The plan was that my sister was going to come along with us, but she had to unexpectedly go out of town. Since my parents were also out of town, Justin was wrangled into coming to experience the wonderful world of Disney with us girls. It would have helped tremendously if either of the girls had taken a nap that afternoon, but as it turned out, neither of them did. Nora doesn't usually nap in the afternoons at home. She could really benefit from a nap, but she doesn't always take one. Janie, on the other hand, is not usually one to skip naps so this was an unexpected and much less desirable turn of events.
Before we went, I researched some tips for taking young kids to see Disney on Ice or other shows of that nature. I found some things to be quite helpful. There were a few things that I had read about but probably didn't carry out as much as I could have. And there was a thing or two that I learned that I had not read about. I'll share with you my version of what to keep in mind when going to Disney on Ice:
Tip #1: Know what show you're walking into & prepare everyone for it.
The show that came around to Dallas was called "Worlds of Enchantment" and it featured Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, Cars and Frozen. It is about two hours long from start to finish. I knew all of that before we went and didn't mind at all. What I didn't know was that two of the storylines were going to be much longer than the other two. Toy Story and Frozen each had about 20 minutes of ice time while the others were much shorter. My girls had never seen Cars or Toy Story. They knew the main characters, probably from other kids' shirts and toys at school, but otherwise... no idea. If I had known, I might have at least watched the Toy Story movie ahead of time. The Cars portion, on the other hand, was so short that it wouldn't have been worth the ticket price for just a Cars fan. Also, this may be obvious to everyone who has seen the shows before but it somehow slipped by me: They tell the story of the movie {to an extent} with talking and movement on the ice. I guess I thought it would be performing to the music, which it also was, but thought that might be helpful to share! Anyways, the point is - to know what you're going to see and prepare your kids {and even yourself} for what the show will be like. This will help you avoid your three year old asking when Anna & Elsa are going to come on while you're sitting through thirty minutes of Toy Story.
Tip #2: Choose your seats carefully and according to foot traffic.
The layout of the show does have a "front" to it. For our stadium {hockey} it was behind one of the goals. You could have seen just fine from the sides, but I chose the front angle since it was available and essentially the same cost. I had thought that buying seats by the aisle would give us the flexibility to get up and down whenever we needed to take someone to the restroom. As it turned out, our kids didn't need to go the whole time we were there. And additionally, because we were right by the aisle, the constant flow of people who walk up and down the aisle were right in your line of vision. It would be some of my biggest advice to NOT buy tickets by the aisle. The hundreds of people who are late in addition to the hundreds of people who are taking their kids back and forth for whatever reason will be in your way the entire time. Seriously, choose the middle of the section for the best view.
Tip #3: Dress for the occasion.
They allow the kids to dress up like characters. Get into the fun! We let the girls each pick a princess dress to wear, but it was far too hot to be dragging them to and from the car in the unbreathable dress up clothes. We brought the outfits with us and put them over their clothes when we got there. Also, it's an ice show. We brought a big blanket to drape over our legs during the show. It wasn't super cold in our arena, but if you were dressing for hot weather outside with shorts and tees it might get chilly on the inside. Bring a light jacket, layer up if it's not too hot, or bring a blanket.
Tip #4: Keep the in-show purchases to a minimum.
Okay, this is our personal preference. If you want to go crazy on the food & concessions, that is totally up to you. It is super easy to spend a fortune once you get into the show on toys, shirts, food, drink, treats, etc. You cannot buy just cotton candy or just a snow cone. Everything that they sell down the aisles comes with some sort of addition {Olaf hat, Olaf cup, etc.} so instead of paying $6 for cotton candy you are paying $12. And $15 for a snow cone. And that will add up quickly if you have multiple kiddos. The people in the row in front of us purchased cotton candy and snow cones for every kiddo that was with them - I think four or five? That's easily $100 - YIKES! Since our show started at 5:00 pm and we would be there over our usual dinner time, we got some protein to eat in the car on the way there so that everyone would be a little less cranky. I brought in a few snack items that we have around the house but I knew that I would purchase a couple things there, too. The cheaper food is at the stadium concession stands as opposed to the themed-character food items. You can get popcorn, drinks, and candy there - not cheap - but for normal stadium prices. There are also lots and lots of souvenirs to purchase. I ended up letting the kids pick out something that was $15 or less. I tried to find something that I could purchase ahead of time to give the girls before we left, but I looked at was going to cost just as much as what was there. By purchasing there, it gave them a sense of control. That being said, I'm not sure they care a whole lot about what I let them pick out. If you can find a $5 Mickey somewhere, it would probably be worth it as there is nothing more frustrating than buying your kid a toy while out somewhere and them not giving it a second glance after that day. And really, I can't say there's ever a time when our kids get to pick out a toy somewhere unless we are at one of these type of things. And it happens pretty much every time!
Tip #5: Try really hard not to stress & enjoy the show.
This was hard for me. The girls both not having a nap that day and then both of them being pretty argumentative all the way there {and it's not a short drive...} had me already a bit stressed by the time we got there. Then, they wouldn't sit still for anything before the show started... ARG. Everyone wants their kids to behave in public and in these situations where there are masses of people, it's very easy to get worked up about what your kids are doing and what other people are thinking. But, the show really is magical. There were beautiful sets and props and music and the girls especially loved seeing the princess portions of the show. Really focus on why you're there and enjoying the magical moment with your kids. And then, learn from your experience for the next go-around.
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