Last evening the family officially began “six months of Disney” as we prepare for a big trip to Disney World this summer by watching Tinker Bell fly through the air and marvelling at an enormous crocodile gobble up Captain Hook. We’re not taking this Disney prep lightly and have already begun shopping at Disneystore.com for tees and plan to turn “Movie Monday” into an exclusively Disney event. A little nutty? Maybe. But we love every minute. (“We” is defined as myself and my princess-loving daughter as well as our son but not necessarily the king of the clan who is excited about Disney World, loved Disney on Ice but isn’t exactly eating and breathing it like the rest of us.)

This was our third Disney on Ice performance and my favorite to date. It encompasses the princesses, my daughter’s favorite, but also takes audiences through other classic Disney stories such as Peter Pan and Lion King.  The highlight of the evening, barring a bigger than life-size elephant giving Prince Ali a ride and the incredible ice skating stampede that took Mufasa’s life, was an appearance by the newest princess and her unlikely friend. Rapunzel and Flynn elicited a special shriek from the kids sitting near us as did the final song which included all of the Disney princesses. As they circled round and round the ice, my children shouted their names over and over again: “Mulan…Cinderella…Belle” could be heard even after they waved goodbye and exited the ice.

Admittedly I watched my own children as much as the show and particularly enjoyed the overzealous clapping at the end of each segment. At one point my daughter leaned over, kissed my shoulder and said, “Thank you mama.” If only there was a Disney on Ice every weeknd. But then it my not be as special since now we wait until next January when once of the many Disney on Ice productions from Feld Entertaiment which this year include, in addition to Treasue Trove, include Dare to Dream, Toy Story 3, Magical Journey and 100 Years of Magic come to town. Not only would I highly recommend the show for both Disney and ice skating fans (which now the kids want to do of course), but I would encourage families to make the evening an experience by preparing, counting down and enjoying every minute of the magic.

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