Is the Lion King theatre show good for kids?

For mine and Matts six year wedding anniversary, he got us tickets to The Lion King in London.

Now, the girls are obsessed with Disney and princesses. So we never told them we were going to see The Lion King. Especially at the theatre!

But I did feel a little guilty they weren’t coming.

The show was at 2:30pm, and unsurprisingly there were kids in the crowd. Online it says not recommended for under six, but there were some young kids there for sure. I even saw one who was around 2/3.

Is The Lion King theatre show suitable for 4 year olds?

While there were kids in there, I’m not sure it was suitable for under fours. But the theatre sort of leave it up to the parent to decide. If you’ve got a particularly sensitive child who’s likely to have nightmares or sensitive to noise, it might not be the best idea.

Online it says: “We recommend The Lion King for ages 6+. Children under the age of 3 (including babies in arms) will not be admitted into the theatre.”

From this, I guess it depends on your kids, and maybe it’s at the parents discretion.

About 40 minutes in, you could hear young ones getting restless. The boy Iin front of us, who Id say was about 8/9 fell asleep! That’s an expensive nap.

After the interval some of them had a new lease of life for it, or maybe a large tub of popcorn to keep them quiet!

Aside from it being quite a long time to sit still and focus, it was also loud. And in parts a little scary.

Tips for taking young children to see Lion King at the theatre

Take snacks, but try to decant them into something that doesn’t rustle too much

If you’re going with someone else, decide one of you to leave if the kid gets fed up

Get a booster seat as soon as you get to the theatre, these seemed to go fast!

Avoid the aisle seats. I won’t spoil anything for you as the production is really something. But my advice would be, sit in the middle or up the top.

Expect that you’ll very likely be buying a stuffed toy at between £20-45.

The Lion King Theatre show

The show is incredible.

But I think they’re right in suggesting it’s not for under 6.

It didn’t look like they were turning away younger kids, but it’s an expensive show, loud, and scary in places. If they get restless they might end up wanting to leave and it’s very possible you’ll just have to go. It’s a risk.

It would probably be best to wait a few years before you take them. And it’s only right you go and have a nice day out to see it on your own first!

Take tissues. The opening song is so epic.