Pittsburgh Family Fun - Life's a Circus at Idlewild

Pittsburgh Family Fun goes to Idlewild & Soakzone with the Royal Hanneford Circus

Every year on Matthew's birthday we take the day off and make a special trip to Idlewild & Soak Zone.  Just by luck, Idlewild offers their annual BOGO days right around Matthew's birthday every single year, so it's the perfect time to go.  This year their BOGO days are June 14-18 and June 21-25.  That means we'll be heading out for our annual pilgrimage this Friday. We are all so excited!

But last week I was thrilled to open my email and get an invitation to bring the boys out for a special media day preview of their newest attraction, the Royal Hanneford Circus.  We arrived before the park opened and were treated to a performance of the circus before it opened to the general public.

I've always believed that Idlewild is not only one of the best parks in the world for kids (in fact, it's ranked #2 in the world by Amusement Today) but that it's an awesome deal. For the price of one admission ($29.99) you get admission to both Idlewild and Soak Zone, their attached waterpark.  We could spend an entire day at just one of these great parks, and yet we get to enjoy both for the same admission ticket. And if you find that one day just isn't enough, they offer a second day pass for $15.99 to come back the next day.

But now Idlewild has gone and outdone even themselves by adding a circus!

The Royal Hanneford circus tent is located near the Mister Rogers trolly ride in Racoon Lagoon (the kiddie ride area) and will be offering three shows daily on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and two shows daily on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The circus will run through August 22.  The 30-minute show is included in your Idlewild & Soak Zone admission price.

The family-run circus features several fun and family-friendly acts including the traditional ringmaster (Ringmaster Charlie), Alex the Clown, Olena, who (amazingly) twirls hula hoops, (silly) strong man, performing dobermans,Russian bar act (how she lands back on that bar is a mystery to me!), The Bilea Troupe quick change artists and the finale, The Flying Fernandez family that thrills the audience in the giant wheels of doom.  

The acts are all short enough to sustain the attention of even the busiest of kids and they provide enough comedy to keep the kids laughing.  The entire show lasted about 30 minutes.  My only complaint was the heat inside the tent, you might want to bring a cold drink in with you. 

I asked the kids what their favorite act was and they simply said "all of them!". My favorite act was the The Ukrainian Tornado”, Olena Deshko, the hula hoop twirler . It was a visual feast for the eyes and made for some great photos.

The circus is a great addition to an already busy and fun day at Idlewild & Soak Zone.  The park just oozes nostalgia, right from the moment you pull in the grassy, railroad tie parking spots (no big ashphalt jungle here, this park is built into the landscape of the Laurel Highlands, with plenty of shady trees and rolling hills.  The rides are not fancy, there is no Disney animation here, just good old-fashioned rides that make you feel like you've gone "back to basics". I guarantee you will enjoy your day at Idlewild & Soak Zone, especially with the addition of the (free!) circus.

If you've never been to Idlewild & Soak Zone before, you might want to read my review of it here  http://pittsburghmom.com/blogs/pittsburghmom/archive/2008/07/02/idlewild-worth-the-drive.aspx

If you want a sneak peak at the acts, check out this YouTube video created by Idlewild