Second time watching Disney's Aladdin Musical

The #AladdinSingapore label and the standee behind were not present previously

It is funny how things turned upside down. When I watched Aladdin Musical for the first time, I was super excited and looking forward to it but I went home feeling somewhat disappointed. That made me quite lazy to go again tonight since I felt like just slacking at home. But hey, I ended up feeling more satisfied.

Tonight was the original ticket that I first bought and I sat at the first row center seat. Location of the seat made the whole experience different. Seating at the front row made the viewing more enjoyable because I could see the facial expression of the actors better. Nearer to the orchestra box also made the audio much more impactful although the downside of this was the audience response felt more muted as if the audience was not responsive.

Seeing up close, I have to give 2 thumbs up for the costume because some details were not apparent when I was at the second floor previously. For example, the guards costumes also have bling bling in the details. When everyone is wearing white, the costumes look the same from a far but they are all actually different. I never even realise that Jasmine's final dress is pink!

I was previously impressed with the city setup but I had to lower my opinion because from near I could see that some were just cardboard. However, the Magic Carpet effect really blew my mind. It is a mystery how the carpet is suspended and 'flying' around. I could not see any strings/wires or reflection of strings/wires whatsoever in both A Whole New World and final scenes which are dark and bright, respectively. Simply wow.

Previously I found the second act to be rather boring but surprisingly today I found the new scenes and songs (which are not in the cartoon) to be enjoyable. Nevertheless, I still find 'Prince Ali' is not grand as expected and the changes to the plot for second act to be a step backward from the original cartoon -same sentiment that I had after my first viewing. In addition, there was not really any improvisation or changes with Genie's jokes compared to my first viewing, except for chili crab being mentioned instead of curly fries.

The most worthwhile thing from spending $232 to get the front seat was to see the setup of theater musical. The orchestra was actually under the stage while the conductor was positioned between the stage and the orchestra. His head popped up so that he was able to see what was happening on stage and the orchestra underneath could still see his hands conducting. Just before the show begun, I thought the conductor's head was distracting as it was literally in front of me but once the show happened, I did not notice his head at all.

Now I have to backtrack and say that watching on the first day was NOT a mistake and a regret. A lot of the merchandises were already sold out today, including the fleece blanket (that I would like to buy again), Genie bear plushie, Jasmine plushie, the Magic Lamp ornament, the snow globe decoration, and tote bag carriers. They even ran out of plastic bag for the merchandise purchase. Lucky I bought Jasmine plushie although it was not that pretty or else I would regret. Since I did not manage to get the fleece blanket, I bought another Aladdin plushie. Sigh.. Gotta be honest that I simply bought it because of FOMO since many things already were already sold out. Now I don't know what to do with it, perhaps try to sell it for $70 although I doubt there would be buyer.

I went in 45 minutes before the show today so that I could take photo with the lamp. There were only 4 people in the queue when I entered and that was how I managed to take just the photo of the lamp. Too bad my luck with the strangers helping to take photo today was bad. I even queued 2 times (to take with and without my spectacles) and both strangers just sucked. I was lucky to get the Filipino tourist previously who was quite good with the camera. Oh well at least I had no regret to take 2 photos today.

View from the first row

After today's experience, I think I will always buy the first row seat the next time I watch a musical. The experience from first row is so much better so I suppose it is better to go big or go home... or more appropriately to watch as VIP or don't watch altogether :p