Have an iPad 2 with a reliable Internet connection.

1) The game loads properly
2) Then a progress bar is displayed that gets to 100%
3) Lastly the progress bar restarts with a small progress indicator that looks like it is searching for a server but it never gets further

Any help?

Could you be behind some kind of restrictive firewall, perhaps? Maybe try at another wifi source and network, like a coffee shop or whatever?