“Walking with Dinosaurs” at Anaheim’s Honda Center, Wednesday through Sept. 5 Tickets: $34 to $92
“Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular,” returns to Honda Center this week for the first time since a big debut in Orange County two years ago. Back then, the stage show of computer animated dinosaurs sold out a string of dates at the arena. The dinosaurs return to Anaheim in a decidedly different economy, and without the newness factor of two years ago. Even so, sources familiar with the show say ticket sales are better than expectations, which were tempered this time around. The show features a dozen or so life-size robotic dinosaurs in three periods starting 165 million years ago. They roam, chew and fight to stay alive. One comes to life after hatching from an egg. Earthquakes and climate changes add to the wow factor. Of course, we all know how the story ends. The show is an offshoot of a British Broadcasting Corp. series that started in 1999. It took a small army of people six years to render the computer animated figures from the TV series as lifelike as possible. The show appeals to anyone with an interest in dinosaurs and ancient history and tends to go over big with kids and their families. Anaheim is the second to last stop for the show’s long-running tour. Your only other chance to catch it is Sept. 9 to 12 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
—Michael Lyster
