Enriching Pregnancy
June 19 – Postpartum Pampering
July 17 – So This Is Baby
Aug 21 – Nourishing Your Newborn
Sep 18 – Enriching Pregnancy
Oct 16 – Postpartum Pampering
Nov 20 – So This Is Baby
Dec 18 – Nourishing Your Newborn

All classes FREE!

5:30pm at Baby World
4400 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland

Doulaville offers these 40 minute mini-classes FREE in an effort to bring together community and birth/family awareness. Classes are lead by Angie Valentin, Founder, Director, Doula, Childbirth Educator and Mother of two.

Sea, Surf & Fun 5 day surf camps are designed for kids ages 6-19 years old. Each day, expert instructors teach a surf lesson specialized for kids. The surfing spot is the Jetty in Half Moon Bay (30 min drive from SF) which is safe, uncrowded, and perfect for beginners.

Find out more about combining a summer getaway with your child’s sports camp at  seasurffun.com.

U8B Exploding Fireballs, Spring 2013 photo by Alex Chiappetta

Sign-ups for boys and girls 4 and older lasts from May 9-19th. The Fall season lasts 10 weeks and starts after Labor Day. More info is here >

Other soccer organizations with upcoming deadlines in the East Bay:

Registration until June 10: East Bay United Soccer Club >

Registration until May 31 El Cerrito Futbol Club >

Registration until June 30 Mersey Soccer Academy of Berkeley >

What do you need? Take it!

If I had stumbled upon Carla and her daughter’s handiwork, I would have looked for Patience, Compassion, an maybe a Neck Massage.

What about you, parents of the East Bay, what do you need?

1. Golden Gate views and a brisk walk? Yes please.
2. Do science experiments at the art lab.
3. Catch Charlotte’s Web at The New Parkway (Friday at 4pm OR Saturday at 12:30pm)
4. Spark your child’s imagination by dropping in for creative movement at Wonder Dance.
5. Spanish story time for everyone, regardless of Spanish know-how.
6. It’s Garden Weekend at Fairyland.
7. Have a child itching to skateboard? Here’s your event.
8. If you’re in the festival spirit, head to Alameda.
9. Take a special trip to Mill Valley for pancakes and views of Mt. Tam.
10. Tea and biscuits while you paint.

Photo posted by Children’s Fairyland’s facebook page.

I joined a cadre of media to watch the grand opening store unveiling in order to share the most family-friendly features with you.

Free resources for families

TechTots Program

For ages 2 to 5, little

kids will get a hands-on introduction to technology with MS tools and toys (from keyboard to Kinect). Don’t expect a lecture; to make it fun, children will solve mysteries and use their imaginations. There are also the three S’s: stories, songs, and snacks! Classes are about an hour long and caregivers must remain. Find the schedule and specific topics for Tech Tots.

YouthSpark “Camp”

Your child, age 8 to 13, will have a blast while learning in these FREE sessions. Different topics every day relate to digital literacy, gaming, and telling stories with MS products in a two-hour workshop format from making digital movies, creating photo collages or publishing a story in Word with illustrations created in Fresh Paint.

The program is free, but there is limited space so you have to sign up in advance as they are really popular for kids. Find the schedule and more detail about these creative YouthSpark Camps. ps I had to put the word camp in quotes (picture me doing air quotes) because parents are required to stick around.

Community Events Space

The theater space inside the store can be reserved for FREE to host your mom’s group event, homeschool class, birthday party, or ladies karaoke night. The store will provide the party area, the biggest screen you’ve ever seen up-close and fun Xbox games as needed. You can work with the in-store community specialist to develop a learning or playing curriculum together. You provide food, drinks, and decor.

For a limited time, you can win $100 gift certificate to spend at the new store. Please wait patiently for the rafflecopter widget to load and then enter for your chances.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Disclosure: This post was sponsored by the new Microsoft Stores. There isn’t one in Oakland or Berkeley yet so I visited the San Francisco location. New stores are opening All The Time. Find out even more about the amenities. If SF is not your closest Microsoft Store, use their Locator page. Microsoft retail store is also on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

[Photos by me, Microsoft, Microsoft, me]