to take 2yo DC to a theatre performance with min age 3yo

[drivenfromdistraction]

It's the Lion King. I bought tickets for me, DH and the three DC. After I'd completed the whole process, paid and everything, the chap on the phone listed some Ts and Cs (non-refundable, non-exchangeable etc. oh, and children must be 3yo or older). I didn't say anything.

DD will turn 3 six weeks after the performance. She's been to lots of theatre, including Xmas pantomimes (long) and never made any fuss or disturbance.

If she, or the other DC (4 and 6) for that matter made a disturbance then DH would obviously take them out.

I don't think IAB hugely U, but I do have a niggling feeling at some level. What do others think?

Oh God I had no idea there was an age limit...

...PIL have bought tickets for all of us to see it in Cardiff in November. They are making a really big deal out of it. DS is currently 4, will be just 5 by then. He can sit quietly but is scared of EVERYTHING. I assumed they'd checked all that before booking.

What the hell do I do? How scary is it? I'm going to be the DIL from hell now aren't I?

it IS scary for part of it..... DH and I have seen the London show - one bit made me jump, and some of it has "an air of menace"... was he ok with the film? with nasty Scar... would he be ok with that level of nastiness but really sudden and REALLY loud?

He hasn't seen the film! He was scared by How to Train your Dragon recently and has a tendency to go behind the sofa at certain points in various films .

Maybe I should show him the film and see how he is?

She will be wriggling about, crying, hanging on the seat in front, kneeling on the seat and making face at the people behind and you will think all of this is cute. And because you have paid a fortune for the seats you will expect not to be asked to leave. I hope other patrons complain.

No, if she behaves like that, she'll be straight out. Not to be offensive, but the money isn't a big deal for us, and DH would be more than happy to sit in the cafe with her.

she may be the sort of child who is transfixed by the theatre
yes, this. She is utterly transfixed by music also, just sits in a kind of attentive dream. But of course something might go wrong this time, in which case straight out. Our seats are very close to the aisle (though we would have to file past 2 people).

I think I will look for stageshow clips on YouTube or similar if there are any and try playing those to the DC to gauge their reaction.

I didn't think the tour was very scary. The tour & West End show are different though & I haven't see the west end show. The tour has the animals coming through the auditorium which some kids find a bit overwhelming if they're in the stalls.

She sounds like ds2. I don't think he would have made a whimper aged 2 watching it - he would have done the dream like trance as well. Ds3 on the other hand would have been pointing out all the flaws 'what's that? It doesn't look like an elephant. No it doesn't. Why do I have to be quiet?' So I wouldn't have wasted a ticket on him. It's just knowing your child. It's long - if she can cope with long & is fascinated rather than freaked out by big puppets I suspect she'll be fine.

YABU to try to take a 2 yr old to the theatre, yes.
tbh, unless it is a shorter show, put on specifically for Pre-schoolers, then YAalsoBU to take a 4 yr old.

It might not be a lot of money for you, but it will be for a lot of people around you who don't want to be disturbed but children having to be taken out.

She may be transfixed but for 3 hours? That's a long long time for a 2 year old... Hell I get bored after an hour and a half and I'm 30...

How is she going to see over the heads of the people in front?

I took my youngest to Lion King when she was 2, in the year it opened. Like your dd, she was a quiet child who could concentrate and was used to the theatre. She was completely entranced for the first half and slept soundly through the second half. She still remembers it fondly to this day (she is now 17).

My DD was very familiar beforehand with the video (DVD these days obv) which really helped, I reckon.

YANBU if you are happy to take her out if necessary - I assume there will be another adult to watch the others if you do need to leave? I bet you don;t need to though.

Enjoy! It's fantabulously brilliant. I want to go again (now 15 years since I went)

Do it! You know your child and whether she will be likely to enjoy it or spoil it for others, and as long as you're not going to be selfish about it, I don't see the problem.

When my ds was 2 he was obsessed with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, watched the songs from the film over and over and always asked for the cd to be on in the car. We took him to see the stage show when he was 2y8m and he loved it. The only time he spoke was to ask when toot sweets was coming on and to complain quietly to us that two of the songs were in a different order to that of the film and the cd.

There was a girl behind us who looked about 8 or 9 that talked far more than he did, and started crying at the child catcher bit. Her parents may have made the wrong choice for their child, but we didn't.

The lion king is amazing. Would love to go again - I went with my employers (I'm a nanny) and we took a 3 & 4.5yr and they loved it :)

If they say 3yrs and dd is 6 weeks off it then I wouldn't worry

As with any performance /show if your child is noisey /disruptive then the adult needs to take out

Think it was 1.5hrs then interval then another hour or so

Enjoy :)

I don't see a problem, her father will be there to remove her if it gets too much. Every child is different, if you think she'll enjoy it, then why not? You're not going to allow her cause a disturbance so there's no issue.