Monday night we went to the Arabian Nights holiday show, and when Gracie heard there would be horses, she quickly changed into her black boots and pink cowboy hat.
The show started at 6 p.m., but we arrived at 4:45 p.m. to take part in the pre-show VIP experience. You can add this experience to your Arabian Nights tickets for an extra fee, and we were excited to see what was in store.
We were led out into the show ring to meet some of the Arabian Nights horses. One horse was available for the kids to sit on, and two others were out for petting and pictures.
We then ventured backstage to the horse stables, where we got to visit with some of the performers in the show and see the horses getting ready to go. Gracie was fascinated with the neon makeup being put on a couple of the horses who perform under black lights in the show.
We were allowed to wander for about 30 minutes before we were told it was time to take our seats for the show.
The VIP Experience comes with a guarantee that you will be seated in the first three rows of the arena. We were delighted to find we were in the front row.
Dinner consisted of salad, a choice of entree that included roast pork, chopped steak, sirloin steak, chicken breast or chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and vegetables. The children’s meal was chicken tenders and mac n’ cheese. Dinner comes with beer, wine or soda. You can also order specialty drinks for an extra charge. Dessert was peppermint ice cream with chocolate sauce.
There was time to order our dinners and drinks before the show began, and the meals were served during the show.
Most of the year, Arabian Nights tells the story of Princess Scherzade’s birthday. But during the holidays, the show shifts to the tale of the newlywed Princess Scherzade, who is waiting for her prince to come home for Christmas.
Both the grown-ups and the kid in our party were very entertained by the show. There was lots of trick riding. Our favorite scene was when Santa’s elves came out and performed lots of acrobatics on the horses. It was really amazing!
They made it snow in the arena (which has been a common theme during our Kissimmee holiday trip!), and there was even a special appearance by a unicorn.
After the show, some of the performers and horses stayed at the edge of the ring for the audience to come up and take photos.
It was a really special evening. As a mom, I also appreciated that this wasn’t a late night – combining our dinner and entertainment meant I could still have my little one in bed by 9 p.m.
If you have a youngster who loves horses, I highly recommend the VIP Experience. It was fun to be backstage and see the performers. They were all very nice and were willing to answer our questions about the horses and the show.
Click here to see my photos from the Arabian Nights holiday show.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kissimmee CVB, Leigh Caldwell. Leigh Caldwell said: The VIP Experience at the Arabian Nights holiday dinner show: http://bit.ly/5xXeFn #visitkiss [...]