Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy

Disney On Ice: Part 2!

Disney On Ice: Worlds Of Fantasy has toured the world and hit the UK in 2011. It is a collection of different Disney stories brought together on ice. In October 2011 we ventured down to the O2 arena in London to see it. We had 4 kids in tow - 2 girls (ages 4 and 5 years) and 2 boys (ages 3 and 7 years).

We had been to see Disney On Ice: 100 Years Of Magic the previous year which we all LOVED, so this show had a lot to live up to...

Booking and Prices

We booked our tickets through the Ticketmaster website and were able to choose where we would be seated (although many of the seats were already taken). Luckily we managed to get a decent row of seats facing the ice rink and in the middle of the lower tear.

Unfortunately tickets were priced per seat so all children had to be paid for and at the same rate as adults. We paid a total of around £215 for 7 tickets (around the £30 mark for each ticket), which does seem a little excessive for a kids show. Ticket prices varied on where you were seated - Eg. More expensive for front row, less expensive for upper tears.

Merchandise

The O2 was full of Disney merch which included programmes, clothing, toys, food and photographs. None of it came cheap, far from it infact - we brought a Minnie Mouse toy, Buzz Lightyear toy, Bullseye toy and a sword which came to around £70.00! I also brought a frozen slushy drink in a Tinkerbell cup (Toy Story aliens were also available) for around £7.00 and found the food outlets were very overpriced too - 4 small hot dogs, 2 portions of chips and 1 burger cost around £30! I think it's fair to say that it was a total con but it was easy to get caught up in the 'Disney magic'...

The show

Last year we were seated in practically the same seats as this year, however last year we entered through the front of the O2 and this year we had to walk around to the very back of the O2. By the time we had walked around, queued up to show our tickets and queued up to be seated - we missed the beginning of the show which was really disappointing and frustrating.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy came out to introduce to show - cue an arena full of screaming children!

The first 'story' was Cars (it wasn't a story as such, they just drove around and talked to each other). This was the first time we had seen Cars on ice and we were all very impressed! The cars looked really good and just like they do on screen. They were the size of actual cars and looked really realistic - nobody could work out how they operated (we couldn't see any feet underneath!). Cars included Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally, Ramone, Flo and Mickey's car. The Cars section didn't last too long.

Next up was The Little Mermaid section which told the whole story of The Little Mermaid, but a much shortened version - around 10 minutes long. Most of the favourites made an appearance - Ariel, Sebastian, Flounder, Ursula, Flotsam and Jetsam. The characters looked really good and all the kids loved getting involved with dancing and clapping along with Sebastian the crab.

The third story was Tinkerbell. This section lasted around 20 minutes and told the whole story of the first Tinkerbell film (how she became to be a Tinker fairy). My daughter loves Tinkerbell and really enjoyed this part of the show. I think the highlights were when they were introducing each individual fairy and seeing Tinkerbell and Queen Clarion suspended from the ceiling as if they were flying. Other characters included Iridessa, Rosetta, Fawn, Silvermist, Vidia, Fairy Mary, Terrance, Bobble and Clank. The grand finale was excellent - very colourful, music-filled and magical.

Half way through the show there was around a 15 minute intermission - just enough time to get something to eat or make a visit to the toilet (although the toilets were absolutely rammed).

The second half of the show was dedicated soley to Toy Story 3. I'd say this lasted around half an hour. All of the kids loved it, especially as all of their favourite characters were there. Characters included Woody, Jessie, Buzz, Bullseye, Mr and Mrs Potato Head, Slinky, Hamm, Rex, Lotso, Barbie, Ken and Stretch. All of the characters looked great, I especially liked the bigger characters such as Lotso and Hamm as they looked very realistic and you could see them very clearly from further back (the human characters which included Woody, Jessie and Buzz weren't as good in my opinion - I think they should have used the characters masks/heads like they do at the Disney parks). I absolutely adored the hilarious scenes between Barbie and Ken - particularly when Ken showcased his outfits in 'Ken's Dreamhouse'! There was also a really touching part towards the end where Andy went through his box of toys and spoke about each one of them - each time he pulled a toy out of the box, they appeared inside a spotlight on the ice.

Downsides

Having seen Disney On Ice: 100 Years Of Magic the year before I have to say, I was a little disappointed by Worlds Of Fantasy. 100 Years Of Magic crammed in 18 whole stories, but Worlds Of Fantasy had just 4. There were no princesses (except Ariel) or many other crucial Disney characters/stories. It just felt like there was a lot missing.

I wasn't a fan of the ending of the show either. There wasn't a huge explosive ending as most of us expected. At the end of 100 Years Of Magic all of the characters came out and done a routine, they met some of the children on the side of the ice rink etc - it was really magical. At the end of Worlds Of Fantasy the Toy Story gang done a song, Mickey and Minnie came out and said goodbye.. and that was it. Hmm.

And as I've already mentioned - the prices!

Overall

All of the performers were great and the quality of skating was excellent (I only saw a couple of stumbles and one fall, although we didn't see any incidents at 100 Years Of Magic...). The choreography was wonderful throughout, I especially liked the routines they done as couples.

The music and talking was played over big speakers and the sound quality was good. All of the songs were good and were ones that everybody knew.

All of the characters looked (and sounded) as they should and the costumes/props/backdrops were excellent.

The kids loved the show and didn't complain or lose interest once. There was a nice variety for both sexes (Little Mermaid/Tinkerbell more for girls and Cars/Toy Story more for boys). I am an overgrown Disney fan myself so I probably enjoyed it as much as the kids!

Despite being an ice show the O2 wasn't cold, none of us wore our jackets. The length of the show seemed just right too (about an hour and a half long). We had a good view from where we were seated but I wouldn't have wanted to sit any further back, especially as there weren't any big screens to watch on.

Would I recommend Disney On Ice: Worlds Of Fantasy? If you haven't seen 100 Years Of Magic then you will really enjoy Worlds Of Fantasy. If you have seen 100 Years Of Magic then you should probably give this a miss as you'll probably be disappointed. If you're a big Toy Story fan then you will enjoy this show. I should imagine that all children under 10 would enjoy Worlds Of Fantasy and most adults too, so I'd be happy to recommend it.

Summary: 3.5 Stars out of 5 from me.