Disney on Ice – Passport to Adventure

Erin has been a huge Disney fan from a very young age, and first started showing an interest in films like Frozen and The Little Mermaid – my own childhood favourite, at around 18 months. Now aged four, Erin will happily sit snuggled up on the sofa, contentedly watching her favourite Disney characters on screen whilst singing along to their signature songs. Despite it having been around for a while now, Frozen has never lost its charm, and Elsa still remains her absolute favourite. She can often be seen wearing her Elsa dress, flicking round the long blonde plait on her headband and pretending to shoot imaginary ice from her hands. Ariel also make the odd appearance, and Erin has even been caught on occasion using her fork as a dinglehopper (but the less said about that the better).

We were lucky enough to be invited along to the opening night of Disney on Ice’s latest tour – Passport to Adventure at the Arena Birmingham (formally the Barclaycard arena, or for those of you who are even older like me, the National Indoor Arena) and given the chance to have a meet and greet with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Erin was so excited when they came out from behind the scenes, and felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She gave Minnie the biggest hug when she bent down to greet her and came over a little shy and starstruck! Neve on the other hand was slightly confused by the arrival of two giant mice, but I will forgive her for that, she is only one after all! 🙂

We had an amazing night at the Passport to Adventure. If you’re heading along to the Disney on Ice tour this Autumn – here’s a little about what to expect!

The show lasts around two hours with a short interval and comfort break in the middle. It was divided into four different stories or scenes from Disney Classics including The Lion King, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid and Frozen, with Minnie, Mickey and friends being the tour guides or hosts to introduce each section of the show. Prior to the main attraction there is a brief warm up pre-show act with Zootropolis characters Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps – Erin really enjoyed getting up out of her seat and nearly all the children across the venue (and some adults too!) were all copying the dance moves and burning off some excess energy!

No matter where you sit in the Arena Birmingham, you are pretty much guaranteed a good view of the rink, however rinkside seats are available at a premium for those who want to get a little closer to the action. We were sat in the lower section row K at the far end of the rink, and our view was great. Erin is a bit of petite little thing, but at no point was her view restricted.

The first act was the Lion King, and the rink is immediately transformed into the African Savannah. I had to admit I had a proper giggle when Timon and Pumba came pelting out on to the ice. The outfits are very very clever, so much so that at times it is easy to forget that there is actually a human being dressed up inside them! We watched the story of Simba and Nala unfold with some beautiful romantic skating, and even as an adult I had to hold my breath when Nala was spun around in the ‘headbanger’ bounce spin!

Next up was our journey to Neverland, where we were introduced to Wendy and her family, before Tinkerbell, Peter Pan and Hook all made their appearance. Highlights included the synchronised dancing between Peter and his escaped shadow, Wendy and her brothers flying through the sky with magic fairy dust, and the moment Hook got gobbled up by a ginormous inflatable crocodile!

Whilst Erin loved the pre interval acts, Disney Princesses are her absolute favourite, so she became even more excited when we ventured down under the sea! This was by far my favourite scene, as the outfits and visuals were absolutely fantastic, with Flounder flipping his fins, energetic smiley faced starfish, dancing flamingos and giant jelly fish bobbing up and down amongst the coral and seaweed. Highlights again included Sebastian and his eclectic dance moves, and the evil witch Urszula, who grew into a giant overpowering octopus before being destroyed when her attempted to destroy Ariel was foiled!

Finally, we ventured to Arandelle, the scene that Erin had been waiting for with baited breath. As soon as the princesses appeared on the rink, Erin started waving and carried on pretty much for the entire duration, just incase Elsa was to make anything that appeared like eye contact (bless!). We were able to watch Elsa’s Coronation, before meeting a bouncy and happy Olaf and the moment true love thawed a broken heart. Erin enjoyed singing along (LOUDLY!) to her favourite Frozen anthems and at times it really felt like we had entered a winter wonderland, with snow falling from the sky, and pyrotechnics creating bangs and sparks whenever Elsa’s magic set to work.

As a parent, it is great watching the wide eyes of your children as each scene brings the Disney story to life. Even at just one year of age, Neve appreciated the magic of the event, with the bright lights, music and dancing captivating her attention and causing her to bop and rock on my knee! Not only are the skaters amazingly talented, but are cast are chosen well to reflect their characters, with Erin being able to truly believe that it was the ‘real’ Elsa and Anna in front of her very eyes.

My only real criticism of the whole event was the cost of the merchandise, with some of the prices being on the eye watering side! Clearly the children are keen to purchase a light up wind or freeze pop drink, but with prices being around £18/20 for a wand and £8 for a bag of popcorn, this could soon become an expensive evening out for an average family. With lots more merchandise outside the arena itself, food and drink to purchase and potentially a parking cost in addition, you may end up spending more time than you might like saying “No!”

For younger children, a matinee performance may be better suited to ensure that they don’t get too tired towards the end, particularly if their princess acts are their favourite. Erin did stay awake and refused to miss any of the action, but by 8.30 she was well and truly exhausted and fell asleep within about 2 minutes of getting in the car! 🙂

Overall we had a lovely night at Disney on Ice Passport to Adventure. The tour is on at the Arena Birmingham from the 18th – 29th October. For more information on the Tour see Arena Birmingham Disney on Ice.

*Disclosure – We were gifted tickets to Disney on Ice Passport to Adventure and I chose to write this review. Please note, meet and greet is not included in the standard ticket price but is available to purchase for an additional fee*