Fun Family Day at Dave and Busters

Ontario's Family Day long weekend was just over a week ago.  (As a bonus for the kids it was an extra long, long weekend because of a school Professional Activities day tacked onto the Friday before.)  Going into the weekend, I had high hopes for a low key, low stress relaxing weekend that would include outdoor activities such as skating and tobogganing.

The Universe had other ideas.  To be fair, there was lots of sleeping in and it was very low key and low stress.  (Thank you to the public library for letting us borrow from your DVD collection.)  The weather outside, however, was close to minus 400 degrees with the windchill and I am not a fan of doing anything in that kind of cold.

On the weekend a Tweet from Bill Abbott caught my attention:

"CHICO IS BACK!!! 2 shows only. This Monday 2pm and 4pm"

How could I resist?

We arrived at Dave and Busters an hour before showtime and were warmly greeted at the door by Ben Train.  After we bought our tickets (bring cash), we went into the theatre to find our seats and settle in.  I was very impressed to find that the theatre was almost half full already.  We ordered some yummy food and passed the time by teaching Kidlet how to do a Bruce Posgate knot with the table decor.

Some notes on the show:

• About 10 minutes before showtime, the room was completely sold out.  
• Bobby Motta did a great job of warming up the crowd.
• Bill Abbott was in fine form.
• Kidlet has seen an effect created by Bill, performed a number of times by people who have purchased his product.  It was very educational for Kidlet to see Bill perform it himself!  (And it's always entertaining.)
• It was a delight for me to finally see Bill live, performing someThing I had only seen him do on video.  (And it looks great live!)
• After all these years, Chico is just as precocious as ever.
• Some magical items were on sale after the show ... parents bring some extra cash.
• The show was very entertaining and well worth the ticket price!

As a bonus, on your way out after the show everyone receives a game card which gives you unlimited play on all the non-ticketed games in The Midway.  Needless to say we spent a good chunk of time exploring all the offerings!  (And got some virtual snowboarding and skiing in to boot.)

Thank you Ben, Bill, Bobby and Dave & Busters for being a part of such a fabulous Family Day outing!


From Ben Train's Twitter feed:

Every Fri & Sat at @DnB_Toronto, come see @bobbymotta and @billabbottlive! 2 shows a night, 8 & 10:15- $20 per show (includes game cards)!
— Ben Train (@ErdnaseinTO) February 22, 2015