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I really liked Cirque Imagine. It had a great flow, beautiful set, lovely music, and genuinely likable comic relief characters. It's probably the best show I've ever seen presented in the Kings Dominon Theater. If they just dusted off the old show and brought it back, I'd be perfectly happy.

I'm honestly a little surprised to see them investing in a full-production cirque show again, but I'm not complaining. Live entertainment really does make the park experience better, and the cirque shows are among the few shows I've seen consistently draw crowds at the park.
 
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Visited KD on Friday with the sole intent of seeing this show. Arrived at the KD Theater at 7:31 (showtime was 7:30) and was denied admittance. SUPER low crowds on Friday; I would imagine there were about 25 people in there. Seeing as how Live E is so limited these days, you'd think they'd want as many people to be able to watch as possible. 🤷‍♂️
 
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If seeing the show was your main reason for visiting, why wait until the last performance of the day and then show up late?

You pointed out there were only about 25 people in the audience and said Kings Dominion should want as many people watching as possible. That’s fair, but if you’re showing up late to the final performance of something you went out of your way to see, you’re also contributing to the problem.

I also think walking into a theater setting after the show has already started is just rude. It’s distracting to the performers, and it’s distracting to everyone else who showed up on time to watch the show.
 
Cirque Imagine also has performers climbing down ropes into the aisles and moving around the theater literally like 30 seconds into the show. Having guests walking around the aisles wouldn’t be safe.
 
Cirque Imagine also has performers climbing down ropes into the aisles and moving around the theater literally like 30 seconds into the show. Having guests walking around the aisles wouldn’t be safe.
Now that makes sense. Thanks for the polite response! If it's a safety issue, you won't find me complaining. I drove to KD after work, which is the reason I attempted to attend to the final show of the day. KD has not created an environment of exclusivity regarding their shows (because they've been horrid the past few years) or conveyed the expectation that you need to be there early or be denied entry; most of their shows have been the vibe of come and go as you please. Finding the doors locked on the theater 60 seconds after the show began was surprising to me.
 
Cirque Imagine also has performers climbing down ropes into the aisles and moving around the theater literally like 30 seconds into the show. Having guests walking around the aisles wouldn’t be safe.
Now that makes sense. Thanks for the polite response! If it's a safety issue, you won't find me complaining.

This is standard safety protocol and procedure at many Cirque-type productions that are staged indoor in a theatre or a tent.

I've seen almost all of Cirque du Soleil's productions and if a patron arrives late they are not allowed to go to their seat if there are active performers engaging in acrobatic and physical maneuvers. They're held at the entrance and escorted by the ushers to their assigned seat until the specific act ends and the show's staging is in a transitional period between acts. One main reason is that the light coming from the lobby area of the theater could distract a performer (and their rigger if they're an aerialist) and become dangerous. Another as @Mushroom pointed out, is the use of the entire theater space (aside from the stage itself) including the aisles and walls.

To help offset tardiness at their shows, Cirque has a pre-show called "Animation" that usually begins 10-15 before the show starts. This pre-show usually only includes clowns and non-acrobatic character performers and they're there to warm up the crowd and get as many people seated as quickly as possible before the show stars.

Imaginique at BGW, despite being an outdoor production, even had a pre-show animation an hour before showtime where characters would bring crowds in from right outside the Royal Palace Theatre and walking around the immediate area in the Aquitaine hamlet. They even did clown-like antics to entertain the crowds that were already seated before the show started.
 
I can’t wait to see it again tomorrow. They are dark on Tuesdays so today I caught strike up the bandstand. I wish it had a bigger cast and some shade to utilize while watching.
 
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