Disney On Ice presents Disneyland Adventure

With Disney On Ice in town and a friends birthday it proved a timely excuse to go and check out the action. It was my first Disney On Ice since the 90's. The shows theme was a day in Disneyland. No one could argue with that. Our overworked hosts, Mickey, Minnie, Donald & Goofy decided to take the day off and check out the attractions in the park. Naturally, Donald got into mischief and ended up closing down a number of rides. The attractions included, a visit to The Enchanted Tiki Room, The Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain (including a very well-executed high wire appearance by Buzz Lightyear), Big Thunder Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, The Mad Tea Party, a Main Street Parade, It's A Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and an Electrical Parade.

Disney characters and artwork © Disney/Pixar characters © Disney/Pixar

Naturally nothing runs smoothly, the evil Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty (who was mysteriously absent) made a timely appearance putting Donald & Minnie into a deep sleep.
Maleficent must have extraordinary powers as my friend had dozed off a few times during the first half. With no idea how to help, our friends call upon The Incredibles to help save the day.

On a technical standpoint the show was faultless. Great sound, lighting and choreography all helped keep the pace moving. Naturally, using the resort as it's setting gave the creators unlimited licence at incorporating a myriad of characters into the show. It was interesting seeing how the younger kids reacted to some of the older, less known, Disney characters. When Baloo (from The Jungle Book) appeared during The Jungle Cruise, a child behind us commented, "Who's the bear"? Our personal favorite was when Chip & Dale appeared and a child screamed, "Look! it's ALVIN!". Pluto and Donald received a good reaction, Goofy got a larger slice of the adoration pie, Mickey and Minnie's entrance was almost deafening. Daisy Duck, surprisingly, got deafening silence. Snow White & Cinderella received favourable applause and screams as did Buzz Lightyear & The Incredibles.

Disney characters and artwork © Disney/Pixar characters © Disney/Pixar

A personal highlight was seeing how the creators captured the fun of The Haunted Mansion on ice. The ballroom scene was captured perfectly, even Madame Leota made an appearance. Disneyland Adventure opened originally in 2005 and it's still running today proving that Disney along with Feld Entertainment know how to do it right.