Thomas and Friends Live

We took Spencer to the Budweiser Events Center to see Thomas and Friends Live.  It was a huge hit.  We don't watch the tv show; I think the characters are too grouchy and not very nice to one another, and Spence emulates everything he sees onscreen.  But he has a train table that he plays with daily, and has plenty of Thomas paraphernalia, and knows the names of the engines, so it seemed like it would be a hit.
He chose his favorite Thomas t-shirt and carried an engine out to the car and we drove off to Loveland.  Parking was free and pretty easy, and getting into the event was also a breeze.  They took a quick peek inside our backpack (not sure what for), but didn't really look much - just said, "stuff for the kid?  OK!"  Spencer informed them that we had water with us, and they said, "shhh!"  So we had no trouble bringing in our drinks and snacks and whatnot.  In our experience so far at many, many children's shows, this is generally true - they don't deprive you of the snacks and assorted drinks that will keep your child quiet and happy for the next 90 minutes.  I don't think this is the general venue policy, so I wouldn't rely on it, but I have yet to go to a kid event (two Elmo shows, the circus several times, Thomas, etc.) and have them take away our supplies.  Whereas when attending adult shows, I have been routinely deprived of my water bottle or granola bar. 

The show started right on time, and was extremely high energy.  Even sitting way up where we were, Spencer was extremely engaged, and all of the characters did a great job of getting the kids wound up - singing, clapping, dancing, making train noises, etc.  Spencer's eyes were like saucers.  They brought out Thomas right away, and Percy not too long after.  Diesel also made an ongoing (grouchy) appearance.  Sir Topham Hat and his grandson and some woman (?) did a lot of singing and dancing.  There was a mine accident, a lot of opportunities for Thomas to save the day for the Lantern Festival, and a lot of joyful train noises.  Spencer was really in heaven.  If you're trying to decide if this show is worth it, and your child likes Thomas even a little - I'd say go for it.  The tickets aren't cheap, but they really put on a fantastic show.

Also, in direct contrast to every other kids' show we've been to, there was no hawker during the intermission.  No $20 Thomas balloons or $15 commemorative snow cone cups or $10 bags of cotton candy or popcorn.  They had concessions and Thomas stuff for sale in the lobby, but no one wandered the aisles tempting my toddler, and that was fantastic.

As for those ticket prices - do a little searching around.  The Events Center gave the Luna Moms a discount code (GSTICKETS) that took off a little.  We bought our tickets before we had the code, and I think we managed to find a code online that also helped.  Worth searching around, anyway.