Last night our family went to go see Disney on Ice presents Dare to Dream in Sacramento. It was the perfect way for us to spend Valentine’s Day together as a family. This was our first time seeing Disney on Ice so you can bet that I scoured the Internet for information. Today I’m sharing with you some Disney on Ice tips so that you can be prepared and have a blast! My entire family would like to sincerely thank Feld Entertainment and Disney on Ice for hosting us. From the pre-show entertainment to watching the incredible performers on the ice it was a night we’ll never forget. We were gifted tickets to opening night of Disney on Ice presents Dare to Dream and some links contain affiliates, all opinions are my own.
how to pick the best Disney on Ice show for your family
As of February 2019 there are five different Disney on Ice shows to choose from:
- Dare to Dream featuring Moana for the first time ever! Other favorite characters in the show include: Anna, Elsa, Belle, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Mickey and his friends! There is also a special pre-show sing-along with Miguel from Disney•Pixar’s Coco.
- 100 Years of Magic has a cast of over 50 of our favorite beloved Disney characters! You’ll see a wide assortment of classic Disney characters and princesses take the ice. Everyone’s favorite mouse is the leader of the pre-show festivities here!
- Frozen features a retelling of one of your favorite Disney stories of sisters. It also has several other familiar faces from Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and more. Be sure to arrive early to see Mickey and Minnie start the show!
- Mickey’s Search Party will take you on a quest with Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan, Ariel, and more! This fun show also features an additional story time character experience with Belle that you can purchase tickets for.
- Worlds of Enchantment will have you under the sea and in the snow with characters from Frozen and The Little Mermaid. Disney•Pixar’s Cars and Toy Story‘s favorite faces come together too to ensure that everyone in your family will leave happy!
Disney on Ice presents Dare to Dream
Before I get started sharing my Disney on Ice tips I’d like to share my review of Dare to Dream! It had lots of our favorite characters and songs from Disney moves we love. This show also had incredible acrobatic stunts during the Rapunzel scenes that amazed the entire audience! It made you realize just how strong and talented the performers are.
After an introduction by Mickey and his friends the show started off with Belle. Belle is one of my favorite Disney princesses so I was excited to see her! Cinderella was next and a couple of my kids said Cinderella was their favorite of the whole evening! At one point her carriage even made it onto the ice and that was really neat to see. The last princess to make her appearance before intermission was Rapunzel and I already mentioned how amazing that was! Her portion was definitely one of my favorites of the night!
Frozen & Moana
After a brief intermission the rest of the show consisted of our favorite faces from Frozen and Moana. In the Frozen portion we experienced both snow and pyrotechnics in the arena and the crowd went wild! It was impressive to see all the skating skills paired with their acting skills as our favorite songs played.
During Moana’s turn on the ice we experienced beautiful choreography and stage (ice?) design with the movement of her ship through the “water”. Maui was a lot of fun as was his signature number, “You’re Welcome”. When we descended into the realm of the monsters and Tamatoa came out I think we were all impressed. I don’t know how anyone could skate in that large and extravagant costume! The audience went crazy again during the “Shiny” number when a disco ball cast sparkles all over the arena.
The Moana portion was basically a shortened story line of the film. It was interesting to see how they interpreted it to bring the story to the ice. After that we enjoyed a curtain call of everyone that had been in the show before it ended. It was fun to see everyone together on the ice!
Insider Disney on Ice tips: You can register on the Disney on Ice website to receive emails regarding rewards and shows and rewards in your area. Have a particular show you want to see? Check the tour map to see when it’s coming to your area!
Disney on Ice tips
become familiar with the venue
Our local Disney on Ice presents Dare to Dream production was held at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. I had been to the area before but never inside. Luckily, my husband had been once so he was a little more familiar with where the box office and parking was. It’s good to know the best parking and where the box office is if you’re picking up your tickets there.
Try and familiarize yourself with the inside of the venue too–where are the bathrooms and exits in relationship to your seats? The tickets that Feld Entertainment and Disney on Ice generously gifted us gave us easy access to the concessions and a restroom. This was something I wouldn’t have thought of before but really came in handy with four little ones during the show!
Also know what your venue does and doesn’t allow inside. Several event centers these days are really cracking down on things like water bottles. Some will let you bring in snacks and some won’t. Know the guidelines of the venue beforehand so you’re not disappointed when you show up.
make sure you’re early… but not too early
Since we had been invited to a pre-show event we were there plenty early enough to find our seats, use the restroom, get all our snacks, and still participate in the pre-show sing-along with Miguel from Disney•Pixar’s Coco. However, I saw lots of people still making their way in 20 minutes after the show had started. This was too bad because they missed a good portion of the show! Also, the lines for concessions and souvenirs started getting really long right before showtime and I was glad we’d avoided that!
make a budget and stick to it
One of my biggest Disney on Ice tips? BUDGET. Yes, Disney on Ice can be expensive but there are also lots of ways to save some money. First of all, before purchasing tickets search for discount codes for your city. Disney on Ice presents Dare to Dream is in Sacramento through February 18 and you can use MOM for a discount code when purchasing tickets. Next it will travel to San Jose and then to Oakland before leaving California for Utah. You can sign up for Disney on Ice email updates for released discount codes or check with your favorite bloggers in the area to see if they’re sharing one!
Decide beforehand what you will or will not spend money on at the arena and prepare your kids. I planned accordingly because we knew that we didn’t want to spend money on souvenir toys at the arena (more on that in a minute). We also told our kids before even stepping inside that we would only be buying a couple of food items to share.
Don’t forget to budget for parking! Event centers and arenas often increase their parking rates for special events so be prepared to spend a lot. Or, if you know the area well you could figure out alternative parking. It might be a little further away but sometimes the price difference is worth the extra walking.
Insider Disney on Ice tips: The Disney-themed snacks in the arena often come with little souvenirs of some kind. When you factor in the cost of a snack and a toy it’s really not a bad deal! The popcorn and the cotton candy are the easiest food items to share with the whole family and each come with a little souvenir.
don’t be afraid to bring your own pixie dust
Something that can help you stick to your budget is bringing along your own souvenirs. After seeing several photos and blog posts about Disney on Ice tips I knew that there would be plenty of items for purchase. Among them several different types of light up toys. I decided to stop at the dollar store a few days beforehand and buy some glow stick wands to take. I was able to find an assortment of fun glow wands, including Disney themed ones for a fraction of the price! In fact, I bough each of my children two different wands they could choose from (so eight total) for less than one light up toy at the arena. And you know what? They were totally excited about them and fine with the idea of not getting a light up toy. I saw them waving their wands around during the whole show!
Disney on Ice tips: One of the best souvenirs is always your own pictures, right? It can be tricky to get good quality pictures in the dark, especially when people are moving around. Arrive early and use the good light pre-show and during intermission for pictures of your family. For good pictures of the show wait until the end of each number. The characters will pause for a few beats and that’s the best time to snap a picture!
dress appropriately but have fun with it
Remember that you’re in an ice arena so it’s not necessarily warm. I’d read in several places to be prepared for it to be about 10 degrees cooler than it is outside. However, with the stormy weather we’ve been having it was actually cooler for us outside in the wind than it was by the ice! We were fine inside with just our sweatshirts on but did need our big coats for walking to and from parking.
Be aware that costumes are allowed for children 14 and under and we did see many little princesses last night. Although we love our own princess dress up clothes I decided to purchase the kids new Disney sweatshirts instead. Their sweatshirts kept them warm enough and were fun for the evening, plus they’ll get a lot more use out of them! We also brought along our Mickey ears (look for a post about some of our favorite ear shops coming soon!) and the kids took turn wearing them.
