Saturday, March 30, 2013

{Review} A Night Out at Disney on Ice presents Rockin' Ever After

Sean and I used to go to theater shows a lot before we had kids. We love live performances, but unfortunately, attending those are few and far between these days. I'm sure that had a lot to do with why I so enjoyed actually being able to leave the house and go see Disney On Ice presents Rockin' Ever After. That, and, well...it's Disney! And who doesn't love Disney?
We started our evening out by grabbing dinner at the Chipotle a block away from the Sprint Center. We ran into a little girl who was very excited to go see the Disney princesses herself. Since she was wearing a Cinderella dress, I asked if she was a "real princess" and she said she was! So, of course, I got her autograph and a photo with her, because it's very rare to run into real princesses these days.
Me and Cinderella
We headed over to the venue and met up with our friends, Ryan and Renee. Renee is as big a Disney fan as I am, so it was a fun double date! I also had a chance to see a couple of my blogging friends, Julie from Director Jewels, and Stephanie from Moments that Take, who were also at the show. Julie, Stephanie, and I like to chat about post topics and ideas that we might be able to work into future posts (we are kicking around a fun idea for this summer right now!). Take a look at their blogs if you get a chance!

In true Disney form, it was a magical show complete with things that dropped out of the ceiling, glow sticks, classic costumes, and memorable songs.

The show was divided up into six parts (plus an extremely random appearance by Pinnochio and Cinderella's Step Sisters that didn't really fit). The opening and closing numbers were danced by all 30 cast members with four character vignettes sandwiched in between.

Ariel from The Little Mermaid was the first vignette and totally gets the award for my favorite part! Brightly colored costumes that looked like Sea Creatures reminded me of when we saw The Lion King on tour. Major kudos to the choreographer for the scene where Ariel changes into a human. They put her on a rope up in the air and had her do some aerial stunts, Cirque-du-Soleil style. Of course, as a mom, I was sitting there the whole time thinking, "Don't fall! Don't fall! Don't fall!"
"Under the Sea" Number from The Little Mermaid
Rapunzel from Tangled made up the second vignette. We saw the movie in the theaters while I was still pregnant, and I thought they did a cute job translating it to the ice. The flying lanterns part of the story was well done with some dropping out of the ceiling, and others being "set off" by the actors below. They also had two skaters in the Max the Horse costume...incredibly well rehearsed since I can't imagine the lucky skater who was the rump could see anything!
Rapunzel and the Evil Witch
After a brief intermission, Merida from Brave made her appearance. This was the shortest segment, but still fun! As a mom of multiples, I thought the way they incorporated the triplets into the show was awesome! I'm so glad that they didn't leave them out!
Merida and her Triplet Brothers: Harris, Hubert, and Hamish

The Clans Showing their Skill
Belle from Beauty and the Beast wrapped up the show. I've always been partial to Belle as a self-professed bookworm myself. The costumes for this portion of the show were excellent! Beast, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Lumiere, and Cogsworth all made appearances in costumes that looked like they came straight out of the movie.
"Be Our Guest" Number from Beauty and The Beast

The Library
In the spirit of a completely honest review, I do feel the need to share what I didn't like about the show. At one point, they started playing Madonna's "Vogue" with dance moves that should have been left to the singer's backup dancers. While I know that everyone has their own music preferences, I didn't feel that a Madonna song was an appropriate choice for a show meant to attract young kids. Another song would have been a better choice and would have worked just as well. The majority of the show consisted of songs straight from the movies, and I would have preferred that they stick with that type of music.

Also, if you plan on taking the kids, make sure you feed them dinner and offer them a snack in the car. Concessions are outrageous at these events. For example, a small bucket of popcorn was $12, and snow cones were $10. Yikes! In the same vein, hit Walmart the week before the production, and buy your kids' favorite Disney character there. Give it to them in route to the show. I guarantee you it will be cheaper than the $30+ dolls we saw being sold there.

Now on to the highlights: These actors have some serious skill! Seriously, these people were putting on full costumes (think Ursala, Sebastion, the Beast), and skating around like it was second nature. They even ran up and down the set stairs while wearing ice skates! All I could do was sit there and marvel at how well rehearsed and choreographed the show was. At just over two hours long, the show had plenty of time for errors, and I only saw one skater fall during the entire show. That's it. Very, very impressive!

All that to say, we had a great time! Hopefully we can take the kids with us next year. I'm glad they didn't come with us this year though. With Ellie's sensory issues, the noise and lights would have been too much for her to handle, and I imagine that Caleb would have been overwhelmed as well. I'm hoping that by next year, we will have worked through more of their issues and can take all four kids with us!
Thank you to Feld Entertainment for the tickets and allowing me to review the show. All opinions and thoughts expressed in this post are my own. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for the tickets to the show Rebecca! The kids and I had a fabulous time, and I enjoyed it just as much as they did!

    Your review is spot on about the Madonna song, that was a bit strange. The Little Mermaid was my favorite as well! But I have to say, the Be My Guest performance was great! When they busted out that kick line (on skates!) for the finale, I felt wowed!

    What I did the week leading up to the big night was have my kids watch all 4 movies represented in this particular Disney on Ice show. That way, they would have all the characters fresh in their mind. We hadn't even seen Brave yet, so they were excited to see the triplets they were just laughing at a few days before. :)

    Once again, felt so lucky to win these tickets for my family, so thanks for the opportunity!

    Sarah Z.

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    1. I'm so glad that you enjoyed it, Sarah! And you are right, the "Be My Guest" song was really fantastic! The silverware costumes were pretty clever!

      I love how you had them watch the movies in the week leading up! You turned one Disney night into a whole week long event. Well played, Mama!

      Thanks so much for the feedback, Sarah! I'm thrilled that you got to see the show with your kiddos!

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  2. Rebecca,
    Thanks for making my Little Leah's (Cinderella)night out very special. We went to Disney in December and ever since then her favorite thing to play is princesses. She loves to dress up and I get to be the visitor and ask her for her autograph and pose for a picture with her--just like at Disney. That was her favorite part of the trip, getting the Princesses autopgraphs and posing for pictures. So when you asked for her autograph and picture she felt like a true Disney Princess! Thanks for making her night extra special. Great review too! Stephanie

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    1. Aw, it was a pleasure to meet Leah! She made the perfect Cinderella! Thank you for letting me chat with her for a minute and snap a picture with her. She was so sweet, and so well behaved! You are obviously doing a wonderful job with her!

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