I still remember my first experience with Disney on Ice. My oldest was 4 years old and was already well into his “girls are gross” phase that hasn’t left nearly five years later. During the middle of the show, there was a parade of princesses. My son turned to me and loudly said “YOU NEVER SAID THERE WILL BE PRINCESSES HERE!” Even the lure of cotton candy couldn’t keep him in his seat much longer. The show was a bust. Every year since our decision to bring my son to see “rotten princesses,” he hasn’t wanted to go since. Every year I ask, every year he says that he’s not interested.
I’m not sure if this year, he’s started to realize that princesses aren’t that awful or he’s getting ready for what life will be like with a little sister or if the alignment with Ski Week meant that princesses on ice was better than another day at home doing nothing. Whatever the reason, when I asked him this year, he not only said yes, he was actually excited about it.
Disney on Ice‘s latest production Dare to Dream would, at least on paper, seem to be the most princess of Disney Princess performances you could go to. Yet the stories of Princess and the Frog, Cinderella, and Tangled have nothing to do with princesses on parade. Each vignette tells the movie version of their story in an spectacular performance. Experience Disney’s hilarious “hair-raising” escapade, Tangled, as Rapunzel, her unlikely companion, Flynn, and Maximus, embark on an uproarious journey that takes adventure to new lengths! Boogie to the beat of the bayou with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen in a magical, musical journey that all begins with a fateful kiss. And fanciful dreams become reality as Cinderella meets her Prince Charming, with a glass slipper fit for an unforgettable fantasy come true. Throw in Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald as your Masters of Ceremonies and the show becomes truly magical.
My son forgot that the show was about three princesses. It was just a show telling Disney stories. There’s even aerial acrobatics. I will warn all of the mothers of sons that the favorite princesses do take to the ice in a finale. By then my son didn’t seem to mind about the princess parade. Boys can Dare to Dream too, after all.
Disclosure: I received four complimentary VIP tickets in exchange for writing a review. The opinions expressed above are my own. Dare to Dream is playing at the Oakland Arena February 27 to March 3, 2013.