Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey : Illuscination Tickets

Robarts is a fairly small arena where you can get up close to the action. The performers kept the actions going continuously. Great evening of entertainment.

My husband and I attended the circus on Sat. What a wonderful experience. The two hours were non stop fun and amazement. The performers are professional and very entertaining. I felt like a kid again. LOVED It !!!!

I wasn't impressed. It was a smaller venue then I am used to seeing the circus in and maybe that was part of the problem but for me it seemed like the "B Team" put on the show! The circus has changed a lot since I was a little girl and going to see the great Gunther Gable Williams and the fabulous clowns and the Flying Wallenda's. This one is about a girl parading around in short shorts and doing magic tricks with the "ringmaster", a lady and her daughter with ponies and not the pretty Lipizon Stallions that have performed in the past, a lion tamer but nothing compared to Williams and not even in the same league, and the so-called clowns(make that clown, only one had a painted face) left a lot to be desired. There was no high wire act just 2 Russian brothers about 10 feet off the ground or no flying trapeze and it was only one ring, what happened to the 3 ring circus? It didn't have the feel of the old circus and I was a little sad and disappointed in the "new and improved" side show that they are now billing as The Greatest Show on Earth.

WE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME. THE ELEPHANTS, LIONS, HORSES WERE AMAZING. THE MOTORCYCLEIST WAS TERRIFIC. THE ACROBATS SKILLED. OVERALL A GREAT TIME.

Last year we saw Circus Sarasota twice - that show was so good that we figured Ringling Brothers would be even better - it wasn't. It certainly had some good acts but those were interspaced between lots of "fluff". In all, this 2-hour performance had about 30 minutes of things that really held your interest. The kids probably enjoyed it more but, it my view, it certainly wasn't "The Greatest Show on Earth". Also the kid with the spiked hair that, I guess, was intended to be some sort of clown out of uniform, was more irritating than entertaining. Finally our seats were terrible. We paid top dollar for front row, best seats in the house. We got front row, off to the side with a large supporting piller right in front of us. We would have been much better off in cheaper seats in the bleachers.

venue was depressing, super long line at Will Call with zero communication going on. Many in line didn't need to be in the line, etc. Was disappointed that the show was not situated in the center of the auditorium for better viewing, I got stuck behind one of 5 stands selling way over priced junk. Some of the talent and acts were amazing and carried the day. I will wait for a nicer venue next time but will definitely come back to see RBBBC. Note, some of the acts were pretty cheesy too. The tigers looked to be 100 years old and I saw about 20 people outside protesting how the circus treats animals. That set a negative tone.

Fabulous! Ringling has gone back to their roots with this one ring circuse that includes elephants, lions, horses, clowns, acrobats, high wire artists and more. If you love the ciruce this one is for you.

Surprisingly very good. Wasn't expecting a show with such great acrobatics and magic.

Excellent show! Fun for the entire family. Well worth the money. Looking forward to the circus returning next year.

Very poor performance. Gymnasts seemed to be circus students, not enough experience. Only few animals. Very disappointed. Will go to Tampa next time, it was better.

The venue was much smaller in Sarasota than Madison Square Garden in NYC making a comparison of the two seemingly unfair, but I found elements that could have been included that weren't. What ever happened to the tall black hatted Master of Ceremonies and his famous introduction to "ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages"? What ever happened to the "real" sideshow? Where are those professional entertainers who performed with unbelievable accuracy? Was this small circus an opportunity for newcomers to the circus profession? If so, we should have been informed. As a new resident of Sarasota and thus, a first-time visitor to the home of Ringling Bros., I expected an above par performance. In general, I must admit I have been spoiled and honored by seeing the original masterpiece of a circus, but the circus is mostly for children and I think all had a good time at this performance.

The Ringling people certainly give you your money's worth. The lions and elephants were show-stoppers, and the great acts of aerialists, gymnastics and illusionists kept us laughing and applauding from start to finish.

I am 50 and havent been to a circus since I was a child. My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed the costumes, the music and all the acts. It was a very fun and entertaining afternoon and we plan to go again next year! I would definitely recommend it.

I have been to many Ringling Bros. Circus productions over the years, and this one was the worst ever. Acts made major mistakes all the way through. I actually saw a free circus a couple of years ago, and it was better than this one. This performance is greatly lacking in quality and talent. It appeared to be a set of test performances. Was not nearly as what is expected from a Ringling Brothers production. Promotional products were priced way too high. $11.00 for a snow cone is absolutely out of range. For the price of this production and the quality, they should have given the snow cones for free!!! They display the Greatest Show on Earth. Well it used to be but not anymore. Tigers were displayed on most of the literature, but no tigers were used at all. I was very disappointed in the performance!!

We had a phenomenal time at this circus. The energy was amazing. It was, however, much smaller than the three ring circus I remember as a child. Was not sure if that was because the venue (Robarts Arena) was smaller or if that was typical for the Illuscination show. But with that said my children had never been to the circus and Ringling delivered lots of smiles and what is, I'm sure, great memories. This show has a lot of magic involved, which wowed the audience. The pre-show for the kids was not to be missed, where the kids were able to be interactive with the performers. Be prepared to pay a fortune for the concessions being sold in the stands, $6 popcorn, $8 lemonade, and snow cones were $9, $10, and $11. Robarts did have it's own concession stand that sold very reasonable priced food (hotdogs, hamburgers and such). All in all it was a fabulous event, the daring acts by the performers still kept me on the edge of my seat!

The 2010 edition of Ringlings Gold unit in Sarasota was as the name implies. The tevevision trailers made it look like a magic show with circus acts. I was pleasantly surprised to fine a circus with illusions skillfully woven into the show. You won't be disappointed if your a circus fan.

I knew I was going to enjoy a one-ring circus but I had no idea how much they would actually pack into the performance! There were more animals than I expected. There was non-stop action. And it was about twice as long as I expected which was wonderful. There was an intermission and the second half was just as long and just as lively as the first half. I would definetely see this show again and if I had the time, would go again right away. It was truly amazing. I attended with my children, a daughter age 5, a son age 13 and my parents. We all enjoyed it immensely. If you showed up an hour early, everyone was permitted ringside and they had all kinds of audience interaction - mostly for the children. Awesome personal touch.

Nice mix of magic and traditional circus. The tumbling was exceptional and the lanky, lovely Australian songbird/acrobat was fun to watch.

What a fantastic show!!! Didn't know what to expect being held in such a small venue-wow were we impressed! The kung fu fighers were awesome! The trapeze performers & there strength was just unbelievable!! Motorcycle on the tight rope was pretty cool! The guy who was like spiderman that walked upside down...i could go on & on but don't want to ruin it for you. Simply put --- kept taking our breath away!!!

I was not expecting a great show since it is a scaled down show but was plesently surprised. It had everything a full circus has but you are close to the action.