Cirque Shanghai Extreme

Cirque Shanghai Extreme – website

Phone: 800-745-3000 (to purchase tickets)

Hours: The show runs June 29 – September 5. 

Sunday               12:00pm, 2:00pm  5:00pm

Wednesday                        2:00pm  4:00pm  7:30pm

Thursday                            2:00pm                7:30pm

Friday                                2:00pm  4:00pm   8:00pm

Saturday                            2:00pm  6:00pm  8:00pm

Monday, 9/5                      2:00pm  4:00pm

The show is approximately 75 minutes long.

Admission: Wednesday – Friday: Adults – $17.50-$29.50; all kids (3-12) and seniors (65+) $15.

Saturday – Sunday: Adults – $19.50-$32.50; all kids (3-12) $15. 

There are fees & taxes on each ticket, ranging from $7.75 to $10.22 making tickets $22.75 for kids and $25.30-$39.72 for adults.

Use the code KIDS at Ticketmaster to get $25 Adult Gold Circle tickets for Wed-Fri performances in July and August. 

Parking: Navy Pier has a large attached parking garage. Parking is a flat fee: $20 Monday-Thursday & $24 Friday-Sunday.

Bathrooms: There are large public bathrooms with changing tables. The sinks were difficult for Cooper to reach.

Handicapped/stroller accessibility: Navy Pier is handicapped and stroller accessible. I would probably not bring a stroller to the show; there are lots of stairs.

Food: There is a food counter offering popcorn, pretzels, and other foods and snacks, and beverages, including pop, juice, water, alcohol, and coffee. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable; popcorn was $3.50, beverages were about the same. A little high, but not more than I would expect at a show like this. I was very impressed that they offered fresh fruit ($1 each).

You’ll pay: We visited on a Thursday night. I received 4 complementary tickets, but the normal cost (2 adults, 2 kids) would have been $108.52. (We had the mid-range seats; Dexter is actually young enough that he would be free, but then he’d have to sit on our lap without his own seat.)

Our experience: We enjoyed the show a lot. The weather was perfect when we went. Once you enter the Pepsi Skyline Stage area, there is a large outdoor patio with seating and the food counter. We ordered a popcorn, pretzel, and drinks and snacked before the show. The Pepsi Skyline Stage is a canopied, open-air theater. The show we saw was at 7:30 pm and the weather was beautiful so I really enjoyed it. All the seats seemed to be great.     

I was really impressed with the show; the stunts were really incredible and it was very entertaining. Cooper was pretty fascinated and, of course, became obsessed with doing “tricks” for days afterward. Dexter was entertained for parts of the show, and fascinated by the part of the show when the motorcycles were suspended over our heads and people were doing acrobatics on them, but he’s still a little young to sit still for very long. We kept him entertained with snacks and he enjoyed climbing up and down from his seat. The stunts were amazing, and the motorcycle stunt at the end was absolutely incredible. Definitely an enjoyable show.