Disney on Ice presents Dream Big – Review

This post features gifted experiences

Last Friday night, I took Ben, Chloe and Amy along with Uncle Will and Cass to see Disney on Ice presents Dream Big at Manchester Arena.  We’ve seen quite a few Disney on Ice performances over the last few years but I think this might actually be my favourite yet!

The main theme of ‘Dream Big’ is all the Disney heroes and heroines who have inspired generations to be braver, stronger and kinder . . . what this meant in reality was appearances from all your favourite princesses; Jasmine, Ariel, Aurora, Belle and Cinderella along with Anna and Elsa (which let’s face it was practically made for Disney on Ice) but for us the show highlight was Moana!  I’ve never seen Will put a pint down so quickly as he did he saw Maui skating onto the ice.

Now I’m going to hold my hands up and admit I’ve never actually seen Moana all the way through – it’s one of those films that my children have watched time and time again but I only seem to have caught snatches of so whilst I know bits of the songs and parts of the story – I don’t actually know the whole thing.  Uncle Will on the other hand would happily admit to Moana being one of his favourites – in part because he says it’s a fantastic film but I imagine also because it keeps his two year old sat in one place for more than 5 minutes!

The Disney on Ice autumn tour, Dream Big sees Moana and Maui hitting the ice for the first time in Europe and so it was the perfect show to introduce Uncle Will and Cass to the magic of Disney on Ice.  Cass was 2 in the summer and as such I’d been a little nervous about how he would cope with the performance – I had worried that the show being on after bedtime might be a struggle for him, that he might be a little overwhelmed by the venue, the number of people or just all the excitement on the ice but I needn’t have worried.  He loved it!  The lively nature of Disney on Ice means that it doesn’t matter if your little one wants to be up and dancing or chatting about what’s going on on the ice – this isn’t like taking them to a theatre show where you’re going to want them to sit quietly for an hour.  Obviously you need to be aware of the people around you (I’ve spent a whole Disney on Ice performance being fully distracted by a small child kicking my chair and shrieking before) but generally it’s a really relaxed and exciting place to take your little one.

The whole show was a spectacular of incredible props, music and ice skating topped off with impressive use of pyrotechnics – including actual fire on the ice on more the one occasion – even Ben couldn’t quite get his head around that one!

Disney on Ice is always magical, but I think what really made this one for me was the variety in the performances and the fact we got to see so many of the princesses.  Previously we’ve felt a bit “oh we’ve seen this bit in another show” but this time there was none of that – yes we’ve seen Ariel and the Frozen gang before but it didn’t matter, the performances and props were different so it felt fresh and new.  This was Amy’s second Disney on Ice experience and she loved it even more than the first – and I loved watching her little face!

Tickets for Disney on Ice presents Dream Big are still available for venues including Birmingham, Sheffield and London with the show finishing in January at the 02 when the show switches to the spring tour of The Wonderful World of Disney on Ice.

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