Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment - Our Review

Last weekend we headed off to Birmingham to review the wonderful Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment  at the Barclaycard Arena. 

The show features four stories: Toy Story 3, The Little Mermaid, Cars and Frozen, introduced by Disney favourites Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy. With exquisite costumes, stunning scenery, amazing choreography, special effects, pyrotechnics and original Disney music, the magic of Disney is brought to life on the ice. The story takes us from Andy's Toy Box to Under the Sea to Radiator Springs to Arendelle. What a journey!

The Toy Story routine was beautifully done, telling the tale of when Andy goes to college, leaving his beloved toys behind. Their adventure at Sunnyside and their elaborate escape is brilliantly executed and includes Woody taking to the skies on a kite and Lotso being picked up by a garbage truck driver's giant hand. Highlights included the toy soldiers with their synchronised routines and the hilarious love story of Barbie and Ken. It is touching, heartwarming and exciting with lots of laughs thrown into the mix.

The Little Mermaid is one of my favourite Disney films. I love the story of Ariel and her fishy friend Flounder, and Ursula the Sea Witch is a magnificent villain. I loved seeing the underwater kingdom brought to life on the ice with flowing fabric waves and intricately detailed dancing fish. The ice dancer portraying Ariel was perfect for the role, telling the story of how she fell in love with Eric, made a pact with the evil Ursula and eventually broke her spell with a kiss from her prince.

After the interval, we were treated to one of my favourite parts of the show. The Cars from Radiator Springs came to the rescue of Minnie and Mickey's new roadster that had broken down. The full size vehicles are so beautifully made and look great as they drive and spin across the ice. Mater the Tow Truck and Lightning McQueen are brilliant with their fully articulated eyes and talking mouths. We were all enthralled with the four wheeled characters and loved seeing Mickey and Minnie drive away in the pimped up roadster.

Frozen is still the part of the show that everyone is excitedly waiting for and when Anna and Elsa step on to the ice, they deliver with a musical extravaganza. When Elsa brings winter to Arendelle, special effects see snow fall from the sky and fountains freeze before your eyes. Elsa's castle that appears during 'Let It Go' number is spectacular and the arrival of Olaf the snowman received the loudest cheer from the crowd. The ice dancing was exquisite and of the highest standard, and the tale is told with real heart.

This is the perfect show for families to watch together. Seeing a Disney on Ice show guarantees you are in for a treat. With amazing performers, music, costumes and effects, the show is simply stunning. My family love it! It is a perfect show for younger children, introducing them to ice dancing and live performance, with characters and songs they know and love.

To find out when Disney on Ice is coming to a town near you and to book tickets visit: www.disney.co.uk/disney-on-ice/worlds-of-enchantment. The show runs until January 3rd 2016 with Belfast, Dublin, Sheffield and London dates available.

Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment

Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment is coming to Birmingham on October 21st to November 1st, as part of its current autumn UK tour.  Taking families on an exciting adventure through four magical worlds, featuring characters from Toy Story, Cars, Frozen and The Little Mermaid alongside Disney favourites Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy, it promises to be an action packed, fun-filled musical extravaganza! 

The Cars section features state of the art, custom animatronics for some high octane, freewheeling excitement. Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and the crew twist, turn and spin on the frozen freeway of Radiator Springs.

Anna and Elsa are the stars of the frosty kingdom of Arendelle, as they bring to life the wonderful award winning animation Frozen. Anna, helped by Kristoff and Olaf, embarks on an epic journey to find Elsa whose icy powers have trapped Arendelle in an eternal winter in this heartfelt, emotional story of true love.

Buzz, Woody and Jessie will be going to Infinity and Beyond, bringing the world of Toy Story to life and The Little Mermaid will welcome us to her undersea world to meet her friends.

The worlds of water, ice, wheels and toys come together to create an unforgettable experience for young and old Disney fans alike.

The characters, the costumes, the humour and the music add magic to the show while the incredibly talented cast skate with sheer perfection in perfectly choreographed routines. It is thrilling, enchanting and emotionally charged.

We'll be going to see the show at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham and cannot wait to experience the wonder of the Worlds of Enchantment!

Book tickets for Birmingham and see the other venues at www.disney.co.uk/disney-on-ice/worlds-of-enchantment.

Disney on Ice Presents Magical Ice Festival - Coming Spring 2015

Disney on Ice is a wonderful and magical family experience.  We recently went to the 100 Years of Magic show and were in awe of the beautiful costumes, storytelling, music and the talent of the ice skaters.  It was incredible!

Next spring, Disney on Ice has a brand new show, Magical Ice Festival, starring much loved Disney characters from Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Frozen.  Ariel, Belle, Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa are some my favourite Disney princesses, so I'm sure this will be an absolutely beautiful show.

Mickey and Minnie will be guiding the audience through a magical wonderland where they get to meet Sebastian and the daughters of Triton in their undersea kingdom; the loyal enchanted servants from Prince Adam's Castle and the rowdy thugs from the inn in Tangled!  A special appearance by Anna and Elsa sees them star in a story full of action and adventure along with Sven, Kristoff and the wonderful Olaf.  Frozen is the perfect story to be performed on ice!

Disney On Ice presents Magical Ice Festival is appearing across the UK from 11th March - 17th May 2015 in Aberdeen, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, London, Cardiff, Nottingham and Leeds. Tickets available from 7th November 2014.

Click here for tickets and show times.

The Snow Queen - Film Review

The Snow Queen is the magical fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson that inspired the hit Disney film Frozen.  This new release from Signature Entertainment brings the beautiful, original story to selected cinemas from October 25th and to Blu-Ray, DVD and digital platforms on November 3rd, to warm the hearts of children and melt even the coldest of hearts!

Gerda, a little orphan girl, embarks on a perilous journey across an icy wonderland to defeat the evil Snow Queen who has taken over the kingdom and kidnapped her brother Kai.  They are descendants of a wizard Master Vegard, who according to the prediction of a magic mirrior, had the power to defeat the Snow Queen. Accompanied by her pet Ferret Luta and Orm the Troll (one of the Snow Queen's minions who comes good) Gerda faces danger in her race against time to save Kai and bring warmth back into the hearts of people across the land.

Gerda and Kai are lovely characters, nicely animated and with lot of appeal. They both possess special powers and good hearts.  Orm and Luta are great sidekicks adding lots of humour to the adventure. There are some great laugh out loud moments to break up the tension. There are a lot of heartwarming and emotional moments, but also a great deal of mild threat and peril.

This version of a much loved story is definitely a little dark in parts.  Gerda and Kai's parents are taken by the Snow Queen's polar wind and ultimately killed by the Snow Queen in the opening scene. The head of the children's home where the children live is really horrible and Gerda encounters lots of people on her travels intent on destroying her mission.  The ice beasts and ice trolls are quite fearsome and the Snow Queen herself is really evil and so this may be a bit frightening for the very young or very fainthearted children. But slightly older children will love the adventure and the thrills of the movie.

The finale of the film is quite intense and a little bit scary, but we find out the truth about the Snow Queen and see good triumph over evil. Gerda's bravery, along with the spirit of her family in her heart, defeats the evil of the queen and we see peace and warmth restored to the kingdom. The Snow Queen learns that having hatred in her heart helps no one and Gerda and Kai are reunited.  So there is a happy ending for everyone.

This is a great take on the traditional story and a perfect film in the lead up to Christmas.

Here is an activity sheet that can be clicked on and printed to entertain the kids!

Win a copy of Disney's Frozen Soundtrack

I can't wait to take the kids to see Disney's latest movie, Frozen, especially after listening to the original soundtrack.  The songs from the film took me back to the Ashford and Menken glory days of Disney songwriting.  Each of the eight original songs propels the storytelling and adds emotion and humour. "Let It Go" sung by Demi Lovato delivers a poignant and powerful message about self discovery.  It would make a perfect stand alone chart song, it's very credible and relevant with a great catchy and empowering chorus.  Other songs represent a return to Disney's musical excellence.  "Do You Want To Build a Snowman?" is a heart tugging tune filled with raw emotion whilst Olaf's "In the Summer" is laugh out loud funny!  The score is inspired and epic, embracing the beauty of the setting and the emotion of the story.  The music takes you on a wonderful journey.  If this CD is anything to go by, Frozen is going to be a beautiful and stunning movie!

We have 3 copies of ‘Frozen’ The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - which features a recording by Demi Lovato - to give away. Frozen OST is out to buy on 2nd December and includes music and songs from the festive new movie from Disney.

To enter simply fill in the Rafflecopter entry form and tell me what your favourite Disney song is as a blog comment. This will unlock bonus entries!  The prizedraw closes at 11.59am on the 5th December.  Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

‘FROZEN’ The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is available from 2^nd December from Walt Disney Records

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com