Wouldn't you know it. Having visited Disney World in January, I just managed to get "It's a Small World" out of my brain.
Then came "Dance Dance Revolution Disney Grooves."
Not only has the ditty returned in full force, but it's now joined by refrains from "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."
But the news isn't all bad, the game is a lot of fun.
And, if you haven't joined the Dance Dance Revolution (really, are there any rookies left?), this might be the perfect intro.
This version follows the standard in which a player stands on a mat divided into four sections -- up, down, left, right. Following the beat of a song, the player stomps on one of the sections when a corresponding arrow appears on the screen.
"Groove's" box comes with two dance mats that connect to your Wii. Up to four mats can be connected.
You can stick with just the mats if you want to do footwork only. The braver set can grab their Wiimote and nunchuks and get their arms in on the action. With the "hand marker" setting selected, players not only have to hit foot targets, they have to swing theirs arms at specific times.
We had a bit of trouble getting our Wiimote and nunchuk to register our hand swings, but then, it might just take more practice.
The game is divided into three modes -- Groove, Freestyle and Workout. But it's really the Groove mode the game seems to be built around.
In it, you start out with 18 songs and unlock tunes -- by completing various dance challenges -- until you have all 41 songs.
All of the tracks are given a modern remix. That's not bad in some cases, but in others, it makes the tunes barely recognizable to those of us who recall the originals.
And while some song choices are no-brainers ("Hakuna Matata"), others are head scratchers ("The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room").
It's curious that Disney stuck with its classic canon and didn't tap any of the current Disney Channel songs, a la "High School Musical" or "Hannah Montana." There's nothing newer than "Lilo and Stitch" here.
You can choose to dance by yourself, against opponents or with a friend (where you work together to accumulate points).
Disney throws players some obstacles here and there -- some are misdirectional arrows, some are moving arrows, while others are designed to obstruct your opponent.
More unlockables include new background settings -- called stages -- and costumes.
The stages begin at the discotheque and go to use sets of Disney classics like "Aladdin" and "Alice in Wonderland."
The costumes, which you can dress your Mii in, are particularly cute. The wardrobe includes movie characters (Tigger, Woody, Cinderella), classic characters (Mickey, Goofy) and even off-the-wall costumes (Bohemian, Santa Claus).
Freestyle mode lets players just pick a tune and dance away without worrying about challenges.
In Workout mode, players enter their weight (you can set a password so others don't know) and dance off those calories. You can workout with a pre-set songlist or create your own. The game keeps track of how many calories you've burned based on your weight.
There's the My Studio section, which lets players take pictures of their Mii with Disney characters. There's not much more to it than that. Silly, but fun.
While serious DDR fans will likely find "Disney Grooves" to be a bore, I doubt they are the target audience. This is a fun family experience that Mom and Dad can enjoy with the kids and have a few laughs -- and a bit of exercise while they're at it.
Additional Information:'Dance Dance Revolution Disney Grooves'
Developer & publisher: Konami
Platform: Wii
Genre: Dance
ESRB: Everyone
Retail: $69.99
How good is it? B+
