DISCOUNT CODE for Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy

I really do not know how Santa does it... I am close to pulling out all my hair trying to get one toy for only ONE kid...

Anyway, as I am feeling like a complete failure as a parent right now – really, why is it so hard to find one stupid doll – maybe I can feel a bit better by sharing this discount code for Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy. At least I can try to give someone a gift....

The show will be at Rogers Centre in Toronto from December 21 – December 30, 2012. For more information please visit http://disney.go.com/disneyonice/

Discount offer – 4 tickets for $44 on WEEKDAYS and $4 off per ticket on weekends.

Promotion code – MUM4

Fine print - Excludes Front Row, Rinkside, and VIP tickets. No double discounts. Additional Fees May Apply. Weekday is defined as Monday thru Thursday and Friday Matinee. Weekend is defined as Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday. Please put the code in the box for “promotions” NOT family pack. The promotion price does not include fees from Ticketmaster. 

Feld Entertainment may be providing me with complimentary tickets to this show, in exchange for my time and efforts in attending the show, and reporting my opinion within this blog. However, the opinions about the show, and everything else are 100 per cent mine.


pictures courtesy of: Disney characters and artwork, © Disney. Disney/Pixar characters and

Going to the Theatre... sort of...

When I was a little girl, my parents took me to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, and I fell in love.

Now, I am by no means a theatre buff; I had been to Stratford and Shaw Festivals only once in my life - basically if you can compare to my theatre going experience to books: I am more of a Jane Austen girl as compared to War and Peace, more Dan Brown than Umberto Eco. I like theatre lite.

However, I still feel there is something quite magical about a live production; for one thing, you are watching something in actual 3D! And, it is always fun to dress up and go out on a special occasion.

So, I would really like to share the experience of going to musicals, concerts, theatres and other extravagant live shows with my little one. I think it is good for her to experience different sorts of art and culture and entertainment, and to learn to sit still.

Now, just because I want to bring my daughter to a show, does not mean I can just pick any show, buy tickets and just go. There are very important considerations.

• We have to consider subject matter – I have a five year old, so the show has to be family friendly, and for us, MUST have a happy ending. Hopefully it will be entertaining for adults as well.

• There should be a easy to follow plot – i.e. no time paradoxes, weird soap opera like subplots, or anything else that will require me to spend the entire time of the show trying to explain what is happening to my daughter.

• Colourful costumes, and cheerful characters – once again, my kid is five, and she likes colours and cute things. She is also terrified of the dark, so I doubt we will be seeing a show like Phantom of the Opera anytime soon.

• Stuff should happen (besides plot) – people or things should move, and talk/sing, and do stuff, to hold her attention. There is no way my child can sit through anything slow and cerebral, nor do I expect her to.

• Length of show - the show should not be too long, unless the show is spectacular with lots of special effects, my child cannot sit still for more than an hour at a time.

• Price – I am hoping that it would not be too expensive. I just do not want to feel bad if I have to leave in the beginning or middle of the show, or feel that I have to force my kid to stay for the entire thing even if she is not happy (“mommy and daddy paid a lot of money for this so you are staying and you are going to like it”). I understand this is not always possible, but one can hope.

So, when I saw the Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy, I thought maybe this will be a good continue introduction to live shows. Last year she saw Disney Live! presents Three Classic Fairytales and loved it.

Let us see if it can meet my pre-show checklist:

• Subject matter – it is a Disney show, and since I see nothing that would imply Old Yeller or Bambi's mom will be involved in this show, I think we are good.

• Plot – there are cars, toys, mermaids, fairies and of course two very famous mice. I think she might be happy even if there is no story.

• Colourful costumes – we are talking about cartoons coming to life, so the costumes are probably going to be pretty spectacular.

• Stuff should happen – it is an ice skating show, pretty sure there will be lots of action, spins, jumps and tricks. And, I believe there will be cars on ice (granted, I can always watch cars driving on ice by looking out my window in January...)

• Length of show and price – I am not sure how long the show is, and the tickets are not cheap, but not unreasonable either (okay, I think the top tiered seats are a little bit much, but they are supposed to be the best seat in the house).

I think my kid might really enjoy this show. Hopefully, if she has a great experience, she will be more open to other kinds of shows (the only show she likes so far is the ballet the Nutcracker, and I can only watch the Nutcracker so many times before I go nuts, and my wallet empties)

And maybe, when she is older, we can do a family trip to Stratford or Shaw.

For more information about the show, please visit Disney On Ice .

Fine Print:
Feld Entertainment may be providing me with complimentary tickets to this show, in exchange for my time and efforts in attending the show, and reporting my opinion within this blog. However, the opinions about the show, and everything else are 100 per cent mine.
pictures courtesy of Disney characters and artwork, © Disney. Disney/Pixar characters and artwork © Disney/Pixar.    

I fought the Princesses, and the Princesses won!

I am not willing to admit defeat yet in my fight to convince my child that there is more to life than being a princess, and that there is something else to wear other than dresses. I am, however, pretty sure that I have lost this battle – to keep princesses from invading every corner of my house, which is especially difficult this time of year.

Yes, I know her father and I control the purse strings, and it is essentially our fault when we buy her some doll that resembles a princess (okay, a lot of the incoming toys are because of grandparents). On the other hand, I want her to like her present; why buy things for someone when you know they won't like it (see previous post on presents).

So, instead of fighting the princesses, I am acquiescing to their presence, and I decided to use them as examples of how a little girl, who wants to be a princess, should behave. For example:

• Princesses listen to their elders – see Cinderella, and Snow White – Cinderella's stepmother orders her to clean the house, do all the laundry and cook all the meals, and Cinderella obeys, I am just asking my child to put her dirty socks in the hamper...

• Cleaning is good, and feel free to whistle while you work – see Snow White

• Reading is fun – see Belle

• Be good, nice and kind – see all the princesses

• It is good to have set goals, and to work hard for to reach those goals, just not so hard that you forget to have fun along the way – see Tiana

• Be adventurous and try new things, there is a big world to see out there – see Arial, Jasmine and Rapunzel

• Look beyond what someone looks like when deciding if you want to be their friend – see Belle

• Girls can do anything boys can, and sometimes even better – see Mulan

• Sometimes it is up to the girl to help rescue both herself and the boy – see Arial

• And a very important lesson: Sleep is good – see Snow White and Aurora

• Also, don't piss of big talking trees – see Pocahontas, or was that from Lord of the Rings...

And here is something that I would like her to not learn:

• Not listening to your parents – see Arial, who should have also listened to the crab, “Darling it's better Down where it's wetter” (Mulan also didn't listen to her father, but it probably did save his life, and Rapunzel did not listen to her 'mother' but the woman did kidnap the child, so these cases should not count)

• changing who you are for a boy – see Arial

• Sitting around waiting for your prince to come – see Aurora and Snow White (though in their cases, they were more asleep than sitting)

So, I hope she will try to keep these lessons in mind when I try to take her to see the Disney Live!presents Three Classic Fairy Tales. It sounds like a great show, with music, adventure, and magic; and of course “THE MOUSE”and his friends; and most importantly, Snow White, Cinderella and Belle.

Something that sounds perfect for my little princess.

For more information about the show - http://www.disneylive.ca/ThreeClassicFairyTales/

Show times:

Ottawa, Ontario, Scotiabank Place Dec. 18 - 19, 2011

Montreal, Quebec, Theatre St-Denis Dec. 22 - 28, 2011

Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton Place Theatre Dec. 29 - 30, 2011

Kitchener, Ontario, Centre in the Square Jan. 6, 2011

Kingston, Ontario, K-Rock Centre Jan. 7, 2012

London, Ontario, John Labatt Centre Jan. 8 - 9, 2012

Oshawa, Ontario, General Motors Centre Jan. 12, 2012

Toronto, Ontario, Rogers Centre Jan. 13 - 15, 2012

Fine Print:

Feld Entertainment may be providing me with complimentary tickets to this show, in exchange for my time and efforts in attending the show, and reporting my opinion within this blog. However, the opinions about the show, and everything else are 100 per cent mine.

pictures courtesy of Feld Entertainment.© Disney.

I have become a walking Disney ad....

My sort of first review…

Recently, I have discovered that I have become a walking advertisement for Disney. I never thought this was going to happen, but there I was, spewing the wonders that is a Disney Cruise.

Maybe I am still experiencing some sort of post-vacation bliss (unlike my last vacation). However, you would think this blissfulness would have ended after doing three loads of laundry, discovering that I have to cleanup after myself (and the family); purchasing and preparing my own food; and finding out that there is no room service button on my phone…

I guess this is why I really enjoyed this cruise; I actually felt like I had a vacation!

Sure the ship was gorgeous, the weather was great, the shows were spectacular, and the food was yummy (a little too yummy, as I found out that I did not need to use a belt by the end of the week…). But most importantly, unlike our last vacation, we were able to have time away from our child. It was nice to spend some time alone with my husband, even if it was just sitting on deck to read a book together.

This vacation, after learning my lesson from our previous one, I wanted a set of grandparents to come with us. But it turned out I did not need free babysitting after all (I am still glad they came). The price of the cruise included a children program (for those three and older, and toilet trained). And my child LOVED the program. Given the option between hanging out with her folks or going to the ‘club’, she picked the ‘club’ every time. I am not sure if I should be happy or offended about this…

I really have to hand it to Disney for the effort they put in to make children happy, which in turn makes parents happy. Their children program was great, my little one got to spend time with kids her age, make crafts, watch movies, dance with Snow White, read to by Belle, and play with all sort of other characters! For parents, the program is very flexible; we can drop her off for five minutes or for the entire day, as the club is open until midnight on most nights (but we never did). AND you can leave the ship! So the night that we docked until 1am at Key West, the grown ups left the ship and went out for a drink!

As much as I love her, and want to spend time with my child, I need a little bit of time away from her to recharge my own batteries. So this vacation allowed us to spend time together as a family, and be able to do our own thing. I think this is the recipe for a great vacation, at least for this family.

And yes, the Disney cruise was loud, but what do you expect with a boat full of small and excitable children, and the lineups to see the characters were long, though I heard it is still much better than the line up at the parks, and it is a bit pricier than some other cruises, but this cruise pass the ultimate test:

When asked if she would like to go another Disney Cruise, my daughter said “OF COURSE” with a big giant smile.

Now if only I can win the lottery to pay for the next one…