How to Train Your Dragon Live is Truly Spectacular

Flying and fire breathing dragons, break dancing Vikings and awesome special effects were some of the things that my eight-year-old son Sean and I loved about going to see Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular last night at the United Center here in Chicago.

There was a packed house on opening night and you could feel the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd. The audience was very engaged, clapping and cheering throughout the show.

The performers were talented and funny, at times even speaking directly to the audience and we were happy to reply. They seemed fearless as they were suspended from wires climbing and flying around the set and even riding on top of the dragons. There was Cirque du Soliel type acrobatics throughout the show, which was fun to watch.

The dragons were incredible and so life like. From the moment Sean got a glimpse of "Toothless," one of the first life size dragons to enter the stage, he proclaimed,"okay, that is awesome!"

It all seemed very real from actually being able to feel the heat from the fire to feeling like we were a part of the story.

I can't say enough about the special effects and how truly spectacular they were. Sean kept saying, "that's just so cool!"

One of my favorite parts of the show, besides the dragons and special effects were the break dancing Vikings. I certainly wasn't expecting to see that last night! Sean described that part of the show as "futuristic meets the oldies!"

Since my son had read the book and seen the movie version of How to Train Your Drain, he was constantly comparing the story lines of  both during the show last night. He concluded that what we saw was a combination of both, since there were parts in the show that were in the book, but not the movie and vice versa. However he said that all the characters in the show were also in the movie, though not necessarily the book.

One final note, though the show was amazing, we were seated behind a family of four, three of which had big Viking helmets with horns that lit up and blinked off and on rapidly, alternating between red and blue. These were one of the souvenirs that you could purchase there.

Having this group sitting in front of  us was kind of like trying to watch the show with three sets of multicolored strobe lights in the way! I get why they make them, because they are fun for those who buy them and a big money maker, but it was very distracting.

Other than that, I highly recommend How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular if you get the chance to see it here in Chicago or somewhere else on the nationwide tour.

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If you want to get tickets to see the show here in Chicago (or anywhere nationwide), you can save 25% off select seats to weekday shows (including Friday nights) on Ticketmaster with the promo code: MOM.

Here are the details:

Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular at the United Center

Friday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 28 at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 29 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

All performances include free parking at official United Center parking lots. Tickets are on sale now and start at $26.50 plus applicable facility fees and service charges. They may be purchased through Ticketmaster or by going to www.unitedcenter.com. A limited number of special premium Dragon Hot Seats, VIP and family packages are available.

Check out this sneak peek of Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular which aired May 11 on the Today Show.

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Fun Facts about Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular:
• Produced over a two-year period in Melbourne, Australia
• 23 Dragons (including 12 different dragon species)
• Dragon wings span up to 46ft
• Each large dragon weighs over 2.6 tons (the size of a family car)
• Over 2 miles of “Dragon Skin” was created
• The production has the largest number of animatronics ever to tour the globe.
• The Red Death Dragon is the largest animatronic ever built by Creature Technology Company at over 40 feet high and 60 feet wide.
• Travels in over 30 18-Wheeler Trucks (52’ each) with a touring cast & crew of 85.
• Together the show weighs over 200,000 pounds.
• It would take one person over a year to load in the production.
• Takes over 160 people to set up the production in each city (the equivalent of one person working 24 hours over 70 days).
• If all the cables in the production were laid out end to end, they would stretch from Los Angeles to New York City.
• The production created the first-ever touring flight track system that weighs over 28 tons.
• The flight track uses a proprietary barcode system. The creatures scan a barcode strip as they fly around the track which tells them (and us) where they are at all times.
• Toothless weighs over 7,500 pounds and flies over 1.2 miles throughout the performance which is equivalent to a Range Rover soaring through the arena.
• There are more automation cues in the opening sequence alone than a Broadway musical has in a night.
• The first-ever fully immersive live experience with projection spanning more than 20,000 square feet throughout the entire arena. The back projection wall is equivalent to 9 movie screens combined.

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Disclaimer: I received two free tickets to Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular to write and share this review, as well as this previous blog entry, but the words and opinions in this post are my own.

How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular

Flying Hiccup (Rarmian Newton) and Toothless.
Photo credit: Lisa Tomasetti

Awhile back my parents gave my eight-year-old son Sean the book and movie versions of How to Train Your Dragon. My mom had heard what a great story it was and since she is a retired reading specialist, I especially appreciate her opinions when it comes to book recommendations for my children.

So recently when I heard that there was a live show version of the story and that it is coming to Chicago later this month, I was excited to learn more about it and try to get tickets to take Sean.

Sean, like a lot of school age children, is really into electronics and special effects in movies and stage performances. The more Sean and I learn about Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular, the more impressed I think we will be when we get to go see it on opening night Thursday, July 26th.


If you want to get tickets to see the show here in Chicago (or anywhere nationwide), you can save 25% off select seats to weekday shows (including Friday nights) on Ticketmaster with the promo code: MOM.


Here are the details:

Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular at the United Center

Thursday, July 26 at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 28 at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 29 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

All performances include free parking at official United Center parking lots. Tickets are on sale now and start at $26.50 plus applicable facility fees and service charges. They may be purchased through Ticketmaster or by going to www.unitedcenter.com. A limited number of special premium Dragon Hot Seats, VIP and family packages are available.

Check out this sneak peek of Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular which aired May 11 on the Today Show.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fun Facts about Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular:
• Produced over a two-year period in Melbourne, Australia
• 23 Dragons (including 12 different dragon species)
• Dragon wings span up to 46ft 
• Each large dragon weighs over 2.6 tons (the size of a family car) 
• Over 2 miles of “Dragon Skin” was created
• The production has the largest number of animatronics ever to tour the globe. 
• The Red Death Dragon is the largest animatronic ever built by Creature Technology Company at over 40 feet high and 60 feet wide. 
• Travels in over 30 18-Wheeler Trucks (52’ each) with a touring cast & crew of 85. 
• Together the show weighs over 200,000 pounds. 
• It would take one person over a year to load in the production. 
• Takes over 160 people to set up the production in each city (the equivalent of one person working 24 hours over 70 days). 
• If all the cables in the production were laid out end to end, they would stretch from Los Angeles to New York City. 
• The production created the first-ever touring flight track system that weighs over 28 tons. 
• The flight track uses a proprietary barcode system. The creatures scan a barcode strip as they fly around the track which tells them (and us) where they are at all times. 
• Toothless weighs over 7,500 pounds and flies over 1.2 miles throughout the performance which is equivalent to a Range Rover soaring through the arena. 
• There are more automation cues in the opening sequence alone than a Broadway musical has in a night. 
• The first-ever fully immersive live experience with projection spanning more than 20,000 square feet throughout the entire arena. The back projection wall is equivalent to 9 movie screens combined. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disclaimer: I received two free tickets to Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular to write and share this blog entry, but the words and opinions in this post are my own. I will write a follow up post/review after Sean and I see the show on opening night on July 26th.

AboutOne: Helping You Manage What Matters Most

Welcome to my very first review here on One of a Kind Reviews!

Thank you to those of you that have come over from and have been following me over the years (or more recently) on my main blog Four of a Kind!

If you are here for the first time, I have been blogging regularly for over four years now about parenting, secondary infertility and loss at my main blog Four of a Kind (formerly Three of a kind working on a full house...).

I recently have gotten more involved in the blogosphere, beyond my own little corner of it at Four of a Kind, including joining the team at Exhale Magazine as the PR person (doing most of the Facebooking and Tweeting) and as a regular contributor to the quarterly issues (our Summer Issue will be out later this month), as well as the BlogHer Publishing Network, BlogHer Book Club as a Reviewer (my first book review will be posted on BlogHer next week) and BlogHer Reviewers Program (a component of the BlogHer Publishing Network). In doing so, I decided that it made sense to start a separate blog for me to be able to share my thoughts and opinions about products and services that you might also be interested in learning more about. From time to time I may also have the opportunity to do some "giveaways" and pass some product and service discounts that I am able to receive as a reviewer on to you, as my readers.

Today I am excited to tell you about a new web service that I have been using lately and share a way for you to check it out and try it too! A friend of mine recently started working for a company called AboutOne that has created a really interesting and unique website for busy moms, parents and families to organize their lives in one central location online. As an avid computer and smart phone user, that seemed like a technology and service that would be right up my alley!

I love one of AboutOne's tag lines "helping you manage what matters most," which I included in the title of this post, as I think it really captures what they have to offer you through their service. This is how they describe themselves on their Twitter and Facebook pages:

AboutOne makes managing family memories & household information fast, fun, and easy – while saving time and money, and helping you make informed decisions.

AboutOne is a secure web service that helps busy families manage what matters most: family memories and household information. Customers enter pieces of information as life happens, from any location, with any device, at any time.

AboutOne is a practical online service that was designed by moms for moms (and dads too) to help manage household information and special memories in a fun way.

I recently had the opportunity to get a free year long trial membership to AboutOne and have really enjoyed my experience exploring and using this service so far. Since they are still developing AboutOne to reach its full potential and meet the needs and desires of its customers, they welcome and encourage users to to give feedback and suggestions. I have been very impressed with their customer support service. They are timely and thorough in their replies.

Right off the bat when I was getting started entering information about my life and my family on AboutOne, I realized that they didn't have an option for indicating if one of your family members is deceased. As a bereaved mother, I wanted to be able to include our infant daughter Molly who was born and died in April 2008. I also imagined that there would be other AboutOne users that would want to be able to record the deaths of their immediate family members if sadly that was also a reality in their life. I submitted this feedback to their support team and was very impressed with the response I got. From what I understand they will be rolling out a new version, with updates, including this suggestion that I (and apparently other users made) later this year in September!

I look forward to using AboutOne more in the days and months to come, especially in light of our upcoming move to a new home in our neighborhood. I love the way we will be able to use AboutOne to keep track of important details and even documents related to this huge milestone in our life and family!

Now I have something exciting to share with and offer you, as my readers! You are invited try AboutOne out for yourselves for free and if you like it as much or more than I do at the end of your free trial, you can use this discount code FOURKIND714 to get 25% off your membership! The discount code expires on 8/31, so the sooner you get started, the sooner you can take advantage of and enjoy your free trial! Click here to get going with AboutOne.

As I mentioned earlier, AboutOne is on Facebook and on Twitter! Check out their pages and "like" or "follow" them to learn more about what they have to offer.

If I haven't already convinced you to try AboutOne, or even if I have, check out the cute and informative YouTube video below that explains the service really well. I showed it to my husband Bob for the first time this morning on my iPhone, while we were waiting for his train to arrive, and he was very impressed. As the Assistant Controller for a big law firm here in Chicago and the money/budgeting point person in our marriage, he is really interested in how AboutOne will be able to help us manage our finances and organize important documents in one central location, while minimizing the amount of hard copy paperwork we need to hold onto. So I also look forward to exploring AboutOne more with Bob, as well as getting his feedback.



Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think about this new service and my first review here on  One of a Kind Reviews. If you decide to use the free trial for AboutOne, please come back here and let me know what you think. I am interested to hear about your own experience using AboutOne and compare notes! For those that might be interested, AboutOne is also currently recruiting writers for their Contributing Blogger Program. I am considering applying to participate myself and thought that it might be something that you might also want to check out.

Finally, I just found out that AboutOne wants to give five of you, as my readers, a year of free service! So I will be running my first "giveaway" here on One of a Kind Reviews next week. Stay tuned to find out how to enter for a chance to win a year of free service with AboutOne!