A magical evening
Sara Alonzi FEATURES EDITOR
Image: Scotiabank Area
On January 26, I had the pleasure to visit the Disney On Ice show at the Scotiabank Arena for my friend’s birthday. It was a splendid evening where all of our friends got together to enjoy a night of seeing our favourite Disney characters, talented figure skaters, and off-tune singing to our favourite childhood songs.
My friend and I are never ones to pass up an opportunity to sing a Disney song or make a movie reference. So naturally, it was only right that she wanted to see something that she loved and that she knew we would really enjoy as well.
When we got to the arena, we were surrounded by parents and children. Did that stop us from shamelessly screaming when our favourite characters came onto the ice? No way. We were just as, if not more, childish than the actual children in the audience. We sang very loudly (and off-key) to all of the songs performed, so much so that I still really can’t believe that we didn’t get kicked out, or at least receive bad looks from the parents seated around us.
It seemed as if everyone in that arena was having just as much fun as us! There was a father and daughter sitting behind us, and when the characters from Frozen came on the ice to perform, the little girl narrated the entire plot line of the original movie to her father, who seemed happy to humour her. She was clearly having a good time and he didn’t sound very annoyed, so I would call that a success.
The performers were wonderful and really enthusiastic. My friends and I admired their showmanship considering that the performance we saw was one of many that they had to perform throughout the day, as well as the amount of shows being performed the days before and afterwards (January 25–28).
I am proud to declare that I did not cry when Elsa hugged a frozen Anna and saved her from death, which is a victory in my eyes since I cried like a newborn baby in the theatre when I first saw the movie (afterwards I was given an embarrassed and judgemental look from my little sister who was not, in fact, crying). I am also happy to say that I did not scream at the top of my lungs when the Beast transformed into a human and was reunited with Belle. And I definitely did not sing all the words to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” when it was performed.
Okay, so I did sing all the words and I definitely screamed (multiple times) throughout the night. But can you blame me? The inner child in me was struggling to hold onto its 20-year-old body as my Disney instincts kicked in. It’s like riding a rollercoaster through a land filled with happiness and singing and you can’t stop it. It was awesome.
Overall, my friend enjoyed her birthday immensely and those of us who went with her did as well. It was a night to not only celebrate my friend, but it was also rewarding for us to spend time all together. Oftentimes, we are so busy with schoolwork and other obligations that we forget to live in the moment and remember what it was like to be a kid again. For that moment, we didn’t have to worry about exams, or essays, or “adulting.” All we had to worry about was if we could get the perfect picture of Mickey Mouse from where we were sitting. It was truly a night to remember and worth every penny.
I hope each and every one of you will have the chance to visit a Disney On Ice show in the future if you haven’t already. If you have, then what’s the harm in going again! I, for one, will definitely be there next year. Maybe even the year after that!
