Disney on Ice

Tonight was a fun night for all of us - we went to see Disney on Ice. It was "Toy Story 3," so we knew Madison would love it. In fact, here she is when first seeing the Disney characters skate out onto the ice:

Look at her with that little green alien hat. It came with the cotton candy that we purchased - and she inhaled! I can't put into enough words how much she enjoyed this evening. She'd been watching people ice skate before - and watching Disney characters do it was the next level! Right away, one of her favorite characters came out to greet everyone.

Minnie Mouse, Mickey, Goofy and Donald were the "hosts" for the evening, which got started rather quickly with army soldiers parachuting down from the ceiling - on skates, of course. Each character was introduced at the beginning, including one of Madison's favorite toys, "Mr. Potato Head," and his lovely wife too.

One of Daddy's favorite characters showed up too: Emperor Zurg! A long time ago, I thought this would just be a bunch of characters skating around in circles, dressed up with oversized heads. But Disney on Ice actually puts on a great production with jumps, choreography, great music, special effects, pyrotechnics, aerial stunts, and oh yes: little green men.

The bad guys show up too, of course. Lotso the Bear shuffled along in an incredible suit. And Ken was there too. Check out Lotso as he leads the unsuspecting cast through Sunnyside Daycare. Alongside him is Ken, who had a really fun costume on. His walk was perfectly rigid, and yes, there was the controversial ascot.

But would Ken be swayed to join the good guys when he sees Barbie? The scenes with these two characters almost were the highlights of the evening. Their first ice dance to the song "Dreamweaver" was very good, filled with moves that had Madison's eyes wide open.

All in all, it was a great production that had Madison in her seat and focused on the action on the ice. What was really great about it were our seats. Daddy didn't realize how close up we'd be, but you can tell by some of these photos that we were right up there next to the characters! Madison loved that, of course. But so did Mommy and Daddy.

It was a perfect family outing. Obviously, we had to get cotton candy. When you get cotton candy at a Disney on Ice show, you usually get some sort of themed headgear. This time, Madison got a little green alien head, which she wore for most of the night. Madison was so happy that at one point, she turned to Mommy and randomly gave her a kiss on the cheek!

When Daddy went to get popcorn during the intermission, he discovered that Madison had learned a new word, which she was proudly saying: "Zamboni!" Mommy, always in educational mode. Never miss a teachable moment when a zamboni is near!

Anyway, tonight was Lotso fun for the family. Daddy worked most of the day leading up to this, and Mommy was busy running errands. Madison played quietly in her room, except for the occasion where we all ate Ramen noodles for lunch. In other words, it was a pretty quiet day. All that changed when we hopped in the car to go down to Phillips Arena. Madison had no idea what she was about to see!

As a little teaser, we have plans on going ice skating in a few days. It'll be her first time, so I'm sure you'll be seeing pictures here soon enough. Until then, it's bedtime. See y'all later!