How far ahead do children's theatre shows go on sale near Manchester?
Children's show tickets near Manchester usually go on sale six to twelve months ahead. Book on the day they go on sale.
Big-name children's tours go on sale far ahead: six to seven months for the arena shows (Disney On Ice in late May or June for December, PAW Patrol in December for July) and up to a year or more for theatre tours (Bluey's Big Play opened booking 12 to 13 months before its Lowry runs). Fan club, venue and phone-network presales come one to four days before general sale. No source we read gave a sell-out date, so we can't say when the best seats go. Why: presales a few days earlier take the best weekend seats..
From 7 booking launches we dated across 5 outings, 2023 to 2026, 6 to the day or week; the rest show when tickets were already on sale. Research checked Wednesday 28 October; booking states updated Wednesday 28 October.
Right now
Today, of the 96 we list that need booking, 74 are on sale, 2 selling fast, 2 sold out and 3 not on sale yet. The first we saw sell out this season was The Gruffalo at Z-arts, on Monday 26 October.
Selling fast
- The Prince of Egypt at Waterside Arts Waterside Arts · from Tue 10 Nov · 15 min
- Romeo and Juliet at Storyhouse Storyhouse (Garret Theatre) · from Sat 24 Oct · 55 min
Not on sale yet
- Lymm Festival 2027 Venues around Lymm village
- Outdoor theatre: The at Arley Hall & Gardens Arley Hall & Gardens (Walled Garden)
- Outdoor theatre: Much Ado About Nothing at Arley Hall & Gardens Arley Hall & Gardens (Walled Garden)
Sold out
- Monster Disco at Z-arts Z-arts · check for returns
- The Gruffalo at Z-arts Z-arts · check for returns
Getting the dates you want
- Disney On Ice for a December run usually goes on sale between late May and mid June.
- Sign up to the fan club, the venue's mailing list or a phone network's presale: it gets you in one to four days before general sale.
- Arena tours come round in the summer holidays (PAW Patrol) or the run-up to Christmas (Disney On Ice); theatre tours like Bluey can be announced a year or more ahead.
- Tickets usually go on sale at 9am or 10am, often on a Friday.
When booking opened, year by year
Each date as exactly as its source shows it. Follow the source to check.
Bluey's Big Play Lowry, Salford · 20 min
- 2026 Booking opened Fri 16 May 2025; members from Tue 13 May 2025. Tour announcement (23 Apr 2025) lists Lowry, Salford 22 to 31 May 2026; fan club presale Tue 13 May, general sale across the tour Fri 16 May 2025: a year ahead. broadwayworld.com
- 2024 Booking opened Fri 30 Jun 2023; members from Thu 29 Jun 2023. Copy of a Lancashire news story (27 Jun 2023, citing the M.E.N.): Lowry run 31 Jul to 11 Aug 2024, members' presale 10am 29 Jun 2023, general sale 10am 30 Jun 2023: thirteen months ahead. newspad007.blogspot.com
Hey Duggee: The Live Theatre Show Lowry, Salford (also Liverpool Empire) · 20 min
- 2023 Booking opened Fri 1 Jul 2022. Tour announcement (27 Jun 2022): regional theatres on sale 10am Fri 1 Jul 2022; Liverpool Empire 7 to 8 Feb 2023 and the Lowry 3 to 4 Apr 2023: seven to nine months ahead. broadwayworld.com
Peppa Pig's Big Family Show Lowry, Salford · 20 min
- 2026 On sale by October 2025. The earliest saved copy of the Lowry's page (9 Oct 2025) already listed bookable performances for 6 to 8 Feb 2026 from £20.50, so booking was open at least four months ahead (it may have opened earlier). web.archive.org (saved copy)
Disney On Ice (December run) AO Arena, Manchester · 25 min
- 2025 Booking opened Fri 13 Jun 2025; members from Mon 9 Jun 2025. The Manc (5 Jun 2025): Find Your Hero at the AO Arena 10 to 14 Dec 2025. Three+ presale Mon 9 Jun, arena presale Thu 12 Jun, general sale Fri 13 Jun, all at 9am: six months ahead. themanc.com
- 2023 Booking opened Fri 26 May 2023. The arena's page for 100 Years of Wonder (13 to 17 Dec 2023) showed every show as 'on sale soon', with tickets available from 9am on 26 May 2023: about six and a half months ahead. web.archive.org (saved copy)
PAW Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure AO Arena, Manchester (also M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool) · 25 min
- 2025 Booking opened Thu 12 Dec 2024. Press release of 6 Dec 2024 announced the summer tour, with Manchester on Sun 20 Jul 2025 and Liverpool on Sat 19 Jul, and tickets on sale Thu 12 Dec 2024: seven months ahead. prnewswire.co.uk
On-sale dates are well sourced, but none of the sources we read said when shows sold out. The Peppa Pig date is only the latest it could have opened. The 2024 Bluey date comes from a copy of a news story, not the original. We couldn't date Dear Zoo Live, Gruffalo, Dinosaur World Live or In the Night Garden Live for local venues.
Questions parents ask
How far ahead do children's theatre shows go on sale?
Children's show tickets near Manchester usually go on sale six to twelve months ahead. Big-name children's tours go on sale far ahead: six to seven months for the arena shows (Disney On Ice in late May or June for December, PAW Patrol in December for July) and up to a year or more for theatre tours (Bluey's Big Play opened booking 12 to 13 months before its Lowry runs). Fan club, venue and phone-network presales come one to four days before general sale. No source we read gave a sell-out date, so we can't say when the best seats go. Book on the day they go on sale: presales a few days earlier take the best weekend seats. From 7 booking launches we dated across 5 outings, 2023 to 2026, 6 to the day or week; the rest show when tickets were already on sale.
When do children's show tickets sell out?
Big-name children's tours go on sale far ahead: six to seven months for the arena shows (Disney On Ice in late May or June for December, PAW Patrol in December for July) and up to a year or more for theatre tours (Bluey's Big Play opened booking 12 to 13 months before its Lowry runs). Fan club, venue and phone-network presales come one to four days before general sale. No source we read gave a sell-out date, so we can't say when the best seats go.
When should I book children's show tickets?
On the day they go on sale: presales a few days earlier take the best weekend seats. Disney On Ice for a December run usually goes on sale between late May and mid June.
Is there a pre-sale or early-bird price for children's show tickets?
Sometimes. Bluey's Big Play opened to members first (2024: Thu 29 Jun 2023) and Disney On Ice (December run) opened to members first (2025: Mon 9 Jun 2025).
Can I still book children's show tickets now?
Today, of the 96 we list that need booking, 74 are on sale, 2 selling fast, 2 sold out and 3 not on sale yet. See them all.
How we worked it out
We dated when booking opened for 5 of the most popular children's theatre tours within about an hour of Timperley, 2023 to 2026, from the organisers' own announcements, saved copies of their booking pages on the Internet Archive, local news and ticketing sites. "Usually" and "typical" mean the median date, ignoring the year. Today's booking states come from our own checks of each booking page, rebuilt every night. Something wrong or missing? [email protected].