Before the show we got to meet and greet with Mickey Mouse, and for the first time in ages my youngest joined in with the photo. Hes not keen on dressed up characters and has avoided them for a while, so it was really brave of him and hopefully a sign of things to come!
We had seats to the right side of the arena and first up was the Fit To Dance warm up, with a host of skaters on the ice in sparkly costumes that were really impressive. They looked great and really had the audience joining in.
The comperes for the evening were Mickey and Minnie plus Tinkerbell, who gracefully added a touch of fairy dust to the entire evening. Tink introduced Fit To Dance and it was really good to see her and seemed so right that I'm stunned she hasn't been a regular feature before now.
They seemed to launch into Aladdin very quickly and I think everyone suffered slightly for it. Several of the skaters maybe weren't quite warmed up, there were a few jitters and a fall, and more importantly the audience weren't fully paying attention. It was a shame because they are very talented skaters and as everyone settled back into seats and finished their discussions, what was happening on the rink at first was a little lost.
After Aladdin was Beauty And The Beast. This holds special memories for me because the first time I ever saw Disney On Ice the entire show was dedicated to Belle and her tale. That was 15 years ago, but seeing the Candlestick and the dancing cutlery really took me back. It looks incredibly impressive on the ice.
Rapunzel was our next person with a big dream - freedom and maybe a Prince of her own - and then Moana. My boys really love this Disney movie and Maui is a favourite. He was brilliant. Super tall and covered in tattoos - well done to the skater performing that role!
Moana herself was one of the most talented ice dancers on the rink, she really shone. Highlight of thi segment and the moment when all the crowd went "oooooh" was when the ice was actually set on fire by the 'Lava Monster'....
Next up was The Little Mermaid. The amount of movies and characters covered in Dream Big is huge! I couldn't believe how many we saw even before the interval.
One of the classics followed and these were my personal highlights of the evening. Sleeping Beauty was a joy to see, with a gigantic Maleficent dragon sprawling across the ice...
My favourite Disney movie as a child and my favourite Ladybird Book was Cinderella, and I was going to get married in her blue chiffon dress. Seeing it in real life on a young woman was amazing, it was an excellent representation. Sadly it didn't come out in my photos, but if you've ever seen the Cinderella Ladybird Book, you'll remember it...
A real crowd-pleaser next and one we were very familiar with. The 2016 show was Disney On Ice presents Frozen and it works so perfectly on the ice that it would feel strange not to see it included. Even my partner was singing along...
Disney On Ice always ends with the whole cast and this was a huge troupe, complete with Goofy and Cinderella's carriage. I think the costumes this year have to be the best collection I've ever seen - and the sparkliest!
The tagline for this year's show is 'Every Story Begins With A Dream' and all of the stories included have characters who dream of a different, or better, life. I think that phrase is perfect for Disney and it worked well as a way to weave the stories together.
Feld Entertainment's Disney On Ice presents Dream Big has another 3 days in Manchester before moving on to Birmingham - there's a full list of tour dates below. It's an excellent night out that you won't forget, complete with a good helping of that Disney magic...
Disney On Ice presents Dream Big! Tour Dates:
Manchester Arena - 10th Oct to 14th Oct
Birmingham, Arena Birmingham - 19th Oct to 28th Oct
Belfast, SSE Arena - 2nd Nov to 4th Nov
Dublin, City West Hotel - 9th Nov to 11th Nov
Sheffield, Fly DSA Arena - 14th Nov to 18th Nov
Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena - 21st Nov to 25th Nov
London, The O2 - 26th Dec to 6th Jan
Ticket prices vary by date, time and venue. For Manchester Arena shows our tickets would have cost around £28-£35 each without discount.
To find more information on the show and the ‘Fit To Dance’ family programme, as well as purchase tickets on the Disney On Ice UK website.
We attended as guests to review. The boys were also given a goody bag containing a colouring book and Maui! They were both ecstatic.
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