Pantomime suitable for 3yo?

[WethreelittlebabiesOfOrientAre]

Thinking of taking ds to see Peter Pan in Manchester (Phil from Eastenders playing Captain Hook/Mr Darling!)
DH aka ebeneezer scrooge thinks it will be a waste of money and he wont sit through it. A friend went last week and says it is roughly an hour each half. DS today sat through most of Mary Poppins and is always glued to his Peter Pan dvd so I thought it would be ok.
Has anyone taken a 3yo to a panto- did they like it and did they behave?!!

My Daughter went to one last year aged 3 and 3 months (was only a cheap local one, wouldn't have paid for a 'proper' one until older)

she did wriggle a lot in the second and had to ask what was happening, what they were doing quite a bit

I think Panto's often go over a childs head, lots of the jokes are aimed at the adults!

Depends on your child I suppose, but I wouldn't have took her last year and even now at 4 and 4 months I wouldn't take her to see Cinderella panto as it was a lot of money and I am still not sure she wouldn't get bored

Not taken DD to a panto yet but she has been to the theatre a few times. And she can sit/stand through it and keeps concentration well.

Really wanted to take DD to the panto this year but the city one is quite expensive for all of us to go to and I wasn't organised to sort out a smaller one.

Took Loads of kids at this age ... some can cope others can't ... it's aminly down to the fact that these pantos can go on and on .... oura goes on for 3 hrs

But if they enjoy it ( and 1.5 hrs is not that long ) it's well worth just seeing their little faces - bless

Personally I don't think it's worth taking small ones to pantos and full-scale expensive shows, but i have taken DS to lots of smaller, cheaper shows aimed specifically at under 5's, and I think he gets a lot more out of it. Also, they can get quite scared, sitting in the darkened auditorium, and it's all happening 'for real' in front of them. Quite different to a dvd.
But lots of kids are fine - but once you've paid for all the tickets, overpriced ice cream, etc it can be a lot of money.

I think five is a good age for a proper panto - four if your child is good at sitting still (ie a girl!). Children's shows of around 45mins are better.
Took ds (4) to Jack and The Beanstalk this year. He was very fidgety but we have played Pantomimes every day since, so he must have loved it.

I took ds2 (nearly 3) to the local panto. I really wasn't sure how he'd cope because he can get very hyper. He had a fantastic time and even managed to get a few laughs of his own. He was so tired out that he actually fell asleep for the last 15 minutes or so.

I think a lot depends on the individual child and circumstances tbh. It's possible that if ds2 had been in a different mood on the day then it might well have all gone wrong.

Our DS1 totally freaked out by the music and dark and we left after about ten minutes as he was becoming hysterical.

But then he is a bit of a woss, so really depends on child...

My dd went at 2, because we took her with her older brother. She enjoyed it and did siut still throughout - there's so much going on she was thoroughly entertained but a bit scared of the baddy. My ds really enjoyed it at 4.

Took DD's 1 & 2 (5.5 and 4 this month) to our local panto. Ours is very long, 2.5 hours but they loved every minute and behaved perfectly [proud emoticon].

might be worth finding out if they still have decent seats available before you decide. when ds2 was 3 we had to leave half way through cos i bought tickets late and we were right at the back so he couldnt see much and got bored. got good seats last year and this year and even ds3 (now 18m) sat happily through it. i would also try a cheapy local one before splashing out lots as ds wont care if the stars are celebs or not. then if you do have to leave early its not too upsetting for ebeneezer

I took dd to her first panto when she was 2 and she loved every minute of it, but it was more of a play than the average panto, and was Cinderella, so she knew the story. I would give it a go personally, but it is very child-dependent.

I took DD, 2yrs9mos, last week to Dick Whittington at the Zoo. I chose there as I thought we could always go round the Zoo if she couldn't tolerate it. She loved it! There were a couple of moments when she looked like she might try to get off her seat and leave but things kept moving along and she forgot. She also ate my hot dog in the interval

WeThree - we nearly went to that one (DS is 5) but went to Cinderella at the Lowry instead. Ours was 2 hours long but was great!

As its quite expensive, I'd try a smaller, cheaper local one first & see how you go.

Took DS1(4) and DD(2) to aladin before christmas, DS was fidgety and said it was too long, DD didn't follow the story but loved the spectacle of it all especially the music and the dancers, so i'd definately say depends on the child.

i think it is if you can bare to sit through it. it is my idea of hell

Thanks everyone. Have booked for just myself and ds to go, makes it cheaper, and don't think dh fancied it anyway! He's obsessed with pirates and Captain Hook at the moment so hopefully will sit through it. We're on the end of a row if I have to do a runner anyway!

I've just taken my DD (25 months) and she loved it. Was very bored by the last 20 mins, but other than that, she lasted the two hour show really well.

I found taking lots of chocolate worked well, as she ate that and other goodies through and they also sold these light up windmill things, and they were great, as all the children were waving them and she found that easy to do.

By the end, she had even got the hang of all the 'booing' - so she obviously got something out of it. Although, I'd say if you can get an aisle seat - lots of mums of other toddlers did that and they let them play on the steps which was good.

We also went to see Peter Pan (not Manchester though) and DD loved it!

ds LOVED the pantomime, so much so that he cried at the interval and even more when it finished. I was less thrilled about it all as had forgotten how naff and somewhat innappropriate they are, but it was worth it to see him beside himself with glee!