THE BALLOON MAN

Circus pricing

From: Long Island Business News

BY TRACY DIAZ 

MARCH 6, 2014 

It’s been a really long time since my husband and I got to do something great with the family. That’s why it was especially great to go to Nassau Coliseum last night to see the circus with my two children. They have never been the circus, and to be honest, I haven’t been to one in a long time.

The show itself was fantastic. Seeing seven motorcyclists in the “Sphere of Death” all at once was quite amazing, and the trapeze artists performed exemplary. Couple that with the fire jugglers, the animals,the dancers and bicyclists, and the show really was worth the price of the ticket, which rang in at a bit above $17 once you included the always annoying Ticketmaster fees.

However, I reacted with severe disdain at the cost of everything else. Since it was their first time at the circus, I wanted to get the kids circus-food staples, such as cotton candy and popcorn. When I was a kid, I used to love getting those light-up plastic toys to swing around when it got dark during the show. Well, much to my chagrin, cotton candy was $14, those light-up thingies were $25 each, a snow cone was $14, all of which made the modest $12 parking fee seem reasonable.

Why does it seem like even the most simple, family friendly things have to be so overpriced? It sucks all the joy out of these things. We were preparing for a trip to the circus, so I was able to swing the extra money to see my kids smile, but I wouldn’t be able to do that more than once a year. And that’s sad, folks. Whether it be Ringling Brothers inflating the costs of things, or just how expensive it is to have fun now (have you seen what it costs to take the family to the movies?), it won’t be often we can afford the circus. And you can forget a vacation to Disney any time soon.

Looks like even though the night was a great one, $200 or so later, I lament that it won’t be happening more often. From now on, the backyard is going to be our fun house.

Tracy Diaz is a relationship manager at Town & Country Dental Studios. Follow her on Twitter @tracybeanz.