Things to do: Disney on Ice (The O2)

Date Visited: Sunday, 30th December 2018 – ‘Dream Big’ tour finishes on 6th January 2019, with the ‘Wonderful World of Disney’ tour beginning later in 2019. Not long after our visit to watch Stickman, a good way to finish up the holidays. 

Location:  The O2 London, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX

Getting There: North Greenwich Underground (Jubilee line), and served by numerous buses. You can also arrive in style by catching the Emirates Air Line cable car, which you can board from Royal Victoria Docks.  

Cost: Tickets were £38 per person. 

Review: 

After booking the tickets in the summer, the day finally arrived! Cara occasionally watched clips of Disney movies on YouTube and I would remind her that we would be going to watch them live on ice. I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect with Disney on Ice. It was the ‘Dream Big’ tour, so I assumed it would be snippets of various Disney movies. 

On arrival, we passed through security and bag checks, and made our way up to our seats. Be careful if your children are drawn to bright lights of the toys. It is difficult to avoid all the merchandise and sweet stores as you walk through the Arena. Cara asked a couple of times whether or not she could buy one, but after a few reminders that she had received her Christmas presents already, she was okay with it.

I did have a peak at the prices of the toys and sweets and felt my wallet run the other way. Funnily enough, we visited the Disney store in Bluewater the following day and prices were definitely a lot less. 

The show… 

We found our seats (Section 410, Row CC, Seats 190-192) and they were quite close to the stage / ice rink. Unfortunately the seats aren’t the most comfortable. I think they were temporary ones for the show, which meant they were slightly wobbly. Cara’s not the tallest of kids either, so that meant 90 minutes of sitting on my leg for a better view.

The show started with Mickey and Minnie coming out to explain the premise of the show. Dream big and achieve what you want. It then cycles through the various Disney movies, re-telling certain parts of it on ice to the background of its famous song. Aladdin, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, Moana, Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and of course, Frozen. The ice skating and choreography are great, pyrotechnics eye-opening, and the songs catchy. 

Some movies attracted longer skate and song time, such as Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty and Frozen. The Frozen one seemingly took up most of the second session, but was well worth it.

Cara loved it, and when we asked her what her favourite character was, surprisingly she said Flounder from the Little Mermaid, because it had legs. It was good to see so many Disney Princesses in one place. Although, it doesn’t beat Ralph Breaks the Internet scene.

Once it was over, leaving the venue wasn’t too difficult. As we live relatively close to the O2 Arena, we only attended the Disney on Ice show and did not stay for the shopping or food. We have eaten there on numerous occasions and visited the cinemas, so can vouch that they’re all decent. However, on event day it can be quite busy so your first choice of restaurant may have long waits. 

Tips

1. It states you cannot bring in your own food or drinks. However we were allowed to bring in water and snacks (sweets and crisps).
2. Bag checks are conducted before you head into the Arena, which means queuing, so try arrive ahead of time.
3. If you arrive too early, there are new outlet shops at Icon (left of the O2 Arena entrance). Depending on the time of your show, you can visit them before or after. Other entertainment options include Hollywood Bowl and CineWorld.  
4. There’s plenty of restaurants on site to select from pre/post show. .

Ratings:

Burn Time: 3 out of 5 – The show is roughly 90 minutes, including an intermission.
Value: 2 out of 5 – Quite an expensive day out, especially if you purchase food, drinks and merchandise on site 
Overall: 3 out of 5 – Something different and brought the Disney Princesses to life for Cara, which she enjoyed. 

Have you seen any of the Disney on Ice shows? Have any other recommendations? Please leave your thoughts on them in the comments below.