Last Updated on October 17, 2020
Disneyland may feel like just a hop skip and jump away from us in Vancouver to LA, but it sure is nice when a bit of Disney comes right to us. We’ve made it a tradition to take my Dad to Disney On Ice every year and each year we have a great time; this year was no exception.
This Disney On Ice show came through Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum at the perfect time. We are heading to Disney World in January so I can do the Dopey Challenge and we are extending our trip for some more Disney fun and time in Miami. I have been training so hard for it that now I feel I am at a point where the races are so close, but I am starting to get bored during my runs; Disney songs can only take you so far during training. Dare To Dream was the perfect reminder of what I’m training for and was the perfect inspiration to keep going.
Leading into the show was a very bubbly and energetic cast member and dancers that got the crowd hyped before the show began. It is always impressive watching the skating ability of the cast members — if only I desired to continue ice skating lessons when I was younger! I wouldn’t want to be the rear end of the horse, Maximus (Tangled), though. That must take a lot of practice and coordination to be so flawless.
I will, however, note that it was a bit disappointing to only see the classic Disney characters Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald for the brief intro and to wave and bow at the end. It is always nice to have the classic characters make a bit more of an appearance.
Dare To Dream was all about the hero inside of each Disney Princess — and you. We were on the edge of our seats, especially for the Beauty and the Beast scenes. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite classic Disney movie of all time. We also really enjoyed the Tangled performance with all of the flying through the air and the pub scene where they sang all about their dreams. Moana and Maui really stole the show with the reenactment of their journey to Te Fiti.
I also loved how there were so many characters we have not often seen from our visits to Disneyland, such as the Fairy Godmother, Cinderella’s evil step Mother (Lady Tremaine), stepsisters Anastasia and Drizella, the Grand Duke (Cinderella), Maui, and Moana’s Grandmother, to name a few. Seeing characters we do not often see adds to the magic.
It was great how all the stories were straight to the point and everything flowed wonderfully between scenes. The details were all there and the costumes were jaw-dropping. Tamatoa from Moana was as “shiny” as ever and the detail on Beauty and the Beast’s Cogsworth and Lumière caught my eye. You know the cast is near flawless in drawing your attention where they want it when a few times I caught myself thinking — “Hey, where did that set change come out of”?
The kids were wide-eyed the whole show, even eighteen month Jacob. I expected Jacob to fall asleep for a nap, but he was pointing and excited until he made it back into his car seat. Madison and Sadie sure excitedly announced each new character to appear and sang along to each of the songs. I’m not sure who had more fun — the adults, or kids?
Take a look at the excitement that comes with Disney On Ice:
