What are Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and American Idol Experience?

[Hoosier Mom]

Could someone describe these two attractions for me? Are they suitable for a 4 year old?

Also I've read that "It's tough to be a bug" could be a little too much for a child. What exactly is wrong with the show? We haven't seen it. I've heard there's a big snake, and a sting (I'm assuming this is some sort of device on the chairs). Is that it?

Thanks for the info.

[PebblesMK]

Bugs life is good but may be a bit intense. Hopper the grasshopper is an animatronic huge thing that comes out in a cloud of smoke near the stage which is loud and the smoke is a bit daunting, especially if you're closer to the front. My daughter loved it when she was 4, but we just went last week (she'll be 9 next month) and it scared the poop out of her! The stinger is part of the chair, if you lean forward, you won't feel it. You'll know it's coming too. Also, I think at some point, there is a slight spray of "poison" which scared some kids in the audience. I don't remember a snake...but it's possible....if it's too scary, take off the glasses or walk out. It's not worth having a terrified child, but like I said, my daughter loved it when she was little and thought the sting and the poison and hopper were hilarious.

We didn't do the American Idol thing, but Monsters Inc laugh floor is soooooo funny. Then again, we like really cheesy humor. You can text in jokes before the show and if they're picked, they'll be read and tell your (or childs) name and hotel. They randomly choose people in the audience and they show up on a big screen where one of the monster comedians will ask a simple question like "where are you from" and then turn it into a joke. Some things may go over a 4 year olds head, but for the most part, it's great fun and my daughter wanted to do it time and again. We did get lucky that we were there during the halloween party so it wasn't a full audience. I'm not sure if that made it better or not? I would say it's a not miss.

[Hoosier Mom]

Thanks for the info...

Maybe the snake was in the attraction called "Honey I Shrunk the Audience". Never saw that one either. I think it's gone now.

[MichelleinMaine]

The snake is/was (?) in Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

I had to take my DS at 2 out of Tough to Be a Bug (AK had just opened the week before, we had no idea what it was and 4d was very new at the time anyway.) He was so "traumatized", it was only last year (at 12, lol) he'd go again. My mom had to convince him he would like it now, lol. That said though, if your child has seen/likes the 4d attractions and likes them, the show itself is funny.

We love love love Monsters Inc though. As said, it's cheesy jokes and they put audience members' faces up on the screen. There is one part talking about "that guy" who messes things up, etc (I can't even remember what they said exactly, laughing too hard!) and that audience person (adult) ends up on screen repeatedly as a lighthearted butt of jokes. It ended up being my DH one time we went and the neices and nephews still refer to him as "that guy". Definately nothing scary in there.

[xipetotec]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Mom

Could someone describe these two attractions for me? Are they suitable for a 4 year old?

Also I've read that "It's tough to be a bug" could be a little too much for a child. What exactly is wrong with the show? We haven't seen it. I've heard there's a big snake, and a sting (I'm assuming this is some sort of device on the chairs). Is that it?

Thanks for the info.

Monsters Inc Laugh Floor is a riot. There's nothing scary ( imho ), if the 4 year old likes Monsters Inc, this is the attraction for him/her. It's basically a comedy club run by the monsters.

It's tough to be a bug can be scary when Hopper appears and has the "evil" bugs attack the humans. The room goes COMPLETELY smoky, spiders drop down from the ceiling, and you get "stung" by bees in your chair... That being said, it's a great show and everything depends on your child. Put it this way, when we first went, my youngest was 3 and my oldest was 7. The oldest was terrified by this, the 3 year old ( and also my 5 year old daughter ) loved it. Got a total kick out of it.

[Dopey420]

Every single performance of Its Tough to be a Bug ends in several parents rushing screaming, crying, terrified kids out of the theater.

[tam626]

We took our 4 yr old last week to Monsters Inc laugh floor & he really enjoyed it.

[iluveeyore]

If you enjoy American Idol, don't miss the AI Experience - we did this for the first time in September and loved it! Just like being at the show, and the performers are actual visitors who auditioned before performing - there were 3 performers and then you get to vote one of them through to the finale at the end of the day - I think there are 3-4 shows per day and they're all different. Great music and lots of fun!
And don't miss the Laugh Floor - we went several times, different each time as well. The humour is fine for little children, and they enjoy it a lot!
Tough to be a Bug - skip this unless your child doesn't scare easy. If you really want to see it (we love it!), sit near an exit seat just in case you have to take your screaming child out, or let them try it without the 3D glasses. A better 3D show is Philharmagic with all the Disney characters.
Enjoy!

[momto3boys]

The American Idol Experience is pretty much what it would be like to go to see Idol live in person. They audition people all day outside of the theater to be on the show and choose 3 for each "episode". These are real people who just happen to be in the park for the most part, although there are some people who come to the park ONLY to audition for the show. The show has a real host who runs everything and a panel of judges who are quirky just like the real Idol judges. The show itself consists of each of the contestants signing a song and then being judged on their performance by the judges. The audience gets to vote at the end for the best one who then moves on to the daily final performance. The winner of the final show wins an AI Golden Ticket which gets them to the front of the line at ANY REAL American Idol audition anywhere in the US.
We went and had a great time and really enjoyed the show. We like watching the show at home so for the kids it really was like being on Idol. When we left the theatre we saw the winner for our show hanging out with his mom and had a chance to chat with him for a while. Very nice guy who came only to try out and try to win a GT. We went back that evening for the final show and got to vote for him to win which he did. I would recommend the show for almost anyone who likes the TV show or watching people sing. There is nothing scary or bad about it except having to wait for it to start.

[S. C.]

go to youtube.com and search American Idol Experience. There is a video of the first one and tells all about it. Can't wait to see it on our next trip.

[eksb327]

Our 3-year-old enjoyed the Monsters, Inc. show - it's interactive and funny. We skipped the American Idol show- not big fans and felt that the content would not hold the interest of our preschooler and 1st-grader. The Tough to be a Bug show was intense--but our daughter was too short to feel the sting or anything else other than the spray. She didn't cry, but I wouldn't do it again until she's a bit older.

[Hoosier Mom]

Thanks so much for all the info.....I think we'll be skipping the bug show and American Idol. We'll be sure to catch the Monster show.

Thanks!

[tekoa]

The monsters are funny we really enjoyed this show. We enjoyed American Idol as well, but I think a 4 year old would probably be bored.

[yrdlyprincess]

I was so nervous before we went down last time (DS was 3) and I thought that he would be afraid of this and that--I was SOOO wrong-- he loved Barnstormer and Mickey's Philharmagic--which is the same concept as Tough to be a bug -with the 3d stuff. He cried because I wouldn't let him on TOT--I wish I would have let him do more.