All Because of a Mouse: Disney on Ice presents Rockin' Ever After {Review}

If you haven't noticed, I'm a little bit of a Disney fanatic.  I love watching Disney movies.  I can't wait until the kids are old enough to visit Disney World and I kind of wish that I lived in Cinderella's Castle.  We just threw a Mickey Mouse Party for Lincoln's second birthday.  And when my husband proposed?  It was while I was dressed in a Belle costume on a castle set built specifically just for me at our community theatre. I love Disney!

So when Feld Entertainment offered to provide tickets for my family to check out the touring production of Disney on Ice presents Rockin' Ever After at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, it was a no-brainer.  We were thrilled to go!

Minnie ears from our 2010 Disney trip!

This was Lincoln's first time attending a live performance of any kind, so I wasn't really sure how he would react.  He was pretty intrigued by the downtown KC atmosphere before we even got inside the Sprint Center - so many cars, trucks, and taxis whisked past us!  We arrived and found our seats just as the opening number began, and the show was mesmerizing from the first moment.

Daddy & Lincoln

I didn't get a photo of Lincoln's face when he first saw Mickey Mouse, but oh my goodness - I wish I had!  He was so very excited and sat calmly with either a huge grin or a happy little smirk on his face.  Something has to be pretty incredible to get my busy two-year-old to sit still! 

Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, and Donald.

The show kicked off with a rocking dance number from the ensemble cast.  Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy were introduced and played the part of our hosts throughout the evening.  I thought they were integrated well throughout the show; we had many opportunities to wave as they skated past.  Every time Mickey skated off the ice, though, Lincoln pointed and wailed "Mowwwwse!" 

While we were at the show, we had the chance to meet up with some of my local blogging friends - Stephanie from Moments That Take My Breath Away and Rebecca from A Beautiful Ruckus.  You may recognize Lincoln's friend Grace - she's Stephanie's daughter.  Rebecca's quadruplets are friends of Lincoln's as well, and we are excited to see them again soon, once flu season ends!  They each shared more photos from this Disney show this week, so hop on over and take a look!

KC Mom Bloggers - Stephanie, Rebecca, and me.

Lincoln and Grace seemed a little confused as to why
we were all hanging out in the lobby!

Rockin' Ever After features four Disney stories - the classics The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, and newer favorites Tangled and Brave.  Two shows were highlighted on either side of the intermission. 

The Little Mermaid was the first story brought to the ice.  It began with an impressive on-ice boat (captained by Prince Eric) and subsequent shipwreck, then took the story at a quick pace to the end.  There were appearances by most of our favorite characters - Flounder, Sebastian, Ursula, Flotsam and Jetsam, Ariel's six sisters, and a whole host of under-sea creatures.  Under the Sea was a magical number featuring glowing fish (aided by black lights) and fun dancing.  However, by far the most impressive moment of the entire show was Ariel's aerial act, used when she turned from mermaid to human.  It was visually stunning at the very least - and a glance around the venue showed hundreds of little girls simply enamored as Ariel flew around above them.  Simply magical!

The only thing I really didn't love about this section was the use of Madonna's Vogue when Ariel's sisters first appeared and were introduced.  While the beat was catchy and the song fit well enough for the desired effect, I felt that it took away from the flow of the show and just didn't feel very "Disney."  While the little girls in the audience are unlikely to notice (or especially remember) this odd addition, it feels a bit undermining to add this to a family-friendly show, even when used in an innocent way.  I'm okay with my daughter having a Disney princess as an inspiration - Madonna, not so much.

Next up was Tangled.  We saw this movie while I was pregnant with Lincoln and while it may not be a "classic" yet, it's right up there with my favorites.  The most spectacular moment of this story was the unexpected skating horse, Maximus!  Hubby - who had never seen an ice show before - says, "the most impressive skating was done by front-of-horse and back-of-horse!"  I was truly astonished when Max galloped onstage.  I can't imagine the hours of practice the two skaters must have gone through to make such an awesome visual effect a possibility!  Also worth a mention are the floating lanterns during I See the Light - gorgeous!

Unfortunately, my camera wasn't very cooperative during the first half of the show, so I don't have any photos from Mermaid or Tangled.

Merida

After intermission, we were whisked off on a quick journey to Scotland to visit Disney's newest princess, Merida from Brave.  We have not seen this movie yet, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect!  I do feel like I need to watch the movie now, to more fully understand the story, but we were given a good introduction.  The Scottish ice dancing was definitely impressive!

Brave - Clans Dancing

The final story featured in the show was Beauty & the Beast.  It's no secret at all that this is my favorite Disney story, and I was so excited to see it come to life in a new way!  This segment opened with Gaston's song in the tavern, which segued into the lively little French town filled with people singing about Belle. 

Belle

We really enjoyed Gaston's skating - I think it's fantastic that the show's designers were able to incorporate Gaston's attitude even in his skating.  It was obvious he thought he was quite amazing (and really, he was)!

Be Our Guest

Equally deserving of credit, the Be Our Guest number featured cast members skating and dancing in full plate and silverware costumes.  I've seen this show on stage multiple times and the ice skaters were top notch.  The kick line was especially fun!

One of my favorite parts of the story - the library!
LOVE this set design.

The title song, Beauty and the Beast, holds a lot of significance for me, as it's the song that was playing when Andrew proposed to me at our community theatre back in 2007.  I was really looking forward to this part of the show, especially once I realized it would likely be the last song before the big group finale (and it was). 

But, to be honest - I was a little disappointed.  The music track was not the expected Angela Lansbury movie soundtrack version, but a new pop-style recording at a faster pace.  I do understand the necessity of speeding up a number in a production with a shortened storyline and a target audience under the age of five.  But at the same time, I'm a Disney purist.  I have had this movie memorized since I was six years old.  For me, the magic of this moment was lost because it was not the same as the classic.  Will the four-year-old princesses in the audience notice or care about this?  Likely not!

Beauty and the Beast.

After Belle's story, there was a grand finale featuring all of the princesses and their respective princes, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy, and lots more singing and dancing on the ice.  The crowd was enraptured and I know I certainly didn't want the show to end!

Lincoln & Mommy.

I was honestly surprised at how well Lincoln paid attention throughout the show, even though Rockin' Ever After is definitely on the "girl" side of Disney.  Four princesses, but no cars or cowboys?  I didn't think Lincoln would last through the whole show, but he made it to the end with a smile on his face, and never tried to get down or run around, even in the slower moments.  Pretty good for a two-year-old who runs nonstop all day long!

The thing I love most about Disney is the absolute attention to detail.  There is nothing too small or unimportant to be overlooked.  I think that this is why Disney's magic is so successful - it's believable because it seems truly real.  Want to talk about details?  Over 350,000 yards of fabric were used to make all of the costumes in this production!  And there are 1,136 lighting cues in the production.  As community theatre enthusiasts, Andrew and I have designed lights and costume schemes for multiple productions.  The hours of time that must have been spent on this Disney production just blows my mind.  Seriously!  It's worth seeing the show for the costumes alone.

Overall, our evening was magical and it was a perfect way to introduce our little man to the magic that is Disney.  I know for sure that we will be going back the next time Disney on Ice comes to Kansas City.  I'm already thinking about a princess costume for Adelaide to wear!

A boy and a mouse.  Heading home.

Huge thanks to Feld Entertainment for providing my family's tickets to the show.  I received no other compensation and all views expressed are my own.  For more information, you can read my Disclosure Policy.