Last year I blogged on the disappointing experience we had when taking our grand kids to what was labeled as the Greatest Show on Earth. I had dubbed it the Lamest Show on Earth, but was mostly angry at the prices and in your face salesmanship of the vendors. I was ready for more of the same this year, but was in for a surprise.
This year we took the grand kids down to the circus floor an hour before start time. During the hour they saw trapeze artists, a dog show, a clown show and an elephant painting a picture. They were able to get within a couple feet of the performers and the elephant. Both kids were very excited and seemed to enjoy the floor show immensely.
We were back in our seats 10 minutes before the show started. Noticeably different from last year was the absence of vendors walking the rows and handing their shiny trinkets to young children, knowing the chance of a sale is much improved with the goods in their little hands. Also noticeable was an overall reduction in prices for refreshments and trinkets. They were not cheap, but more like ball park prices instead of Disneyland prices.
Not only was the prices more parent-friendly, so was the show. Last year was heavy on clown gigs, and light on acrobats. This year's show was completely opposite. This year's show also had a lot of illusions. Not simple illusions, but very complicated ones. My favorite was when they suspended a clown inside a glass cage, dropped a curtain over the cage, and when they revealed the cage a few seconds later, the clown was gone and a tiger in his place. Several of the illusions had a Chris Angel flavor to them.
My assessment of this year's Greatest Show on Earth is that it was a very good circus show. I also know that after the show we had 2 happy and spoiled grandchildren.
You didn't document how much you spent this time.
ReplyDeleteWe dropped nearly $200 on tix with face of only $80 because we bought late and had to go through a ticket brokere aka scalper. Only $60 on food and trinkets, so total was about the same as last year.
ReplyDeleteYay for a better time! And of course, I'm sure the kids LOVED it too - especially with them getting older and possibly less distracted than last year. Maybe this is a trend - does that mean an even better experience next year? :) But, I'd imagine your cost will increase as the youngest FARR will be in tow next year.
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