I had seen pictures of people with their kids at Disney on Ice productions over the years but hadn’t ever looked into it much for my own children. I realized Kye is now 6 and that there is a good chance he will soon be “too cool” for characters singing and dancing on ice skates! I started looking into it and found out that there was going to be a show in Jacksonville! Robyn hadn’t ever taken her kids to it either so we thought it’d be a fun day trip to tackle together. Zach agreed to stay home and keep Tess so I could focus on having some big kid fun!
Leading up to the show I didn’t look into it much. I figured it’d be just like going to the movies but watching live action. The day that we were leaving I started searching on Pinterest and Google for what we could expect and I kinda freaked out! It’s a bigger deal event than I’d realized! I rushed around that morning getting things together for us and threw together some pretty great last minute outfits, snacks, and other gear for our crew!
We booked the 3:30 showing so we had plenty of time to get there and would be home before it was too late in the evening. We left at noon from Valdosta and actually got there right at 2:45 which gave me enough time to pump and for the kids to get ready and head in. We only had a few minutes to wait before the show started!
Belle and Woody ready for Let’s Celebrate!
I was SO EXCITED. Anything Disney related just gets me GIDDY!
Our Crew!
Princess Belle
Sheriff Woody
(Sidenote…he wanted to wear his full Woody costume. From when he was three. Bless him. Thankful I had some “cow boyish” clothes that worked!)
I know I’ve read a lot about how to get discounted tickets. I will probably look more into it if we go again in the future, but I just bought ours direct from Ticketmaster. It’s a big disadvantage of living in a smaller town. I was forced to pay the crazy fees because we don’t live close enough to pick up tickets in person! Robyn and I did agree that getting closer seats was worth the up charge and I totally don’t regret it at all! We were so close!!!
We all LOVED IT!
So much excitement haha
I really wasn’t sure what in the world to be expecting. Basically the show has a very, very loose story line. It incorporates a ton of characters, familiar songs, and neat ice skating tricks. It’s very BUSY and loud and high energy. Cooper is 2 ½ and wasn’t bored at all (until the very, very end which is really awesome!). I was mostly surprised by how much KYE loved it. There is a GREAT mix of stuff to please both boys and girls as well as the little kids and older kids. I read that most kids ages 6 and under enjoy it but I truly think Kye will continue to enjoy it for another couple years.
Of course we went crazy for some Donald!
The “Let’s Celebrate” show featured the different holidays throughout the year as well as how different countries celebrate. There was a “scary” section with Halloween but even that wasn’t very scary. Britt actually said later that the big spiders were her favorite 😉
Britt was so excited to show her Belle the real Belle 🙂
During intermission we were prepared with a LOT of snacks to keep the kids happy and to keep us from going crazy due to the kids wanting all the waaaaay over priced snacks. Like $20 for a snow cone. No, I’m not exaggerating. All our kids knew going in that the tickets for the show cost a lot of money and that the SHOW was the PRIZE. We weren’t getting snacks or toys or anything like that. Really the toys weren’t even tempting. They did have people walking around with the snacks and I’ll admit it…even I would have loved the snow cones or cotton candy! They also were selling glow stick type things so we were glad we had brought our own! Thank you Target Dollar Spot!
Some of our favorites from the second half of the show!
We really, really had a great time. I was WAY more impressed than I had expected to be and I was sad to see it end! Frozen on Ice is the next big production and will be coming near our town in April of next year so I for sure want to get tickets to that!!! I’m hoping maybe someone knows how to score some cheaper ones?
I am usually a HUGE planner but just didn’t realize that planning really went into going to a Disney on Ice production! Here are some things I learned from our experience:
- It’s worth the extra money to be a little closer. We didn’t buy the BEST seats in the house, but we got one up from the middle section and could see SO well!
- We also got seats on an aisle, that way we were ready in case a bathroom break was needed or in the off chance one of the kids pitched a fit and needed to be taken out (like I WISH the dang people behind us had done! UGH)
- We picked up glow sticks ahead of time! They usually have them at Target but always have the at the Dollar Tree.
- I also found little Disney themed snack containers and brought along snacks that our kids don’t usually get (candy!). This gave them a special “Disney treat” without spending $20.
- I also grabbed some Disney themed prizes from the dollar bin. We didn’t end up giving them to the kids as they had such a great time and didn’t “need” a prize but I wasn’t sure what kind of junk they’d be trying to sell. Really the merchandise isn’t bad at all and it’s all right when you walk in so just bypass that area and you’re good to go. Next time I won’t be bringing any “prizes”
- I read a lot of people bring jackets because it gets cold near the ice. I didn’t bring any but dressed my kids in long sleeves and pants. Robyn brought some jackets and didn’t use them. We didn’t think it was chilly at all!
- I’m SO glad the kids dressed up! It made it EXTRA fun for them! They also brought along some of their Disney stuffed animals to hold during the show and that made it even more special.
- You for sure want to get there at least 30 min early to give time to go to the bathroom, find your seats and be comfortable before the show starts!
- I would also recommend googling around about your specific show ahead of time. It was good that I knew going in about some of the more scary scenes. I could lean over and warn the kids and remind them that the scarier elements weren’t real, etc.
- it’s also good to know which characters will be in your show! I know I heard people talking about Elsa and Anna and they weren’t in the show we saw. I focused my kids on getting excited to see characters that I knew would be there!
- Be prepared that once you see one show…you will want to see more!!!
The kids all had a BLAST and Robyn and I both enjoyed it too! We drove through to get dinner on the way home and everyone was content to watch their movies, eat their food, and giggle the whole way back!
These two are SO CUTE together!!!
Coop was cashed out the minute we got in the van…I don’t even think he touched his dinner!
Pro moms! We enjoyed the together time! 4 hours in the car meant a good bit of catching up 🙂
Have you ever gone to Disney on Ice? I’d love to know at what age kids stop enjoying it? I know at some point it’ll probably become a “girls adventure” for Tess, Britt and me! I did see some older kids there though and hope maybe Kye will continue to enjoy it for a few more years!!!
