Last weekend my husband and I packed the kids into the car and headed to the Target Center in Minneapolis to see a very special friend.
My kids have loved Thomas and Friends for years. K has several of the die-cast trains and several movies. He's watched Thomas on PBS.
When I received an email from MomSelect that said I could get 4 tickets to see Thomas and Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes to Town I jumped at the chance. We've only been to one other show like this (The Wiggles) and it was when K was only 2 weeks old and M was just 2 years old. Now they are both at ages that they will probably remember the show for years to come. Ms. D, because she is younger than 1 year old, didn't need a ticket so we all got to see the show!
From almost the moment we stepped into the arena, my son K seemed overwhelmed. He was uncharacteristically quiet and subdued. I think the sheer size of the building and the excitement really got to him. Once the show started, he smiled and his mouth dropped open in awe. He still was fairly subdued for him though, and I think it is because of how loud the show was. I didn't think it was really too loud but my son tends to be very sensitive to loud noises so I know it was too loud for him to watch comfortably. Make no mistake, he still enjoyed the show and will be talking about it for a while.
My oldest child, Miss M, was much more excited about the show and enjoyed it a lot more than I even expected her to. She actually had tears in her eyes when the show started she was so happy (I wonder where she gets that from?). (Yeah, so I was a little teary at how excited the kids were too.)
I think the child that enjoyed the show the most in some ways was Ms. D. She danced in our laps at every song and clapped her hands. She was entirely enthralled with it all.
The show was fast-paced and broken into two parts with a 15-minute intermission between two 45-minute segments. I was surprised to look at the clock and find that 45 minutes had passed when the intermission was announced.
I thought our seats were particularly good--in the lower elevated seats only a few rows up--but given the size of the stars of the show I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who said they had a bad seat.
Of course they were selling all sorts of Thomas memorabilia, all high-priced, but standard for that type of show. We managed to escape buying any of it. We did, however, have to spend only slightly less than $4000 for some pop, popcorn and cotton candy. (Yes, I'm exaggerating but the prices on food were typically high too.)
The arena was not nearly as full as I thought it would be, but I suppose with the economy as it is, shows for children are not high on the spending priority list. We also attended a late afternoon show...perhaps the other shows had more people attending.
I would definitely recommend the show if you have even a passing Thomas fan. It was a great way to spend an afternoon with my family.
*********
I'd also like to thank MomSelect and Unilever for sending me a great "Mom's Night Out" package of goodies that will help next Thursday while I am having a night out for the book club I'm joining!
My kids have loved Thomas and Friends for years. K has several of the die-cast trains and several movies. He's watched Thomas on PBS.
When I received an email from MomSelect that said I could get 4 tickets to see Thomas and Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes to Town I jumped at the chance. We've only been to one other show like this (The Wiggles) and it was when K was only 2 weeks old and M was just 2 years old. Now they are both at ages that they will probably remember the show for years to come. Ms. D, because she is younger than 1 year old, didn't need a ticket so we all got to see the show!
From almost the moment we stepped into the arena, my son K seemed overwhelmed. He was uncharacteristically quiet and subdued. I think the sheer size of the building and the excitement really got to him. Once the show started, he smiled and his mouth dropped open in awe. He still was fairly subdued for him though, and I think it is because of how loud the show was. I didn't think it was really too loud but my son tends to be very sensitive to loud noises so I know it was too loud for him to watch comfortably. Make no mistake, he still enjoyed the show and will be talking about it for a while.
My oldest child, Miss M, was much more excited about the show and enjoyed it a lot more than I even expected her to. She actually had tears in her eyes when the show started she was so happy (I wonder where she gets that from?). (Yeah, so I was a little teary at how excited the kids were too.)
I think the child that enjoyed the show the most in some ways was Ms. D. She danced in our laps at every song and clapped her hands. She was entirely enthralled with it all.
The show was fast-paced and broken into two parts with a 15-minute intermission between two 45-minute segments. I was surprised to look at the clock and find that 45 minutes had passed when the intermission was announced.
I thought our seats were particularly good--in the lower elevated seats only a few rows up--but given the size of the stars of the show I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who said they had a bad seat.
Of course they were selling all sorts of Thomas memorabilia, all high-priced, but standard for that type of show. We managed to escape buying any of it. We did, however, have to spend only slightly less than $4000 for some pop, popcorn and cotton candy. (Yes, I'm exaggerating but the prices on food were typically high too.)
The arena was not nearly as full as I thought it would be, but I suppose with the economy as it is, shows for children are not high on the spending priority list. We also attended a late afternoon show...perhaps the other shows had more people attending.
I would definitely recommend the show if you have even a passing Thomas fan. It was a great way to spend an afternoon with my family.
*********
I'd also like to thank MomSelect and Unilever for sending me a great "Mom's Night Out" package of goodies that will help next Thursday while I am having a night out for the book club I'm joining!
3 comments:
I've never take our kids to a concert or show like this, but have always wanted to. It seems like every time something comes to the town near us (about 1.5 hr away) it's really, really expensive and doesn't work with our budget. I bet they'd love it, though!
This show just came through our neck of the woods, and I was SO tempted to take my 15 year old son. Growing up, we lived in Minnesota near the MOA and spent many hours in their train store. He loved Thomas and all his goofy friends. We have Christmas tree ornaments from those years that we still hang up every year . . .
My youngest is 8 and a bit past Thomas, but this still would have been a great trip down memory lane . . .
(I'm over here from Amanda's site. I've subscribed so I can keep up on all the things I've missed . . . )
Wow that is one amazing trip. My godson adores Thomas, and he has beautiful train assembly. Thanks for sharing, great story, Anna :)
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