Once we entered the arena, Nolan lost his mind. I had a feeling he would be really excited, but this was just over the top for him! He tends to screech when he gets super pumped, so lots of people were staring and laughing at his craziness! We just roll with it and let him enjoy his excitement!
Throughout the outside of the arena, they had cute props set up and of course, the souvenir shops. He was super excited to see Elmo and stopped to have a little chat with him.
Next up, he found Grover and definitely had his eye on those massive balloons. We promised to buy him one after the show.
After walking around the outside of the arena, we decided to grab a churro and find our seats. We had the best view and it was a perfect setup for Nolan to be able to dance around in the small space next to the aisle. We had front row of the pavilion so he could hang on the railing and see above the floor seats, which worked out great. Plus, during the show, characters walked and danced around and came right in front of us, which of course, blew Nolan's mind!
The show started, and Nolan's excitement grew even more! He basically screeched through the entire show and pointed to every character, like he couldn't believe they were really right in front of his eyes! He clapped nonstop and was a total fanboy! These videos crack me up so much because he was SO happy and SO excited. The show was actually really entertaining, and Jason and I even enjoyed being there! The theme of this years show was "Let's Dance!" which incorporates a live dance party throughout the performance. It's perfect because it let's the kids get up and shake off their energy and that is definitely what we did throughout the show! There were multiple story lines, and most of the characters made lengthy appearances, so favorites of each individual child aren't forgotten. The energy in the room is awesome because all of the kiddos are dancing around, enjoying themselves, and the characters actually come down and dance with the kids, which makes it that much more fun!
There was a quick 15-minute intermission, where we decided to go roaming around to get up out of our seats. We took a bathroom break and stretched our legs!
For the second half of the show, there was more dancing, songs and singing, and we also got to hear familiar songs that Nolan perked up extra about because he recognized them! There were a few from his YouTube videos of Sesame Street segments he watches, as well as nursery rhyme favorites like The Itsy Bitsy Spider (one of Nolan's favorites, so that was perfect)! The absolute highlight for Nolan was meeting Cookie Monster and getting to dance with him towards the end of the show. He was a bit more shy this time around (unlike Bay of Play at Sea World), but he still walked up to Cookie and gave him a shy hug. SO cute! The ending number was the most fun-filled dancing, with bouncing balls thrown into the audience and a big celebratory ending dance party!
When the show ended, Nolan ended up crying because he wanted more and to stay! After a few tears were shed, we took some pictures as we were leaving... the first being the aftermath of said crying fit, the second, showing how much fun he had at the show!
Of course we had to make a stop at the souvenir booth on our way out, coming through with our promise of an Elmo/Cookie Monster balloon (double sided, Elmo on one side, Cookie on the other, which was amazing), and also spoiled him with a figurine set that he has since placed with every single day, so definitely worth it! They had plenty of cute memorabilia that is only available through Sesame Street Live shows, but we tried not to go too spoil crazy!
I was amazed that my not-so-patient, won't sit for movies, always on-the-go 17-month old actually lasted the entire 90 minutes. The up-close, interactive production is to credit for keeping his attention and allowing him to have a blast, getting to see and meet his favorite friends! He had SO much fun and I left wanting to go back and do it all over again with him (once a week would be great... let's get a Sesame Street Live Vegas contract, please?!) We will certainly be attending the next Sesame Street Live show that comes here, and I know he'll be looking forward to it! It is by far the best thing to watch your child experience something new and absolutely love it. I think Jason and I had just as much fun watching him love this show as much as he did, and we're so glad we took the chance at trying it out! It was the best!
Until next time, Sesame Street!
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