If you read my post 11 Great Travel Shows for Kids or have little ones, then you know about Wild Kratts on PBS Kids. The show follows the adventures of animated and real-life versions of brothers Chris and Martin Kratt. In the show, the brothers travel around the world and encounter wild animals during stories of adventure and mystery.
The show is so educational that my kids not only stump me with wildlife questions, but also their teachers and tour guides at zoos. I mean, do you know what a tardigrade is?
The Kratt Brothers who were born in New Jersey but live in Canada, have created quite an empire for themselves thanks to their show. They now have a board game, a magazine, action figures and a live action show.
My wife, who’s in the know about everything related to our kids, made sure that I was on my computer the moment the Wild Kratts ticket sales went live. I felt like I was trying to enter a nuclear code to save the world, that’s how fast the seats were going.
In fact, I was planning to buy tickets for their Irvine show but the VIP seats were gone. So we booked tickets for their Thousand Oaks show. Their shows sold out so fast they ended up adding earlier shows in the day for both cities.
I had no idea how the VIP tickets worked except that we would get to meet them (and that they weren’t cheap!) There wasn’t much information online, which is why I’m taking the time to write about our experience. I wasn’t sure if we needed to show up early or stick around after the 6:30pm show, which is one of the reasons we arranged for a local hotel; we didn’t want to face a long drive home afterwards.
BTW: I’m not sure why the Kratt brothers didn’t do a show (or three!) in Los Angeles as I’m sure they would have sold out even quicker because many of my son’s friends are fans and had no idea about it. In case the organizers are reading this post, check out the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center for next year.
It turns out, the VIP meet and greet happens at the end of the show. The show lasts about 90 minutes including a 20-minute intermission. The show started right on time at 6:30pm and the first act ended at 7:20pm. The second act ended at 8:05pm so they really didn’t need an intermission, but I assume the intermission is really to sell more concessions, Wild Kratts toys, etc.
The VIP meet and greets are for those in the first three rows (be sure to pick up your wristband at the box office, though a representative later came by with bands and the master list). We sat in our seats for about 10 minutes until we were shuffled upstairs to a meeting room.
TIP: If you don’t want to wait 45 minutes, get a seat in the first row since they file people in by rows. We were in the center of row three and we met with Martin first at 9pm. The Kratt Brothers are at separate tables on each side of the room, which at first I thought was weird but it gives the kids a chance to ask each brother a question and have a bit more time with them.
All the kids loved the show and it was relatively entertaining for adults. But the kids screamed for these guys like they were the Beatles. I must say, at the meet and greet, I wasn’t disappointed. I could tell these guys must have been beat after doing two shows (they had an earlier one at 3:30) and they were still really nice and personable, gave each kid their attention and genuinely engaged with their questions and comments.
The kids get name tags, which makes it almost like magic for them because as they approached both Chris and Martin, they were greeted by name. Our little one just couldn’t believe they knew her name. Each child also gets a signed autograph from both, a copy of their latest magazine, a VIP lanyard and an activity book.
Their next shows are as follows, per their website.
May 1
Nashville, TN
May 2
Huntsville, AL
May 3
Greenville, SC
May 4
Durham, NC
May 5
Atlanta, GA
May 30
Eugene, OR
May 31
Portland, OR
June 1
Seattle, WA
June 2
Vancouver, BC
My kids were on Cloud 9 after meeting the Kratt brothers and said the whole experience was a dream come true. So, if your kids are Wild Kratts fans, surprise them with this amazing and unforgettable experience.
KEEP READING:
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–The 10 Most Instagrammable Tourist Attractions in California
–California Road Trip: Los Angeles to San Francisco and Must-Visit Stops Along the Way
–Our First Family Trip To Legoland and The Castle Hotel
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