Harry Potter Scene It? DVD Trivia Game to go with new movie and book!

Between the release of the 5^th movie and the 7^th and final book, this July is a huge month for Harry Potter fans. It’s been a long tiresome week for yours truly, avoiding Harry Potter spoilers on the internet and nailing down my predictions for the final book. After all, being a wizard myself I take a special interest in Harry’s adventures. That last one was a real shocker, eh? How can J.K. Rowling possibly top Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince? Tonight at midnight, the world will find out! Lines are already forming at bookstores across the world, except in Israel where the release date falls on their Sabbath, poor fellows.

The Israelis won’t be needing their Harry Potter Costumes until Halloween, but they can still enjoy Harry Potter Deluxe Scene It? 2^nd Edition.

This is what all the kids are up for these days, it’s not Backgammon and Battleship anymore, it’s all about these trivia games! The Scene It? folks are famous for them, of course, beginning with the delightful original Scene It? interactive DVD games of movie clips and questions. Now they have games for every sort of movie and TV show: Disney Scene It?, American Idol Scene It?, James Bond Scene It?, Turner Classic Movies Scene It?, HBO Scene It?, Marvel Scene It?, and the list goes on.

It’s like going to a cinema where they have those trivia questions before the feature like, “In what movie did Humphrey Bogart tell Ingrid Bergman, ‘Here’s looking at you, kid.’” And you have to choose Casablanca over Dude, Where’s My Car. Only Scene It? is much more fun and has tons of video clips and you can keep score with your friends or family, and you can play in your own home. And eat moderately priced popcorn.

One of few things more exciting to kids than DVD trivia games is Harry Potter, so imagine their delight at a Harry Potter Trivia Game!

Even Muggles who’ve not read up on the famous boy wizard can play Harry Potter Scene It? DVD Game because it is based on the Harry Potter movies. It even includes scenes from the brand new summer blockbuster, Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix! Haven’t even seen it myself yet, but the book was one of my favorites. This is the one where resistance to Lord Voldemort really gets organized, and Harry and his schoolmates start their own secret order in resistance to the Ministry of Magic. Ooh, and we meet oddball Luna Lovegood, who’s not like other kids but is a fantastic character!

For those of you who are attending Harry Potter parties, Fantasy Toyland is well-stocked with Child Harry Potter Costumes and Adult Harry Potter Costumes, so parent and kid can go together!

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the unveiling of Wally the Wizard’s Pointless Personal Predictions for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

How can Snape still be innocent? This is the central question my theory is trying to answer, because I so trust Dumbledore’s judgment and don’t want him to be dead for good. This is how I’ve solved that problem: you see, I believe Snape performing the Avada Kedavra killing curse was part of the Order’s plan from the beginning, because Dumbledore has created a Horcrux that will allow him to resurrect. And you remember rumors via Hagrid that Dumbledore and Snape had a heated discussion when Snape was trying to back out of something?

Of course, this means Dumbledore would have to have killed someone. But what if he was defending the innocent, or it was a mercy killing? On the other hand, I vaguely recall that not just killing but murder is required to split one’s soul. But on the other other hand, what if having destroyed Voldemort’s ring Horcrux counts as murder because it contained a piece of his soul?

Another unrelated prediction I have for the last book is that Harry will indeed kill Lord Voldemort, but at the cost of his own magical powers and possibly his life, just as trying to kill Harry once cost Voldemort these things (if it weren’t for those darn Horcruxes!). But since killing Harry would be too obvious, I think the big tragedy is that he’s no longer a wizard and maybe Ginny dies. I do not believe as many do that Harry himself is the 6^th Horcrux, mostly because someone else had the idea before me.

And also, I believe the person with initials R.A.B. in possession of Slytherin’s locket is Rosmerta, not Regulus Black as is commonly believed.

There you have it folks, no leaks, no inside knowledge, just good old-fashioned intuition. These predictions are substantiated only by facts in the preceding books and my infallible wizard logic!

Zip Line - The Greatest Summer Toy Ever!

I realized several days ago that my backyard was missing something. The answer came as I sat on my porch swing, surveying the green grass and contemplating a riddle that a friend had included in her most recent email:

What moves ahead without a motor
Without an engine, oars or rotor
Without electricity (battery, wind or solar)
Without wheel, rudder, wing or pedal
Without foot, paw, hoof or saddle?
What takes you forward daringly fast
Without coal, steam, oil or gas
When you’re young you find it fun
When you’re old you watch it pass
And when you arrive on the other side
You wish the ride would last?

“But of course!” I thought, stumbling off the porch swing which I had been rocking with inappropriate gusto. “THIS YARD NEEDS A ZIP LINE!”

What an ideal toy for summer! Or any time there’s not a blizzard! And it certainly filled all the criteria of the riddle, being a hand-held trolley propelled by gravity and momentum.

Standing in the middle of the lawn I looked down the rows of my neighbors’ backyards, all cluttered with boring stationary playground equipment and abandoned toys. The kids were probably inside playing video games and watching TV. I wanted to go over there and share my revelation, but my broomstick was inside. If only each of our yards had a zip line, or we all had one very long zip line, I could zip over for a visit and tell them how amazing backyard ziplines are! I could glide effortlessly over the toy-strewn ground, my robe billowing out behind me.

Feeling inspired, I dashed inside to Google “zip lines” and send a triumphant email to my friend. She thought she could stump me, but she made a mistake thinking Wally the Wizard would fail to guess a fantastic outdoor toy! Won’t be so smug next time, will she?

Actually, the answer to the riddle turned out to be Time. But this did not dampen my enthusiasm for installing a backyard zipline, not in the least! It turns out they are delightfully diverse, so I chose three to put on FantasyToyland.com: the economical Fun Ride Original Trolley Ride, the whopping 90-foot-long 250-lb-carrying Fun Ride Super Z Trolley Ride, and the one in the middle that’s juuuust right like Mama Bear’s porridge: the Fun Ride Deluxe Trolley Ride! This is the one which is now in my own backyard. I get there with the Original Trolley Ride, which goes from my kitchen the trampoline, which is right next to the launching platform of the Deluxe Trolley Ride. This is bad for my morning commute because the trampoline causes me to spill my coffee, so I put up the Super Z from my front door to the commuter parking lot across the street.

My zip lines seem to have had an effect on the neighborhood children like that of a reanimation curse on the undead. They have staggered away from their flashing screens to stare at the wizard zooming back and forth on this futuristic pulley contraption. Once they blinked away the afterimage of god-knows-what-they-were-watching, they were gleefully zipping and zooming the day away. Before long their parents had caught on and installed their own backyard ziplines.

What’s shocked and awed
That once guffawed
The fun and functional zip line?

My riddle-mongering friend when I swooped in to meet her for our carpool on my Super Z Deluxe Trolley Ride!

The Amazing Rubik's Cube

Hello again, friends! Today I am in my wizard's lair mastering my new favorite puzzle toy, the Rubik's Cube. What an ingenious invention! Arranging these cubes to make solid color sides seemed almost impossible on my first attempt. But as the saying goes, "Nothing is impossible here in Toyland!" Today I am happy to report that I am solving the Rubik's Cube on an average of 10 minutes. That may not seem so impressive but bear in mind I hadn't relied on any magic! I hope to get my Rubik's Cube puzzle solving time down to 1 minute or less.

Rubik's Cube is a puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Erno Rubik. Originally, Rubik's Cube was only available behind the Iron Curtain. Back then it was known as the "Magic Cube." Fortunately, as the popularity of the puzzle spread, Rubik's Cube made the inevitable leap to the West where it made it's debut in 1980. Since then, the puzzle has taken the planet by storm becoming the world's best-selling puzzle toy with more than 250 million Rubik's Cube puzzles sold!

I'm so taken with the Rubik's Cube lately that some time ago I went to the Toyland forest and cast a spell over a small section of trees and transformed them into Rubik's Cube growing trees. I call it Rubik's grove. So far, I am happy with the results; the trees have produced an impressive variety of Rubik's Cube puzzles! I walked through the grove yesterday afternoon and picked a batch of the most interesting Rubik's Cube puzzles to bring to Earth and share with you.

For Rubik's Cube beginners, I picked some puzzles before the ripened - so they are 2x2 instead of the ripened 3x3 full-grown Rubik's Cube. I' call them Rubik's Cube Jr. and Rubik's Ice Cube. These puzzles are perfect for learning how to flex your brain muscle and are a perfect introduction to mastering the Rubik's Cube. For those of you who fancy yourselves cube masters, I have a much tougher 4x4 Rubik's Cube and a massive 5x5 Rubik's Cube for the real wizards of brain-teasing puzzles! I even have the fascinating Rubik's Twist: a Rubik's Cube puzzle that's a sphere, a curve, and many other shapes. Rubik's Cube puzzles are poised to take over the world! If you don't believe me, have a look at the Rubik's World puzzle.

As the Rubik's grove flourishes, I'll be sure to share my favorite picks with you, my friends. For now, enjoy these exciting and challenging Rubik's Cube puzzles!

Purim Costume Fun and Easter Bunny Suit Mania

Hello from Toyland!

I happened upon the Easter Bunny this morning on my daily stroll. The poor thing! He was absolutely frazzled and so frantic he scarcely noticed me as I approached him. Once I saw the mountain of Easter eggs next to his burrow, I knew what was bothering him. Just to make sure, I asked him what was the matter. As I suspected, my good friend the Easter Bunny was simply overwhelmed with the amount of Easter eggs he had to deliver this coming Easter – see, a wizard always knows! Seeing an opportunity to spread some magic to children everywhere, I offered my magical services to Mr. Bunny. With my trusty wand in hand, I recited an old wizard’s costume spell and poof! – we had Easter Bunny costumes!

Confused, the Easter Bunny simply scratched his head and asked how a rabbit costume could possible help him. I was a bit disappointed to hear this as I expect a magic bunny to have a bit more imagination! It’s not what he could do with the Easter Bunny suit, but what my friends on Earth can do. Every year moms, dads, aunts, uncles, and grandparents everywhere look for a good Easter Bunny suit to wear so they can thrill the children. Sometimes even kids like to put on a child bunny costume and get into the Easter Bunny act. I told the Easter Bunny to let you, my friends on Earth, deliver some of the Easter eggs this year. With a flick of my wand I distributed the mountain of Easter eggs to stores everywhere on Earth. All you need to do to help the Easter Bunny bring happiness to children this Easter season is pick up an Easter Bunny suit and set up your own Easter egg hunt this year. It’s great fun for everyone, especially if the children decide to don a child bunny costume! Get your authentic Easter eggs from your favorite store, put on an Easter Bunny costume, and round up all the special little Easter egg hunters in your family for an unforgettable good time. Best of all, you’ll have a rabbit costume handy for those funny costume emergencies that pop up without warning!

All this talk of fun times with costumes reminds me of a Purim party I attended some time ago. My word but those Purim costumes are fantastic! Purim itself is a great and wonderfully festive holiday. It’s no wonder, then, that every Purim I see children in bright and wonderfully festive Child Purim Costumes. Whether they’re on their way to deliver a gift of food to friends and family, or looking for someone less fortunate to help on this amazing feast day, children always look their best in a traditional Purim costume. My favorites are the King David Purim Costume and Jewish Rabbi Purim Costume for boys. There’s something timeless and very special about a costume that’s a lot of fun and works to preserve a tradition. For girls I always thought the Mother Rivkah Purim costume and Mother Rachel Purim costume were just precious. Child Purim costumes like these will endure as long as the wonderful traditions they are based on!

It’s good to see so much costume activity brewing here in Toyland! I know I’ll be joining all my Earth friends during their Purim celebrations with all the wonderful traditional Purim costumes. I’m also looking forward to seeing all you grown-ups in an Easter Bunny suit with a little rascal in a child bunny costume following you around. I hope all of you are as eager to spread some magic around as I am!

A DVD Movie Trivia Game, Have You Scene It?

Greetings from Toyland, friends!
I just had the best time playing my latest board game discovery, Scene It?, with some friends. Not your typical board game, Scene It is a DVD trivia game that combines traditional board game fun with the limitless entertainment possibilities of DVDs. For those who don't own a magic wand, this is cutting edge entertainment at its best. And even my magic wand started to look a little dull compared to the fun we had playing a long game of Scene It!

This DVD trivia game was so easy to learn - we were all first-timers and were able to just jump right in! I rolled the dice first, moved my piece 3 spaces, and was asked a movie trivia question. That was right up my alley since I'm a huge movie buff (that's right, even wizards watch movies!). Of course I answered correctly and got to roll again. I was doing pretty well with this DVD trivia game until I landed an "All Play" - that's where a movie clip or image sequence is shown on your television screen and everyone has to try to answer the question on the screen correctly first. I just wasn't fast enough! I tried consulting my crystal ball, but that took too long and one of my fellow wizards thought of the answer before I could. He smugly quipped, "Not familiar with that movie, Wally? You haven't Scene It?" It's worth noting that you'll rarely ever find a funny wizard.

Despite my initial stumble, I managed to come back in a big way and win the Scene It DVD trivia game. The best part was I got to watch a victory scene on the DVD at end of the game! A good time and a lot of laughs were had by all. So much so that I just had to find more games like the Scene It movie trivia DVD game. With a flick of my wand I was transported to Toyland. I wandered the vast expanses of movie trivia games, television trivia games, pop culture trivia games and eventually entered a new part of Toyland I hadn't been to before where the landscape was a breathtaking myriad of DVD trivia games.

Dominating the vista was a stunning collection of Scene It DVD games! I couldn't believe my eyes. There was every kind of Scene It DVD trivia game imaginable! I saw a Disney Scene It DVD Game and leapt for joy. Some of my favorite films of all time are Disney films. There was even a Deluxe Scene It Disney DVD trivia game in a shiny tin which would make a great gift for a Disney fan. Another tin appeared in a sudden puff of smoke that contained the Deluxe Harry Potter Scene It DVD movie trivia game. Fantasy movies are huge (as you could probably guess) here in Toyland so that one's sure to be a hit. Just beyond the Scene It Harry Potter DVD trivia game were even more special versions of the amazing Scene It DVD game. From a James Bond Scene It movie trivia game to an American Idol Scene It DVD trivia game, there was almost every kind of DVD trivia game I could ever want!

For my adult friends, I found a Friends Scene It television trivia game. Test your knowledge of Ross, Chandler, Rachel, Monica, Joey, Phoebe, and the entire cast of characters of this award-winning hit show. This one's for the true fans! Children will absolutely love the Nickelodeon Scene It DVD trivia game. All the kids' favorites are here: Danny Phantom, The Fairly Odd Parents, Spongebob Squarepants, and more! I know some sports fans that would love to get their hands on the ESPN Scene It sports trivia game. Think you know all the stats, names, and memorable games? Then give this sports trivia game a shot! There's even a Music Scene It DVD game for all you music trivia game fans. Now you can put that jukebox in your head to good use! With so many choices, there's a Scene It DVD trivia game for the whole family!

When you want to bring family and friends together, grab the Scene It James Bond DVD trivia game, the Scene It American Idol DVD trivia game, the Scene It Friends DVD trivia game, the Scene It Nickelodeon DVD game, the Scene It ESPN sports trivia game, the Scene It Music DVD trivia game, or any Scene It DVD trivia game and let the good times roll!