Hi-5 House Hits at the Meralco Theater

We've been wanting to watch Hi-5 a couple of times in the past but it never really worked out. And then the kids sort of grew out of their addiction (although they'd still watch them on TV every now and then). Plus, all the members are new except for Stevie (the blonde guy) so they weren't that familiar yet with this cast. Anyway, we weren't really planning on watching anymore when we heard they were going to be back last February 28 and March 1. But then tickets were offered at 50% off so we figured it was a pretty good deal.

Concert was held at the Meralco Theater this time around. I haven't been here in a loooong time (I believe the last time was when I watched The Little Mermaid years ago when I was in college pa!).

A lot of people were buying souvenirs and merchandise, but they were really expensive. The foam Hi-5 hand was I think about P400! And I knew they wanted it right then, but would forget about it later on (trash na naman sa house). Good thing we were able to convince them not to buy na lang hehe. There was also a Meet and Greet pass being offered at P2,500 for each kid. Maybe if this was the old cast that the kids were familiar with I would have considered? But still, it was super expensive!

There were 3 seating sections: VIP, Gold, & Silver. I originally wanted to get Gold but the ticketing guy said there were no more good seats in that section and better to get na lang in Silver which had available seats in the center. The venue was small lang naman so it was ok since our seats were in the 2nd row of the Silver Center section. However, when we entered the theater, we were surprised to find this when we sat down - THE SOUND STAGE WAS RIGHT SMACK IN FRONT OF US.

the sound booth right in front of the Silver Center section

Since we were in the 2nd row, we could still kinda see over it but it was the kids I was concerned about. They would have to stand on their seats to see properly or have them go to the aisle when the show started. Plus, the tech guys and the lights in their table was totally distracting! I was really getting upset since if I knew about this, I would have gotten seats in the sides na lang and not in the middle.

Anyway, I approached an usher and voiced my concerns. And I wasn't shouting or being a bitch or anything like that ha, I just seriously wanted to let them know that they should have informed ticket buyers about this beforehand. And I think they were already prepared for people to complain since after apologizing, she immediately said that she would transfer our seats... to the GOLD SECTION! It took a couple of minutes for them to find seats but they were able to right when the show was about to start (we were in the right side this time). So thank goodness everything did work out in the end! :)

yey, so much closer to the stage!

bubbles!

totally engrossed...

they had these giant balloons bouncing around in the audience but it only reached the VIP section hehe

dancing to L.O.V.E

Other thoughts for those who will watch in Meralco Theater next time:
- No food allowed inside. We had to deposit the kids' snacks and drinks before entering the theater. We also made sure to exit immediately after the show so we could get our stuff quickly, since we didn't want to get stuck in the long line of people claiming their bags.
- It was very cold inside the theater. Bring jackets.
- The theater is quite small so anywhere you sit is quite fine really. If it wasn't for that sound booth in front of us, our seats would have been perfect. Buti na lang talaga they were able to transfer us. :)

It was a fun show and I'm glad we decided to watch. And the new cast was great too! So nice to see all the kids (and even the parents!) singing and dancing along to the songs. :)

We watched Disney On Ice!

We watched Disney On Ice: Treasure Trove at the Araneta Coliseum last December and it was really a great experience for us! I've been seeing this show advertised every year for as long as I can remember and it's only now when I've had kids that I got to see it. Well, I think it was worth the wait. :)

Disney merchandise for sale

buying the program which came with a Mickey Mouse crown (P350)

more merchandise inside the venue

looks like Mommy's more excited to watch the show hihi! ;p

view from our seats

We were seated at left side but we still had a good view since all the characters were skating and moving in different directions anyway. It was a really good show since all the famous Disney characters were present and they showcased all the well-known songs and scenes from the movies. Miley didn't even get bored and she was clapping her hands and shouting all the names of the characters when they came out. :)

Minnie, Mickey, Donald & Goofy!

Toy Story

Alice in Wonderland

Peter Pan in Neverland

The Lion King

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

A Whole New World with Aladdin & Jasmine

The Little Mermaid

Tangled

Mickey and Minnie change outfits

the finale with all the Disney Princesses!

We didn't bring Sabe since he gets bored easily and he's still not used to watching shows like this. But I think we should definitely watch this again next year with him when he's older. Now I'm even more excited to bring the kids to Disneyland! :)

We watched Barbie LIVE!

Yey, I'm so happy we were able to watch Barbie LIVE! at the MOA Arena. Thanks to the 50% off tickets from Metrodeal, we were able to score some pretty good seats at a steal.

Being a Barbie fan myself, I was also really excited to watch (I think even more than Miley haha!). Whenever the kids would watch Barbie movies, I would also sit with them and watch from beginning to end, singing the songs, and even dancing along! ;p

Miley in her Barbie outfit. So many other kids were dressed up like Barbie too or like princesses with their little tiaras. So cute!

Merchandise for sale. Those Mariposa wings cost P650! So expensive!

Anyway, the show was really entertaining and so much fun! I loved the stage and all the costumes too. They featured some of Barbie's most popular movies, including Miley's current favorite "Mariposa" and my favorite "The Princess & The Popstar".

It's Barbie and her friends!

a scene from Swan Lake

Barbie with her best friend Teresa

Mariposa and Princess Catania

loved the stage for this number

some of the characters would walk in the aisles, like Aunt Amelia of The Princess & The Popstar

It's Tori, rocking out in the concert!

the finale

good job Barbie!

the whole cast takes a bow

I'm so happy I was able to share this experience with my daughter. We're both still on a Barbie high, singing some of the new songs plus looking at the pictures and watching the videos I took. Now I can't wait to watch more shows like this with the kids. :)

at MOA after the show

Anyway, hope you're all having a great weekend! Can you believe Christmas is just 10 days away? :)

Barbie, Hi-5, Disney on Ice in Manila!

I'm so excited because there's so many shows for kids and the whole family this December!

BARBIE LIVE!

Miley loooooves Barbie, so I was thrilled when I saw that they were having this all-new musical production on December 11 to 15 at the Mall of Asia Arena. I also saw online that they have promos where you can get 20% off if you have an SM Advantage, SM Prestige, or BDO Rewards Card. Just inquire when you go to any SM Tickets outlet, visit www.smtickets.com or call 470-2222. 

 

 

Hi-5 HOUSE PARTY

The kids are also fans of Hi-5 and they'll be here on December 13 to 15 at the Samsung Hall, SM Aura. Stevie and Lauren welcome newcomers Dayen Zheng, Ainsley Melham and Mary Lascaris to the stage in this Dance Party extravaganza. Hi-5’s favourite friend DJ Chats will be the “party meister” spinning discs and keeping everyone on their toes. Tickets are available at all SM Tickets outlets, visit www.smtickets.com or call 470-2222 for more details. 

 

DISNEY ON ICE TREASURE TROVE

And of course, Christmas wouldn't be complete without the usual Disney on Ice show at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Would you believe they're celebrating 23 years in the Philippines already this year? It will run from December 25, 2013 to January 5, 2014. Visit Ticketnet for show times and more details.

The tickets are not cheap so we'll probably just watch 1 or 2 shows if ever. After deliberating about it, hubby and I decided to prioritize Disney on Ice since all the characters will be there (parang nag Hong Kong Disneyland na din kami haha!). We already bought tickets and we are all so excited! Can't wait! :)

NKOTBSB: Best Concert Ever!

I have no other title for this post other than the one above... because last night's show was simply the best concert. EVER.

I was actually a die-hard Backstreet Boys fan back in the day. When I was in high school, I knew all of their songs and dance steps by heart, bought their albums, hoarded magazines with articles or posters of them (remember BOP? ;p) and even waited patiently while watching MTV so that I could record their videos (on our VHS!) when they came on. I LOVED them.

I still have this CD (their first) until now!

Nick Carter was my ultimate crush out of all of them. In my heart back then, he was my boyfriend (can you say delusional?). And even as the years went by and they grew older, I always thought Nick still looked the same with his boyish grin and gorgeous blond hair.

that hair. those eyes. that smile... *swooooon*
source

I've never seen them in concert before even though I wanted to. But I still followed news about them even as they slowly stepped away from the spotlight and boy bands almost became a thing of the past. Well, with the rise of a new generation of groups like One Direction and The Wanted, I think that boybands are definitely taking over again!

nkotbsb.com

When it was announced that they were coming here for the concert, I initially had no plans to watch. A lot of artists have come and gone but I just found the tickets too expensive. I didn't want to sit in Gen Ad either especially for those held in the open grounds. But fate must have intervened since group buying sites suddenly offered the tickets at 50% off last May 31! Well, I wasn't going to go all crazy and buy VIP seats since it was still a lot of money. My sister and I agreed that we'll just get Gen Ad seats (at P530!!! what a steal!) since it was going to be held in the new Mall of Asia Arena anyways and the view would probably be a lot better than in other venues.

Side kwento: My sister was the one who got the tickets at the Groupon Philippines office last June 1. They said redemption was from 3-6pm. But after waiting for hours with all the others who bought vouchers, Groupon said that the tickets were still in MOA and wouldn't be arriving until later that night. They just offered to deliver it to everyone there the next day. I was already getting nervous that we weren't going to get to watch. Good thing my sister came back later that night and was able to get our tickets! Thank God!

We got to the venue at 5:30pm and there was already a super long line outside! Good thing a friend of mine was also there so he was able to save us a spot nearer the front. They opened the gates at about 6:30pm and you could already feel the excitement. Since we were in Gen Ad, we had to go all the way up to the 5th floor. And there was a mad rush right when they opened the doors to our section. People were just running and pushing and scrambling to get to the seats first! I was afraid there was going to be a stampede! Good thing people were a lot calmer once we got inside. Our seats were pretty good and offered a clear view of the stage.

The ticket said the show was at 8pm but that was just the front act. We had to wait through an hour before the show finally started. So that was almost 4 hours of waiting since we got to the arena. But the wait was definitely worth it!

the huge arena. this was our view from our seats.

Gen ad and upper box almost filled to capacity early on. I was actually worried that that the lower box and VIP seats weren't going to get filled up but I was wrong!

THIS IS IT!!! The super heart pounding intro...

aaaaargh!!! ear deafening screams when the boys finally appeared!

Jordan Knight looked and sounded reaaally good!

BSB's turn!

the stage lights and effects were amazing!

the boys doing their Get Down moves!

Nick Carter I LOVE YOU!!! (I don't know if it was just me but he got the loudest screams from the crowd out of all of them!)

so many people! everyone was on their feet almost the entire time!

They each picked a girl from the audience to sing I'll Never Break Your Heart. This was the only time I regretted not getting VIP seats! I'm sure Nick would have picked me ahuhuhu!

the finale! confetti everywhere!

I haven't been to a lot of concerts but this was definitely one of the funnest and most amazing experiences of my life. Everybody was screaming and singing all the lyrics at the top of their lungs. Everyone was dancing and clapping and waving their arms in the air. The energy never died down! There was no intermission since NKOTB and BSB took alternate turns performing so it was 2+ hours of non-stop boyband greatness! All the songs they sang were hits. And they still got the moves! Plus, even if I wasn't really an NKOTB fan, I still sang along to their songs that I knew! They were pretty awesome too especially Jordan Knight (what a voice!) and Donnie Wahlberg (what a body! even at 43!) My sister who was at the Miley Cyrus show said that it paled in comparison to this one since the energy was just so high all throughout. Actually, when we were going down the escalator after, you could see everyone tweeting or texting "Best concert ever!!!" hahaha!

I am so glad I was able to watch and experience this show. It definitely brought me back to my teenybopper days and a lot of memories with it. It really is once in a lifetime! As I would always say back in the day - BSB I LOVE U 4EVA!!!