There’s a new ice skating production touring the country this month – the Disney on Ice Heroes and Princesses show.
Be warned. If you are aged 10 or under, and attend wearing anything other than a synthetic princess outfit, you’re going to stick out like a sore thumb. Oh yes. It was an arena full of princesses that we found when we were given free tickets and invited to review the new Disney on Ice show in Liverpool last weekend. “Never mind,” said my niece, who is 9, and an emo. “We are TOTALLY the coolest people here.”
The idea of the show is that Mickey and Minnie introduce a series of stories which are then performed on ice by a team of professional skaters. There are a series of short scenes from all the princess stories – Aladdin, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, the one with the mermaid… it’s really quite something to see.
There’s the usual merchandising before the show, and we kitted the kids out with popcorn and water, before settling into our seats – which had a great view of the ice. The show kicks off with Tinkerbell, and some really impressive jumps and spins. Overall, the skating throughout the show is excellent and there are one or two sequences with really very cool acrobatic skating. All the children loved the fire breathing dragon that makes an appearance in the second half.
Flea and her cousins (aged six and nine) enjoyed the show, but I think they were among the older children attending – most of the audience seemed to be aged 3 and 4. As a result, I think they did get a bit fidgety at times, with my nephew falling asleep for part of the show.
Perhaps part of the problem was that the sound levels were very low. If there was any kind of audience noise, it was impossible to hear the dialogue from the performance, and certainly we all struggled to hear any of the words to the songs. I’m not sure if that’s because it was felt loud music might scare the pre-schoolers, but it did mean the show was lacking in atmosphere, somewhat. It may have just been an issue specific to this venue.
That said, there is plenty about the show to love. The sequences from Princess and the Frog had the best music (we thought) and the Little Mermaid sequence was great. And for the skating alone, it’s a fantastic spectacle to watch. Overall, I’d recommend this show to families of younger children, especially those who love princesses – there’s more than enough Disney Magic in the show to keep them enchanted.
