Update: I try to be fair – in real life as well as on this blog. In my review (see below) I had mentioned being disappointed that Princess Tiana was not included in the show- although I could understand why she was not. One of the people who I have worked with at Disney let me know some of the backstory on Princess Tiana not being in the show, so I’m sharing it with you…
“Disney On Ice – Princess Wishes” was a production that was produced and went on tour a couple of years ago, prior to the existence of the Tiana character. While it would have been very difficult to re-stage the show itself, Disney On Ice was able to include her in the Princess Pre-show and she has been met by hundreds of enthusiastic little princesses prior to each performance. However, Disney On Ice did feature Tiana in a more recent production, “Let’s Celebrate,” and I’m certain she will be represented in other future shows too where she will continue to take her place among the other beloved Disney princesses.
It’s good to know that my timing assumptions were correct and that Tiana will be included in future shows. Thanks to Disney for the confirmation!
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Back on this Disney On Ice – Princess Wishes Family Four Pack Giveaway post, I was able to give away a family four pack of tickets to the opening night of Disney On Ice – Princess Wishes to Mom in the City reader Mona. She emailed me from the show saying, “Kim, This is amazing!!! My daughter is enchanted, thanks so much! Xoxo”. I also went to the show with another mom and two little girls. Below are my thoughts:
Just in case you are intending on going to this show, I have a word of advice: Have your little girl dress like a princess! If she doesn’t she might feel left out, because MSG was full of little ones in cute princess and fairy costumes. The actual show was excellent – the set design and special effects were stellar. Of course, the Disney-inspired costumes were also beautiful and colorful. It really was magical and the little girls were captivated from start to finish. Mickey and Minnie were the co-hosts of the evening and Tinker Bell would wave pixie dust to mark the beginning of each new segment of wishes becoming reality. The dancing during the Jasmine/Alladin segment was especially impressive. I remember thinking, “I can’t dance that well on land!” regarding some of the moves that they were performing on ice. The seven dwarfs received a lot of cheers during the Snow White segment. The Belle segment went by really quickly. The Ariel session was extended and fun. There was a really cool sailor portion that even the little boys in the audience enjoyed. Sebastian, the crab with the Jamaican accent, was very popular with the crowd too. There was even a portion of this segment when a few little girls from the audience were chosen to go on a coach ride on the ice. Fortunately, intermission was right after this portion because a gaggle of little girls had rushed down to the front to wait their turn for a coach ride! See images of the show for yourself:
The Little Mermaid ended after the break…after the kids yelled, “Boo!” to Ursula,the villainess. (I’m so glad that I had the little girls with me. They were my little narrators – telling me all of the characters and such!) Mulan was next. Although she is not “technically” a princess, this was my favorite segment of the night. The lessons of being gentle while being tough was a great reminder to the girls. As Mulan said, “The world is full of opposites. So are you.” The trick is to bring everything into balance. Then, it was on to Aurora/Sleeping Beauty. It was a little scary as the prince was attacked by a monster as he tried to reach Sleeping Beauty. However, with his “shield of virtue” and “sword of truth”, he prevailed. The last princess of the night was the beloved Cinderella. The kids were engaged the whole evening (the show lasted about two hours). They reacted to everything and sang along to the popular songs. I was truly impressed overall.
There were only two things that I think could be improved about the show. The first thing is the Disney Princess Pre-Show that started one hour before the performance could be more organized. The gowns and exhibits were beautiful and the little girls loved the appearances by the live Disney princesses – especially Princess Tiana. I’m not sure if it was just a location thing (MSG has a lot of seats) but the other mom and I were afraid that we would lose the girls in the crowd.
The second thing has to do with who was missing from the show. It was great that Tiana was part of the pre-show, but I really hope that she will be included in future shows – simply because the little brown girls need to see someone who looks like them. For instance, I overheard a conversation between two of the little girls at the show. The first little girl (who was brown) commented to her friend, “You could be one of the princesses (I think that it was Belle). Your skin is white like hers. Your hair is dark like hers and your face is pretty/cutie like hers.” Her little friend could not return the compliment… Although Tiana was not included in the show bill, her pre-show appearance caused many of the attendees to think that she would be performing in the show. As the event ended, I saw and heard several of the little girls…of all colors…wonder aloud what had happened to Tiana. Granted, Tiana and Rapunzel are two of the newest Disney princesses, so it’s understandable that they were not included. Hopefully, both will be a part of future shows. Beyond representation, I just like the grit of both princesses!
In any event, you can still get tickets for Disney On Ice presents Princess Wishes. They are available at arena box offices, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster Charge By Phone at (800)-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com. The girls in your life will love you for it!
(Thanks to Feld Entertainment for providing the tickets for me to review Princess Wishes.)