Funny Mom Blog contributor Heather had the swashbuckling opportunity to attend the Disney Junior Live Pirate and Princess Adventure at the Citizens Business Bank Arena this weekend and she has written a wonderful recap. Read her adventures below!
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Thank you The Funny Mom blogger Desiree Eaglin for the opportunity to take my little character and our friends to see Disney Junior Live on Tour! Pirate and Princess Adventure, all opinions are my own.
Let the Adventure begin!
So, I wasn’t going to tell my guy where we were going until we were actually there, but we’ve been to several shows at the Citizen’s Business Bank Arena. He KNOWS that it is a place where good things come to life! I ended up spilling the beans a little too early to avoid the amped up giddiness of a 6 year old Disney fanatic. Yes, we were going to see Disney Junior Live! Pirate and Princess Adventure. Thankfully, like every other time, parking was ample and well directed, the sales/will call window was well staffed and employed excellent customer service, entrance into the venue was a breeze (super appreciated because it was RAINING!) and the ushers were very helpful!
I have to admit, we took our time perusing all the booths full of awesome goodies from t-shirts and lighty/spinny toys, to Jake and the Neverland Pirate hats (foam hair included, because Jake really does have good hair!) and Princess Sophia’s sparkling tiara, a scene where the kids (young and young at heart) could be photographed standing next to cut outs of either Jake or Sophia like they were on a movie set. We took a little extra time, revisiting booths 2 and 3 times just so we would not have to deal with wrangling kids that might have wanted to jump all over, bounce in their seats, dance in the aisles also so we would not have had to listen to the constant chorus of “when’s it going to start? Mom, mom, mom,mom,mom…when? When is it going to start?” You KNOW what I mean!
There are all kinds of kid excitement, but there is nothing quite like Disney excitement! Disney excitement bubbles from the depths of the soul and radiates outward like sugar coated rainbows, sprinkled with fairy dust and colliding with a never-ending stash of gold doubloons whisked through the air by the constant wave of princess arms. Yeah…THAT type of excitement is what we were dealing with. Okay, and really, I say that we were dealing with that like it is some sort of plague. What I really mean, is that we parents were just as excited, but trying to contain ourselves and act, well, like adults…the grown-ups…the moms.
We waited until just 15 minutes before the show was scheduled to start to make our way to our seats. As we entered and stepped onto the stairs, we heard Doc McStuffins voice. And then we saw her! She was on stage! Ohhhhhh no! We were missing the show! No!!!!!!!!!!!! We looked at the time: 3:48pm. The show was scheduled to start at 4pm. We weren’t late. Then we broke through the crowd scuttled to our seats and notice that children were waiting patiently, their attention on the stage, not on a parent’s cell phone. They were enjoying their snacks and new treasures. Oh Disney, you do know how to cater to the needs and desires of the younger set and care for their young attention spans!
After Doc McStuffins left us, there was an announcement that the show would start in a few minutes and plenty of vendors were selling items attached to long poles or from boxes hanging off the shoulders of the sales persons. Families were getting their kids settled into their seats; many arriving just minutes before the show was scheduled to start. In the few short minutes before the show began, I was able to take in the way they had set the stage in the arena. There was floor seating as well as lower and upper level seating, but the arena was curtained off so that the venue felt much more intimate. No one was sitting directly to the side of the stage. From my vantage, there could not have been a bad seat in the house.
Before we knew it, the Pirate and Princess Adventure had begun! Mickey and Minnie almost immediately interacted with the kids by asking them to shout out their preference for “Princess!” or “Pirate!”.
And then came the Princesses and Pirates:
And then came Sophia the First and her family!
Sophia, being the youngest royal in the kingdom had the honor of welcoming friends and royals from other kingdoms to a very special party by presenting a special gift to each of them. The only problem? Well, Sophia the First, until recently, was a normal girl from a normal town living a normal life. She hadn’t any idea what she could gift that would be special enough for royals. Luckily, Sophia has step-siblings, Princess Amber and Prince James, the castle Steward, Baileywick and a magical amulate to help her…oh and 3 fairies at the very special school just for royal children, Royal Prep. Not all goes well as Sophia learns about herself, friendship and what being a princess REALLY means. There was a cake fiasco with a crazy fun dance. The princes and princesses at Royal Prep had to complete an obstacle course and called out to the audience to participate in a manners dance. It was so much fun! In the end, Sophia the First discovers the best gift and delivers it in a celebrated flourish.
Sophia’s magical amulate began to glow as special help from another special Princess arrived to
help…Cinderella! Sophia the First discovers the best gift and delivers it in a celebrated flourish.
The Princess portion was followed by intermission. As families moved about, Pirates “arrrrghed” and “yo-ho’ed” their way through the arena interacting with guests and really making the kids feel a part of the show.
The kids were delighted to see the same pirates from intermission make their way on stage with Mickey and Minnie along with several kids from the audience. The interaction at the Disney Junior Live on Tour! Pirate and Princess Adventure was so, so fun!
Soon, we met Jake, Cubby, Izzy and Skully from Jake and the Neverland Pirates!
Of course, Captain Hook wouldn’t miss the chance to steal Cubby’s map for himself and head out to find the Golden Volcano before the “puny pirates”. As always, Captain Hook was accompanied by Mr. Smee, Sharky, Bones and an entourage of pirate pals. Those pirates really know how sing and dance their way through Captain Hooks antics!
After Captain Hook stole the map, Jake, Izzy and Cubby were determined to get it back. A struggle ensued and Jake ended up captured! Very special help was needed! As Captain Hook lay sleeping after a sturdy bonk on the head, we all called out to Tinker Bell to help light a lantern that was a beacon for Peter Pan.
Peter Pan swooped in to free Jake from his cell atop the ships’ crow’s nest. My son, a huge Peter Pan fan, was FASCINATED watching Peter Pan fly.
Of course, Captain Hook woke to find Peter freeing Jake. It was so cool how the screen behind the sets were used to make you feel more like you were in motion or maybe even on the ship. We loved that Peter Pan’s shadow fought Captain Hook .
Captain Hook was able to recover the map, so he sailed off as fast as he could toward the Golden Volcano racing Jake, Izzy and Cubby. Of course, Hook cheated throwing the kids into huge waves.
Hook made it to the island first, but wound up chased by Tick Tock Crock, so Jake, Cubby and Izzy used Izzy’s emergency-only pixie dust to rescue him.
After his rescue, Captain Hook reluctantly thanked Jake and as if it were a reward for the gesture, the Golden Volcano erupted spewing tons of gold doubloons. We were just out of reach of them, but the kids still loved watching them float through the air.
The show came to a close with Mickey, Minnie, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Captain Hook and crew, Peter Pan, Sophia the First and her royal family and Doc McStuffins coming together and sending us on our way with songs in our head and kind messages of friendship sprinkled with a bit of magic!
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Heather’s Disney Junior Live Pirate and Princess Adventure review makes you want to see the show for yourself right? I know I do! There’s still time to catch the show before it moves, so check it out now!
