Disney On Ice: Rockin' Ever After

Last week I told you I was giving away tickets for the Disney On Ice show here in Orlando.  I want to send a very special thank you to Hallmark for providing me with a beautiful copy of What Makes a Princess. I cannot wait to record it for my frog princess and leave some extra messages of love there for her. Have you guys seen these? If you haven't, please be sure to check out the collection. I have heard from many of you that you want to use these books to record your little ones reading in their little voices. I had never thought of that but, what a wonderful treasure you're going to have!

Last night I had a chance to attend the first show in Orlando with my good friend Myrah (aka Coupon Mamacita). First of all, a great big thanks to her for thinking of the frog princess and I for the event. Second, wow. I haven't yet taken baby girl to the movies, unsure of how things are going to go. But last night reassured me that we are ready for these outings.

She was wowed from beginning to end. We got a chance to meet some of the production team. While they were talking and telling us a little about the show, they were being photographed and recorded. My girl turns to me and says "Mami, I don't want to take any pictures!". Um, yes, she's a little diva (I have no idea where she gets this from!).

The BIG thing that happened to her was seeing Merida and knowing that she too was a princess. She wanted to run over and see her. So we did. A great big special thanks to my friend Jennifer from Double Duty Mommy for taking these shots of us.

She was not satisfied with seeing Merida once and so, when she returned, she promptly got up from her chair and said "mami, you come with me?" as her statement to let me know she was ready to hang with Merida once again. Though she had taken off her crown to eat, she had me place it back on her head for the last picture and hug with Merida.

When we got into the show she was all eyes and all questions. Not only did the show keep her attention but she engaged me with questions: mami, why did the witch do that? Mami, what happened? I was very surprised at this and made a vow to run out and get every single Disney princess film so that we can start watching them.

Two hours flew by with only one incident. Right as intermission ended, I hear "potty!" whispered in my ear. Now, here's one of the things I remembered last night. Being skinny don't mean I'm in shape! Holy guacamole! I had to run with her up the stairs and then sprint to the nearest bathroom that DIDN'T have a line. The sad part? We missed some of Merida's performance which is what the frog princess kept asking about but the good news is that we didn't have an accident and she seemed sufficiently satisfied with what she saw. Me on the other hand? I would've killed for a cup of ice water after that race. Needless to say that if the zombie apocalypse took place today, I would not be sufficiently in shape to survive it but, that's another blog for another day.

From Ariel to Rapunzel to Merida and Belle, I was impressed by the quality of the show, by the skaters and by the fact that my girl is now big enough to sit through these. I'm not entirely sure who enjoyed it the most. Aside from the guy who came by with the light up thingies as I was speaking with Myrah and entranced the frog princess with what she has now named "the helicopter" which I had to promptly purchase from her, it was all fun and games. I may or may not have played with the helicopter in the dark after she fell asleep. It brought back memories of field trips to Madison Square Garden and Wringling Brothers where I played with similar toys.

The best thing about the night? I saw the excitement of my little girl and she infected me with the delight that only a child can feel. This was her very first Disney show and the awe that she felt was all around me. With little girls dressed in costumes and little boys dawning swords I thought back to a time when pretend was the main task of the day and play was part of my hourly vocabulary. Do you remember those days?

I think the reason I love all things Disney is because they bring the wonder of childhood back to the adults. I'm so glad I attended this show and so grateful for the reminder that I can still be a kid if I just allow myself to be.

I wasn't going to write about this until Monday but I am too excited and wanted to share my experience with you so that you could have an experience of your own this weekend. When I checked, tickets were still available.  So, who's going?

(interested in another giveaway? Be sure to join me for next week's Twitter party as we chat about Microsoft Office. RSVP to enter to win one of the fabulous prizes!)