JURASSIC WORLD LIVE TOUR DETROIT

A Geek Daddy received complimentary tickets for promotional consideration from Feld Entertainment

Something BIG is coming to Detroit! Feld Entertainment is bringing the dinosaurs of Jurassic World to the city for a live stage show at Little Caesars Arena. The Jurassic World Live Tour will be having performances in Detroit November 14-17, 2019.

I was so geeked to have a chance to meet some of the cast of the show, including a baby stegosaurus, in advance of the Jurassic World Live Tour coming to town and my whole family is excited to go see Feld Entertainment bring these dinosaurs to life at Little Caesars Arena. This isn't one of those animatronic displays that tours the country which you will often see exhibited at museums and zoos, but rather a performance of an original Jurassic World story featuring actors and puppeteers utilizing elaborate costumes. Combining lifelike dinosaurs with pyrotechnics, special effects and vehicular stunts creates an extraordinary experience making audiences feel as if they are immersed within a Jurassic World adventure taking part right in front of them.

Getting a close up look at one of the dinosaurs from Jurassic World Live Tour, I have to say these outfits are spectacular! Mixing together traditional puppetry with high tech features, it really seemed as if I was interacting with a dinosaur. Isn't amazing the fantasy worlds we can be transported to thanks to today's technology.

These dinosaur suits are a marvel and have to give kudos to the performers who bring these creatures to life during Jurassic World Live Tour performances. With these dinosaur outfits weighting up to 120 pounds this is a physically taxing effort on these puppeteers. It also takes a tremendous amount of skill and practice to make these dinosaurs movements appear fluid and realistic while the creatures are running and jumping around a stage. They have to get choreography down as well as handling the physical and electronic controls that operate the dinosaur's movements ranging from blinking eyes to waving tails. From the advance preview of the stegosaurus this dad blogger had a chance to meet up close, I was really impressed.



Tickets are for sale now to see Jurassic World Live Tour for its upcoming stop in Detroit. I will be going to a show with my family courtesy of Feld Entertainment. My kids have been getting really excited about this night out every time they see one of the ads promoting these shows pop up on TV. It is sure to be a fun night!

If you want to join us in going to see Jurassic World Live Tour at Little Caesars Arena, Feld Entertainment has provided me with a special discount code to share with my ageekdaddy.com audience. Get great seats for just $20! Don't wait to use it though because not only are these shows coming up soon but this deal expires on November 13.

Great seats for only $20* 
Use code JWL20 (last character is a zero) 
Offer expires 11/13

Purchase tickets here

*Additional fees and restrictions apply. Limit 8 tickets per order. Save on processing fees by purchasing at the Box Office directly. Not valid on Opening Night- these tickets are already discounted to $15!



For more information about the show, go to jurassicworldlivetour.com

LITTLE CAESARS ARENA JOINS LEGOLAND MINILAND

The NHL's Redwings and NBA's Pistons have a new home in Detroit at the recently opened Little Caesars Arena in the city's downtown.  That isn't the only cityscape Little Caesars Arena is altering though … a reproduction of the sports stadium has just joined Comerica Park, Ford Field and other Detroit landmarks within the Miniland display at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan.  Being huge fans of our local sports teams, my kids and I were excited to be invited to the unveiling of this Little Caesars Arena model made entirely from LEGO toys.



We had a chance to meet Clint Parry, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan's own Master Builder, who constructed this miniature LEGO reproduction of Little Caesars Arena. To call this a "miniature" model though may be an understatement though as this replica is 6 feet long and consists of more than 30,000 bricks.  Parry spent 60 hours designing the model and more than 100 hours building it.

Some of the details he shared with us about this LEGO version of Little Caesars Arena is that it has more than 1,000 windows and 600 mini-figures within its layout. You could peek inside to see a hockey game being played on the ice rink during our visit, but Parry told us that this floor plan can be switched out to show mini-figures playing basketball on a hardwood court as well. So both the Red Wings and Pistons can be featured in this model of the home arena they share by switching some pieces in and out.

In addition to updating the Miniland with Little Caesars Arena, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan also created a mock parade taking place. The annual Thanksgiving Day parade down historic Woodward Avenue in Detroit has been going on since 1924 and has become known as "America's Thanksgiving Parade." It was a nice touch to have it added to the Miniland display during the holiday season.

My son was really impressed with the Merlin balloon that was incorporated into the Miniland's parade.  He brought up how much he liked it a number of times during our visit and on the drive home. By the way, Merlin Entertainments, which is the #1 company in Europe for operating entertainment attractions and the world's second largest attraction operator behind Disney, runs LEGOLAND locations so that parade balloon is also an Easter egg for their brand.

For the holiday season, Miniland has also received a coating of snow to give it a white Christmas feel. Check out one of my favorite place in Detroit, the Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle, covered in snow. I wonder if it will look like that in real life when my wife and I head over there next week for an annual Christmas party we always go to.

After the unveiling of Little Caesars Arena and walking around the Miniland, the kids spent some time making a LEGO build of their favorite Detroit sports team logo. Of course they picked the Old English D because they always see on the baseball caps I wear. Though I have to say the Detroit Lions logo template other kids were making with LEGO bricks looked really sharp.

While at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan for the Little Caesar Arena LEGO model unveiling, we also had some time to enjoy the other features that there are to enjoy there.  We watched a 4D cinema show about the Legends of Chima, took a spin on the Merlin's Apprentice ride, battled beastly trolls and sneaky skeletons on the Kingdom Quest ride, and built LEGO cars that we raced on a test track. It is always a good time when our family visits LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan.

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan is located at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, Michigan's largest indoor outlet mall, in the northern metropolitan Detroit suburban community of Auburn Hills. For more information about this family friendly play spot, head over to michigan.legolanddiscoverycenter.com.