Recently, we had the opportunity to take our 2.5 year old to her first musical! We took her to The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to see Frozen The Broadway Musical. We had such a positive experience.
I Won’t Lie, I Was Nervous!
I won’t lie, I was nervous about the experience. Josey is so well behaved and does well sitting for periods of time. But I truly was anxious about not wanting to ruin other show goers experience. Especially since I know the show is marketed to “six and up” and you pay good money for tickets. But I knew it would be a special Christmas present and a special chance to expose her to something she absolutely loved. I couldn’t wait for her to see the characters and music from Frozen.
And turns out, we had an AMAZING time. She sat through the entirety of each act, and had a great time stretching her little legs at intermission! The theatre was full of children and families, we had all our “toddler distraction tools” at our disposal. We really didn’t have to use as many as we thought we would!
Below are some tips for taking a toddler to a musical.
Tips:
Pick your seats carefully!
- I called the theatre and ordered seats over the phone. I was recommended the first tier for better view for little ones. I also asked for seats as close to an aisle and exit as I could get, knowing we may have to get up and down.
All the Snacks
- As always in toddlerhood, SNACKS are key 🍿 for the first act (about an hour long) she was so enthralled that she didn’t need a single thing. But at the start of the second act (about 50 minutes long) she was starting to get a little hungry. We brought QUIET snacks (meaning we had to skip her favorite crackers 🤣), took them out of their wrappers, and put them into reusable snack bags. We had them ready at the top of our bag when we needed them! If you listen to any of these tips, make it this one!
- Our favorite snacks (everything removed from their wrapper!): Elmo Bar, Applesauce Pouches, Sesame Street Puffs, Sesame Street Letter of the Day cookies
Special New Toy
- As we got to the theatre, we gave her a new Elsa baby doll that she carried in with her. She snuggled her throughout the first act! Then at intermission a girl next to my daughter was snuggling her Olaf and so I had to run to the gift shop to grab her her own Olaf souvenir, but honestly it’s the perfect treat for her first Broadway show so take my money! I guess my point is to add some extra cash for fun treats and trinkets to your show budget 😂
Bring Your Own Booster
- We brought our own booster seat 💺The theatre does have some available. However, I was advised that child-friendly shows often run short of the ones they have available. Having our own meant we didn’t have to worry.
Arrive Early
- Josey was in awe of everything, from the parking garage (LOL), the escalator, the gift shop, the snack bar, etc. We let her walk by herself, and printed her a fake ticket so that she could have the ticket people “scan” it for her. Taking our time through all of these things made the experience special for her and I wouldn’t have wanted to have to rush through it.
Know The Bathroom Situation
- Use the family restroom at intermission if you can. If Dad is with you, just send the toddler with him because there is always NO line at that restroom! We are still in diapers with our little, but it was nice that they had family restrooms available.
We Had the Best Experience!
Overall, we couldn’t have had a better trip. My best advice is to just Let It Go ❄️ (sorry I couldn’t help myself). We were prepared for the worst, but ended up having an incredible experience.
In fact, there was a very kind mother next to us (who brought her 20 year old daughter!). I “apologized in advance” for any getting up and down that we might have to do. She smiled and said, “I understand, she was two and a half too, once!” motioning to her daughter. It was the nicest thing she could have said to me in that moment.
Sometimes you just have to put the anxieties to rest and remember that our sweet babes are just as deserving of having these fun experiences, too!
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