The Absolute Coolness of Disney on Ice Princesses and Heroes

Disney on Ice is a holiday tradition.  It's way up there with fruitcake.  Every child should be able to have a taste of it at least once in their lifetime.  Well, we started our boys on it today.  Disney on Ice, I mean.  Not the fruitcake. :P

And they had a blast!

This year's theme:  Princesses and Heroes.  A fine Disney production that features romantic classics and newer mushy love stories. So it's cold and warm at the same time.  Perfect!

Since a brilliant ice skating doubles competition between Snow White, Cinderella, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and the Frog Prince is already expected, let me go through the other 'almost unexpected' spectacular highlights of the show.

 

Fantastic storytelling!  True to Disney form, this show's scriptwriting flows like silk.

Nostalgia and comedy.  It's Snow White's 7 Dwarves!  You could almost hear the parents in the audience sighing their flashbacks.

Breathtaking action.  The foot race and fight scene at Aladdin's marketplace was just fabulous!  The spotlights ruining my shot, not so much.

Spot-on Choreography.  What you saw at the Beauty and the Beast movie is mirrored onstage.  Incredible!

Glam.  Cinderella's battery-operated carriage got into every little girl's wish list tonight.  I'm sure of it.

Stunts!  Backflipping, rope swinging, catapulting ... in ice skates!  Who woulda thunk it?!

Free boat ride.  This is neat!  The Little Mermaid's mer-nymphs got kids from the audience and pushed them along for a sweet ice ride.

Coolest costumes.  Uh, is this really a surprise?

Dramatic entrances.  I love Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent!  My favorite villain ever!  Judging from the visual fanfare, I think Disney secretly digs her, too.

DRAGON!  Props to the props! This huge-ass dragon just breathed fire on the ice!  Graaaahhh!!!!

Fireworks galore!  Leave it to Disney to end the show on a high, festive note.

Acting par excellance.  I demand a whoop-whoop for Tinkerbell.  Seriously!  This girl IS a fairy.  Perkiness, fun aura, and the fact that she almost flies on ice... yep, fairy!!!

Ridiculously expensive merchandising!  Ok, I kinda expected that one.  It's the horrific red eye in this photo that's making me scratch my head.  Tsk.

Disney on Ice Princesses and Heroes is running until January 3, 2012 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.  Do not miss it.  It isn't a holiday until your kids say in a rather disturbing Mickey Mouse voice, "OH BOY!"

Our Quick Trip To Antartica

To quote my penguin boy, Miro, "This is a dream come true!"

And indeed it was.  Manila Ocean Park's latest attraction, Trails to Antartica, does not disappoint AT ALL.  Specially if you've had a thing for penguins for the most part of your childhood (like Miro), and a thing for value-for-money family entertainment for the most part of your adulthood (like me).  

For Php300, you get to experience 4 parts of the tour.

There's the Antartic Facts section where you learn tidbits about the frozen land.
The very loopy and long Ice Slide --which I'm pretty sure would've been loads of fun if we didn't chicken out.  *sigh*   Note to self:  Next time, bring will power and a box of badass.

The actual Penguin Exhibit that featured the cutest flightless birds in adorable waddling and synchronized swimming.

We paid an extra Php250 for the Penguin Feeding experience.  Believe me, it was so worth it!  The package comes complete with a CD of your hi-res pictures the organizers take during the feeding activity.  So personalized!

There was Penguin Touching, too!  It was absolutely free because it was absolutely disallowed.  This makes Miro the only kid in that tour who managed to sneak a pat on a penguin's head!  Oh, boy, you rock!  :P

Then there was the Snow Village, the grand finale.  It was a room that simulated freeze-your-buns-off winter climate!  This is a big thing for us tropic settlers whose seasons only play between wet and dry and dry and wet.  We even had a snowball fight --one that would've lasted more than 5 minutes if our fingers didn't threaten to fall off.  Note to self:  Next time, bring common sense and mittens!

Don't let this season end without dropping by Manila Ocean Park's Trails to Antartica.  It's not everyday you get to see snow and penguins in our little part of the world.  But thanks to this, it just made a boy's childhood dream a reality.  To quote Miro, "Mimi, my next dream is to live in Antartica!"

Oh, boy.