3/27/16: Big Apple Circus The Grand Tour in Boston Until May 4th

We love going to see the Big Apple Circus every year.  Not only are the acts amazing but you are so close to the action!  We love that!  This past weekend we went to see The Grand Tour in Boston at City Hall Plaza and we thought it was awesome!  This show does not disappoint!  The show plays until May 8th so you have plenty of time to get tickets.  Read on for a discount code on tickets!

The whole family was very excited to be at The Big Apple Circus.

The Grand Tour is the company’s 38th season production and involves an adventure via ships, planes, trains and automobiles!

Chiara Anastasini started out the show with hula hoops and was fantastic.  At one point she must have been using about 50 hula hoops.  My daughter Lauren loves to hula hoops so she was enthralled by this act.

We love the acts with dogs and ponies.  Here you can see third-generation circus animal trainer Jenny Vidbel with adorable dogs.

 Love this little guy peddling along on his scooter.

So amazing how well these animals are trained.

 They are absolutely beautiful.

One of my favorite acts is the Chinese hand balancers The Energy Trio.  The flexibility and strength they showed was unbelievable.

Yes he is balancing on their necks! 

 So fantastic!

Another favorite that made the whole audience gasp was the Dominguez Brothers defying the law of gravity with their thrill-filled act featuring the Wheel of Wonder.

They jumped rope on top of the wheels which was amazing! 

Don't forget the clowns Joel Jeske and Brent McBeth.  They were great entertainment between acts.

 The African acrobatic troupe Zuma Zuma showed a lot of skill and strength.

So cool!

Here is the Dosov Troupe soaring on the teeterboard.  They flew so high in to the air!

 

 Here is aerialist Sergey Akimov who soared high above the audience.

To save 20% per order for select performances, use the code BIGAPPLE* when buying tickets online at http://www.bigapplecircus.org/ and at the box office.

* Limited availability.  Offer good on select seats and shows.  Other conditions apply.  Children under 3 are free on the lap of a paid adult, one child per lap. 

 It is an absolutely amazing show that I highly recommend!
Tickets for The Grand Tour start at $25 and are available at www.bigapplecircus.org or by calling (888) 541-3750.  The Circus Box Office, located in front of the Big Top, opens Monday, March 21, there is no service charge for tickets purchased at the box office.  Hours of operation: Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 8pm, and Saturday through Monday from 10 am to 6pm.  

Just watch out, the kids might want to run away with the Circus! 

Disclosure:  I received 4 tickets for my family to attend the Big Apple Circus.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

3/25/16: Another Wonderful Season at Edaville USA

We love going to Edaville USA and their new season looks wonderful!  Not only is there Thomas Land but there is Dino Land and over 90 rides and attractions!

Edaville USA was a Top 3 winner for Best New Amusement Park Attractions as chosen by readers of USA Today 10 Best!  They offer special events throughout the year, including Hello Kitty, Curious George, Pete the Cat, Superheroes and Princesses, Pumpkins AGLOW and so much more! 

The new Thomas Land theme park covers 11.5 acres within Edaville USA, bringing the Island of Sodor to life in a lush New England landscape. Families can visit iconic destinations including Knapford Station and Tidmouth Sheds and enjoy 11 themed rides featuring favorite characters like Cranky the Crane, Harold the Helicopter, and more!  You can read my full post here on Thomas Land.

 Here you can see the rides.  Any Thomas and Friends fan will love it.

Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.edaville.com or at the park entrance.
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/edavilleusa 
Twitter:  @edavilleusa 
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/edavilleusa/

Disclosure:  I was provided with tickets for my family to Edaville USA.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

3/24/16: Win 4 Tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the Citi Wang Theatre Boston

CONTEST CLOSED:  CONGRATULATIONS NICOLE G
We are off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz that is!  I am so excited that The Wizard of Oz is coming to the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre for a two week engagement April 12th – 24th!  I not only have a great discount code for 25% off but I also am giving away FOUR Tickets to one of my lucky readers!

All Photos Credit: © Daniel A. Swalec 

Tickets are on sale now and I have a Discount Code for 25% off!

Visit http://citicenter.org/buy/show-listing/wizard-of-oz

Enter code OZMOM to buy your discounted tickets.

Discount applies to select performances (4/12 7 pm, 4/13 7 pm, 4/14 7 pm, 4/15 7 pm, 4/17 6:30pm ) while supplies last.  Valid on all levels, excluding Orchestra Pit.

More About The Show:

This production of The Wizard of Oz is an enchanting adaptation of the all-time classic.  Developed from the ever popular MGM screenplay, this new production contains the beloved Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg songs from the Oscar®-winning movie score, all the favorite characters and iconic moments, plus a few surprises along the way, including new songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  The Wizard of Oz had its world premiere at The London Palladium Theatre in March of 2011.  

The national tour of The Wizard of Oz will feature the same award-winning creative team from London and Toronto: Jeremy Sams (direction), Robert Jones (set and costume design), Arlene Phillips (choreography), Hugh Vanstone (lighting design), Mick Potter (sound design), Jon Driscoll and Daniel Brodie (video/projection design), David Cullen (orchestrations) and Graham Hurman (musical supervision).  Animals will be provided by William Berloni.  Starring as Dorothy is Sarah Lasko.  A University of Maryland graduate, Sarah most recently appeared at Maryland's Imagination Stage, where she originated the role of Lisa in Double Trouble, the musical adaptation of The Parent Trap. She appeared at the Kennedy Center as a soloist in “An Evening with Barbara Cook” and in “NSO Christmas Pops with Marvin Hamlisch.” 

Mark A. Harmon will star as Professor Marvel/The Wizard. Mark was seen in the national tours of Mamma Mia! (Harry Bright) and Hairspray (Wilbur Turnblad). He received a Carbonell Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for A Little Night Music (Broward Stage Door Theatre).  Shani Hadjian will star as the Wicked Witch of the West. Shani appeared in the national tour of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Madame de la Grande Bouche) and Fancy Nancy (Mom). Also starring in the production are Aaron Fried as Lion, Jay McGill as Tin Man, Morgan Reynolds as Scarecrow and Rachel Womble as Glinda. 

Click your heels together and join Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy and her little dog Toto, as they journey through the magical land of Oz to meet the Wizard and obtain their hearts’ desires. Watch out for the Wicked Witch of the West and her winged monkeys as you rediscover the real story of Oz in this fantastic musical treat for the whole family. 

Enter below to win 4 tickets to the show on April 13th at 7 pm at the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre!

Disclosure:  I received 4 tickets for my family for review purposes and four tickets for giveaway.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own. a Rafflecopter giveaway

3/21/16: Harlem Globetrotters 90th Anniversary Tour Game

Last weekend we got to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.  The game is so much fun for the whole family and we have a blast every time we go.

The great thing about their games is that they are so entertaining.  There is so much going on to keep kids interested and having a great time.  It is so fun watching them do trick shots and being silly.

 I love when they start out with Sweet Georgia Brown doing tricks.

One of my favorite players is Chris Handles.  He always does his little dance with two thumbs up.  Here he is telling the Ref that not everyone knows it is two shots when there is a foul.  He said this little baby doesn't know it is two shots.  He just happened to be in the same row as us. 

 The whole family enjoyed the game and rooting for the Globetrotters.

 

Always such a fun time with trick shots, replays, slow motion and more.

Plus after the game you can get all the players autographs.  That is the highlight for my son.  This is available to all ticket holders.

We give the game a two thumbs up and you will too!

You can see the full schedule here.

Disclosure:  I received a Four Pack of tickets to a Harlem Globetrotters game through the Harlem Globetrotters in exchange for this promotional post.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

5/28 - 6/4/11 - Disney World Fun!

I am reposting one of my favorite Walt Disney World blog post.  We love the most Magical Place on earth, Disney World.  Here are some highlights of our trip.  I took 2000 pictures!  Yes I am lucky we don't have to develop film any more.  Here are all my previous Disney posts.  I was recently asked by Trekaroo for my favorite tip and they have posted it in a roundup of tips on their blog along with a great giveaway for a Disney Vacation!

Here are some of my favorites and highlights of the vacation.  First off Bibbity Boppity Boutique.  This was well worth the money.  We brought our own dress to save money, but had Lauren's hair, makeup and nails done.  And Evan got the Knights package!  He loved it, and I loved the price of only $19 which included the shield and sword.  This is an awesome value!  The Knights package is the tip they shared.  I also have written a guest post on the Disney Gals on this topic that you can see here.

Here is Lauren getting made up.  She picked the hair that she wanted.

And Evan displaying his hidden Mickey Mouse.

Another highlight for the kids was to meet Rapunzel.  This can be up to a 3 hour wait but thanks to going to Bippity Boppity at 8 am we were in the park before it opened and were the first in line.  The newest characters are always the longest waits.

Another really cool character to meet was the Beast!

And of course with the popularity of Toy Story 3, Woody and Jessie were another hot character set to wait in the hot sun to see.  Note Lauren and Evan's shirts match them!

And of course I must have one picture with Mickey here.

We always love eating at the Castle.  Usually we do breakfast, but this time tried dinner.

And the whole family is excited to see Cars 2 coming out on June 24th.  Check out this in Epcot.

We also celebrated both of their birthdays there which included cupcakes, singing and cards signed by the characters.

 One of the signed cards.

Other highlights was that this year Lauren was 41 inches making her tall enough for Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Soarin and Test Track which made her very excited.  Evan was tall enough for Mommy's favorite ride Space Mountain and went on that and loved it!  Overall both of their favorites is still Small World, but we expanded their horizons a bit.
Lauren giving a thumbs up after Big Thunder Mountain.

And me and Evan ready to ride Space Mountain!

Something new that was added was projected photos on the Castle before the fireworks.  This new show is called The Magic, The Memories and You!  This was really cool!

Another cool thing we learned on this trip is how much you actually walk.  My husband had a FitBit on and it recorded up to 11 miles of walking a day!  Pretty cool.
Do you want to win a Walt Disney World Vacation?  Enter here:  
http://blog.trekaroo.com/15-know-before-you-go-expert-tips-for-your-disney-vacation/

Giveaway prize to include (there are 2 prizes): Package includes three-day park hopper passes for a family of four (two adults, two children) plus six (6) nights’ accommodation! Win a trip to Disneyland & Southern California! Package includes CityPass tickets for a family of four (includes three-day park hopper entrance to Disneyland and California Adventure) plus three nights’ at the Anaheim Courtyard Theme Park Entrance hotel.

What a wonderful vacation.  I can't wait to go back!!!!