Review of Disney on Ice - Princess Wishes

With a nationwide tour in progress for the Disney on Ice - Princess Wishes perfomances, we were lucky to visit the O2 Arena to enjoy the delights of this spectacular show.

We left home around 4pm, joined the M25 traffic and tried to keep two very excited children happy. They were excited even though they did not know where they were going. My husband and I kept it a secret to build the excitement for them, but as typical children they enjoyed the excitement, like Christmas, but were impatient to know what it was they were going too.

Once we had worked our way through the traffic and the Blackwall Tunnell we reached the O2 around 5.30pm. The O2 looked very large and spectacular as it was lit up and quite jaw dropping to see. The children soon realised what show we were going to, as there were signs guiding us in. We reserved a parking space on line and were able to drive straight up to the entrance nearly and walked about 350m to the venue.

We collected our tickets from the Box Office, with a little hiccup as they did not seem to have the tickets at first, which made me worry a bit, as telling children you might not be going was not something I wanted to do. However, all was well and we got our tickets. The children were hungry so we headed for the restaurants and setteled for Union Square. The food was ordered and within 3 minutes it was on our table. My son was very impressed being an impatient child when he has to wait for food.

At about 6.40pm we headed towards our seats. Passing many "little princesses" on the way. If you do go make sure you get your little girl a princess dress to wear. It certainly adds to the magic of the event. The usual treats were available on route to your seats, so be warned as the children are so attracted to them and the pressure will be on to buy the lighted wands, candy floss, brochure and silk roses. All of which are lovely, but they always seem so expensive for what they are.

We were given fabulous seats, which were lined up for the centre of the ice rink. However, the usual problem for little ones is that they struggle to see over any adult that might be sitting in front of them, so we had our daughter on our laps throughout the performance. The stage was beautiful and glistening and the show started with Tinkerbell, who came over as very cheeky and a little bit naughty.

The music was loud enough to create a wonderful atmosphere and each princess and her prince skated with great skill. The Dancing on Ice show was very clever with the use of dynamic and well made costumes.

I felt that the storyline was a little thin on some of the stories and my daughter kept asking questions as it did not follow the traditional tales that she knows so well. This didn't seem to disappoint in anyway but it seemed to affect the natural flow of the event.

My favourite part of the show was the Arial scene. Sebastian was very funny and entertaining and we loved the bubbles that appeared. The flourescent costumes really made you feel like you were under the sea.

My son's favourite part of the show was from Aladdin, as the pirates did back flips on the ice, and to quote his words "I am very impressed now!"

It was a lovely evening out, with a finale full of bangs,sparkle and fireworks.

The venue was a little chilly, probably due to the ice, so take an extra layer with you if you feel the cold.

Dates and Venues for Disney on Ice

For more information visit www.disneyonice.co.uk

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