Once again, we had a wonderful family night out at a Disney Live stage show. This time, we were invited to see Disney Jr. Live’s Pirates and Princess Adventure at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT. The show features 2 of kids’ favorites – Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Sofia the First, and of course, the shows masters of ceremony - Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse – set the stage for a perfectly enchanting evening. My twins are nearly 5 years old and they both loved the show. Neither of my kids are that familiar with Sofia the First, but both my son and daughter were enthralled with the singing and dancing, as well as the story line for the Princess Adventure which began the show. It was the story of a friendship festival happening in Enchantia, that as the youngest member of the royal family, Sofia is responsible for opening the festival, welcoming the friends and bestowing upon them a gift. She is nervous because she has never done this before, and so she learns from Flora, Fauna and Merryweather (Sleeping Beauty fairies) at Princess Prep Academy how to be royal. Then she must decide what to present to the people at the festival as a gift. When she has trouble deciding, her magic amulet begins to glow, which summons another very famous princess (I won’t tell you who so as not to spoil the surprise), but suffice it to say, she happens to be the favorite princess of my daughter (and son) and her appearance on stage brought a very excited… “Mommy, mommy! Look!” and hugs and squeezes along with excitement that made it difficult for my daughter to sit still. This princess reminds Sofia that the best gifts come from the heart. A very nice tale indeed, and if this were the end of the show, we could have walked away having enjoyed our night out.
However, after a short intermission, Mickey and Minnie prepare the audience for the Pirate portion of the show with a pirate song in which the audience is asked to take part. This was a great way to bring the excitement level back up before the second half of the show – a story of Jake and his pirate crew going on an adventure to find the hidden treasure volcano – a volcano that only appears when found by a true pirate hero. Well, I knew my kids would prefer the Jake and the Never Land Pirate portion of the show, but I wasn’t prepared for just how much. The excitement at the surprise princess in the first half of the show was great, but the sheer joy, huge smiles, belly-laughter (that I think was louder than the sound system in the arena), and shrieks of delight throughout the entire second half of the show from my children – especially my daughter – made my night. I wish I had had a video camera – not to tape the show – but to tape my kids watching the show – especially my daughter who took particular pleasure with the show. After a race between Captain Hook and Jake to find the treasure spewing volcano, and Jake saving Captain Hook from his nemesis – Tick Tock Crock – the volcano erupts and gold doubloons are scattered across the floor seats near the stage. It was just gold circular confetti, but my children were so very disappointed that they would not be getting a gold doubloon. Thankfully, the kind staff at the arena let some children down there on the way out of the auditorium to pick one up. This totally made the night.
If your children love Disney Junior, I’d definitely recommend their live stage shows. They are always a hit with my family.
