December 21 was a very exciting day for
my child. It was pyjama day at school; it was the last day of school
for the year; and she was going to Disney On Ice presents
World of Fantasies with her best friend that night (granted, I
suspect that she was just excited that she was allowed to stay up
late with her friend).
My daughter's review of the show.
According to my daughter, the show was
GREAT, so much so that she asked when she can go again. My kid
watched most of the show like she was watching television, which is
actually a great compliment. You see, when my kid watches television,
a unicorn can come prancing around her, and she would not notice.
About the show.
The show itself was about two hours
long, including a brief intermission half way through.
The 'plot' was essentially Mickey,
Minnie, Donald and Goofy going on an adventure to different worlds of
fantasy. The four characters were not actually in the different
worlds, but were there to introduce the segments of the show.
The first 'world' was located in
Radiator Springs from "Disney/Pixar
Cars" . The kids were not very impressed with
this part. My daughter had not actually seen the movie, though she
knew some of the characters from her friends, so she really could
care less when a bunch of talking cars driving around on the ice. I,
on the other hand. kept thinking that I could really use a set of
their tires for my car this winter....
The next world was when the show really
started for the kids. The show entered an underwater kingdom to meet
Arial, Sebastian and friends as the skaters performed an incredibly
condensed version of a Little Mermaid. The kids were completely
enthralled by the costumes, which included a giant sea horse, and the
troupe of skaters doing all sort of tricks to the very familiar songs
from the film.
After, the audience was taken from the
bottom of the sea to an enchanted forest where a flying fairy
introduced us to Tinker Bell. Once again, the kids were enthralled
by the large production numbers, the brightly coloured costumes, and
they really liked fairies. Though my daughter (as far as I know) was
not overly familiar with the Tinker Bell story series, she
nevertheless loved it.
Then there was an intermission, where
we avoided buying ridiculously expensive souvenirs or $10 cotton
candy (it did come with a hat...).
After the intermission, the rest of the
show was essentially a shortened version of Toy Story 3. Though my
daughter had not seen this movie either, she still loved the second
half. Now keep in mind, the second half started around eight, which
was usually the time when my daughter should be tucked in bed. As
she was not very familiar with the movie, I was worried that this
part of the show would not hold her attention, and most parents know
that a tired, bored child can turn a good time to an extremely
unpleasant experience in the blink of an eye. However, my fears were
completely unfounded. She loved watching Buzz, Woody and friends
dance and skate around to various pop tunes. I kept thinking about
the person, who after years of skating training is now the back of a
pig (Hamm).
My impressions.
As mentioned earlier, my daughter and
her best friend loved the show (except for maybe the “Cars”
section), and I am pretty sure if your children likes skating, and
loves Disney they will probably enjoy the show as well (especially if
they are under eight years old).
However, I always think that it is also
important to mention if grown ups might like the show, after all you
have to sit there for two hours too.
I thought the show was not bad. It
kept me fairly entertained. The costumes were great, and considering
it was an ice show, the sets were pretty impressive, especially the
Toy Story section, with its giant book cases, and shelves – it kind
of did make the audience feel 'toy' sized. The music mainly came
from the films and cartoons, so if you are familiar with them, it
should be pretty recognizable.
The skating on the other hand was not
spectacular, but I did not expect to see Kurt Browning (insert famous
skater name here). On the other hand, I think even Browning would had
some trouble doing jumps and spins with a giant foam 'jet pack'
strapped onto his back like the skater who was Buzz Lightyear had to.
There were a few slips, falls and missed tricks; at one point, the
Prince dropped the Little Mermaid on her bum while trying to do a
lift or a spin – I think he should be doing a lot more than just
'kiss the girl' to apologize for that one – I am thinking
jewellery. All the skaters did recover well whenever there was a
slip, and the show continued without missing a beat. I don't think
my daughter ever noticed the mistakes. Another saving grace for the
show, was that there was usually a lot of skaters on the ice at any
one time, so unless you happened to be looking directly at the skater
making the mistake, you would probably miss seeing it. Note: if your
child is really into figure skating and can tell a Lutz from a
Salchow (I had to look those terms up), perhaps this may not be the
show for you.
Overall though, I think the experience
was pretty fun. It was a good show, maybe not great, but I
definitely did not feel like I lost two hours out of my life – two
hours better spent doing last minute holiday prep...
I did spend a lot of time during the
show enjoying the look of happiness and concentration on my
daughter's face, instead of the activities on the ice. I do not think
she spoke a single word to me during the show, that is how much she
loved it. And in the end, if my daughter is happy, I am happy.
