Would you take a 2.5 year old to Cirque Du Soleil?

[New_Natural_Mom]

DH & I *love* Cirque Du Soliel and they are coming to a local arena in a few weeks.  Tickets are crazy expensive, but my parents are going (I didn't know) and they offered to pay for DS' ticket.  It would still be expensive but we could do it.  We showed him a preview online and he said he liked it, but I don't know if he would think it is too loud or scary. I don't want to pay for super expensive tickets and have him freak out.

What would you do?  We took him to a play at christmastime and he liked it.  He got scared during it for a little bit, but he keeps asking about it.

[The4OfUs]

I dunno, Cirque is pretty out there, loud and wild.  I mean, I love it, but I'm not even sure if I would take my 4yo to it.  I'd worry abotu the length of the performance, too.  I guess it depends on your kid, too.  Either of my kids at 2.5, no way.   Me as a 2.5?  I might have been able to do it and interested.

[love4bob]

Depends what show it is!  DH and I saw Cirque Du Soleil: Zumanity in Vegas, and it was amazing!!! It's an 18 and up show though, very sexual and nudity. It is amazing though! I would not take a 2 year old to that, but if it were a more mild show, probably. I haven't seen any other shows, but I'm sure they are fine.

[Tofu the Geek]

We did. I agree that it depends on the show though. We went to Ovo http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/ovo/default.aspx We walked there and she feel asleep in the stroller on the way and slept through the first half.  We woke her up at intermission because her ticket cost $85 and we didn't want her to sleep through the whole show! She loved the rest.  Normally we would have planned to have her well rested before we went, but we were on vacation so her schedule was messed up.

[trauerweidchen]

Originally Posted by Tofu the Geek 

We did. I agree that it depends on the show though. We went to Ovo http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/ovo/default.aspx We walked there and she feel asleep in the stroller on the way and slept through the first half.  We woke her up at intermission because her ticket cost $85 and we didn't want her to sleep through the whole show! She loved the rest.  Normally we would have planned to have her well rested before we went, but we were on vacation so her schedule was messed up.

We are also Cirque fans; DS's first Cirque show was in utero and I remember him kicking to the music. His second Cirque show was at 6 weeks and he slept for much of it.

Now that he's more mobile, it's tough to ask him to sit still that long. I would say that it depends a lot on the show. We took him to Ovo this fall and that's a great kids' show--much more family-oriented than most of their performances, I'd say. I think DS really enjoyed it and we were happy that he was along, but for just about any other show right now I'd rather not take him. (It's worth noting that he was about 16 months and sitting on my lap; we didn't buy a separate seat for him since he was under their required age for purchasing a ticket.)

[Abraisme]

I'd say no.  There's a big chance that your child won't make it through the whole show and one of you would end up missing part of it.  The tickets are too $$ for one of the adults to miss the show because of an antsy toddler.

[cocoanib]

No. I love Cirque and have been to a few shows, but I would'nt take a 2.5 year old.

It can be loud, surprising adn it's just such a long time for a toddler to sit for.

I would wait until their older, so they could enjoy it.

[lisavark]

We took DD to see Cirque when she was 18 months and she LOVED it. I had her in the carrier and was expecting her to sleep through it because it was late, but she was wide awake and totally interested. When we got home she started doing circus tricks...getting on all fours and putting a leg up in the air pretending to be a contortionist! It was awesome and I have some adorable video of her! :D 

However, we were in Quebec and the show was free. (The city has a five-year contract with Cirque du Soleil...they're doing free performances on the street every summer.) Also, it was definitely kid-friendly: it was out on the street and there was no nudity, nothing at all sexual. I had no idea some of their shows have any of that...and, of course, since it was free it just wasn't even a question, we weren't about to miss out on a free performance of Cirque du Soleil! 

DD still talks about it though. 

[marinak1977]

We took DS when he was 10 months. He was fascinated and loved it. We saw Allegria. We'll be going again soon to see Quidam and I'm wondering how it would be with him more mobile. Only Zumanity is an adult-themed show but the rest are appropriate for most ages.

[darcytrue]

It would depend on the child. I have 3 children, one I would have taken at that age but the other two (including my now 15 month old DD), no I wouldn't. But it's totally up to you and your child. I would base it on the child and how you think they would do behavior-wise, handle the stress of a crowd, etc. Since your parents are going along you would have help as well (assuming that anyway).