Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents DRAGONS Review

We were very excited to be able to attend Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily DRAGONS last night in Grand Rapids. We arrived about an hour before the show for the pre-show. I thought it would be very busy and I wanted to make sure we were able to enjoy the pre-show. I was very lucky I did not have to wait in line to pick up the tickets for the show. Although I noticed about ten minutes later the line started to pick up. 

 

When we went through the lines we were able to walk down to the pre-show. It was very easy to get down to the pre-show. We were able to enjoy the pre-show for about 40 minutes. When we first got down on the floor we noticed a table where you could pick up a free red clown nose. With my children they had to open it up and try to wear them at that given moment. I was surprised on how many things that they had going on for the children before the show. They had a fun house, fake tattoos, one ring had clown skits and other acts. Than the far end where we did not go was where they had elephants and other animals for the kids to see. I would have to say I really enjoyed the pre-show and so did my children. I enjoyed how they did skits and at other time during the pre-show they would involve the children. My daughter really loved when the singer came out and they danced. She was the dancing queen out there. I really loved the pre-show and it kept the children occupied and entertained before the show. If there was not a pre-show it would of been difficult to keep my children still for that long.

 

After the Pre-Show we went to our seat anxiously waiting for the circus to begin. My dad, my kids and I have never been to any type of circus before so we were all excited to be there. It finally started and it was an amazing. I do not know where to start. The opening was amazing where everyone came out and was singing and dancing. They also announced that there were not live dragons, although someone noticed that there was a tail ;) Through out the show that happened a few times and no one believed him that he spotted the dragon until he was officially spotted.  

 

My daughter loved the animals when they brought them out. I will admit I got nervous when the brought the tigers out. They where beautiful cats and well trained. It was amazing to see the tricks that the cats could do. The one thing that I noticed is that the guy who worked with the tigers loved them very much. You could see the relationship and trust between them. I loved how the cats gave him kisses although that made me nervous. My daughter kept asking me if she could go pet the kitty. Although she is just turning three this weekend and did not fully understand. My dad really like the elephants that came out and they where very neat. My son told me that the elephants were smiling at times you could notice that they were happy. They did a few trick and stand on their podiums and was neat to watch. My favorite were the dogs that they brought out. They were very cute and very talented. I love to watch them jump over things. My favorite were the small dogs that would jump over the heardels on the lower part. I will say that there are some people who believe that circus animals are not treated fairly and over worked. I will say that this is NOT the case. They all looked healthy and happy. They were very well taken care of. I even noticed that they were rewarded during the show. You could tell that their trainers really cared for their animals.

 

My son had two favorites in the show the martial arts  and the motorcycles in the cage. During the show when the martial art guys came out I had to real him in just a little bit. He was trying to copy them. The martial arts guys showed their strength with breaking wood steal and bending steal. My son kept asking me how did they do that? I honestly told him I had no idea. I will admit there were times I had to look the other way because it looked like it had to hurt a lot. The motorcycles were simply amazing. They started out with four bikers in side and performing their tricks. What was amazing was they kept adding another biker until they reached to 8 bikes inside. You could hear the awws and claps in the audience. You could also feel the adrenaline in crowd while they were watching. That had to take a lot of practice and talent.

 

The clowns had me laughing throughout the show. Their were times the would come out and there were small things they did that would make you laugh. Their were a couple of the clowns I thought were very special and they made the whole act. I enjoyed the trapeze artist. It was amazing the height that they would get with they jumped back and forth and the strength. I thought it was amazing when the would would jump and twist and still catch the other person. I was amazed when one of the act did a triple twist in the air. That was amazing.

 

I could go on and on about the show and how amazing it was. Overall I would highly recommend the circus. The show was well put together, entertaining and ran very smoothly. I liked how one act would be performing the next act would be setting up and they would be so quiet you did not realize they where. The acts ran smoothly and also ran smoothly between acts. The whole show was intense and great quality. There was not a dull moment in the house. If you want to do something with the family this weekend. i would recommend going to the circus in Grand Rapids. If you are not from Grand Rapids check your local area and find out when they are coming!!