Hockey season is coming up fast, but our pals in blue and gold don’t get to run the roost at the First Niagara Center just yet.

The How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular will take over the First Niagara Center (1 Seymour Knox III Plaza, Buffalo) from Thursday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 23. Based on the Academy Award-nominated DreamWorks animated film How to Train Your Dragon—the story of “...a hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed,” according to IMDB.com—the live show features with 23 dragons soaring throughout the arena with wingspans up to 46 feet. That’s almost as big as Zdeno Chara!

The film version of How To Train Your Dragon was a solid success, grossing $500 million and achieving the top box-office spot in 30 countries following its 2010 release. The RZO Dragon Productions live event made its North American debut in June, and—according to a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interview with Nigel Hodgson, creature controller for the show—bringing the dragons to life takes the coordination of a small army.

Putting all the elements together, including a cast of 21 actors, now that was tricky. It takes more than 50 trucks to carry the show from city to city. 

“The director’s desire for the show was to create a very rich multimedia environment that was almost like immersing yourself into a video game,” Mr. Hodgson said. “So the creatures have been blended in with very high-definition elaborate video to make the set look like it’s living and moving with the creatures. It’s an interesting blending, particularly in an arena on this large scale.”

Viking teenager Hiccup and his sidekick, Astrid, are the stars of the show, leading the audience on an adventure through a mythical land of ruffians and wild dragons. Hiccup doesn’t fit in with his tribe of heoric dragon-slayers until his life is changed after an encounter with a dragon challenges him both physically and mentally. Check it out:

Tickets for the sensational production can be purchased at Tickets.com. Prices start at $19.50.

A limited number of premium Dragon hot seats, VIP ticket experiences and family packages are also available.