Review: Disney on Ice – 100 years of Wonder at the AO Arena will have you ’embracing your inner child’

Disney on Ice, the enchanting spectacle that has captured hearts for generations, returned to Manchester’s AO Arena in a dazzling celebration of 100 years of Disney magic.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse invite you to join them on a journey through the most cherished memories of Disney, unfolding like a storybook on ice.

Let’s be fair, Disney on Ice is always great.

Surrounded by the joyous screams of children, it’s hard not to scream along and get involved with this incredible spectacle.

So, whether you have little ones eagerly awaiting their favourite characters or you’re a child at heart seeking a dose of pure, unbridled joy, join us as we glide through the magic and wonder of Disney on Ice at the AO Arena.

For anyone who does not know what Disney on Ice is, let me give you a little rundown.

Disney On Ice Manchester

Mickey and Minnie (and friends) introduce some iconic friends from all over Disney.

There’s always a theme and this year it’s 100 years of Disney, so Mickey’s friends were trying to help Mickey figure out what his favourite memory was.

As they do so, they bring out certain Disney characters and then skate along the ice to their famous music.

Frozen and Encanto have big sections, one in the first half and one in the second half.

This is my second year covering Disney on Ice and there were many things different.

We had some additional friends join us including Mirabel and Woody.

We had some new moves including dangling off of ropes and pieces of silk. But we also had some familiar faces.

Disney On Ice 2023

Elsa was still the crowd’s favourite.

My favourite part of attending Disney on Ice is the crowd.

The majority are children and I was lucky enough to sit in front of a young boy, no more than three, who screamed his heart out to Let It Go.

It was this beautiful moment because I screamed my heart out and I just felt like a child again.

I think their favourite was Elsa for many reasons. And the Frozen section was probably the most paid attention to, because of it being very popular.

Different actors were playing different ages of Anna to make the change faster which I thought was clever.

There was one mistake where a young Anna fell over but she covered it up very well.

Olaf was a person in a costume and the children went wild when he skated on.

When Elsa sang Let It Go, she skated on with a beautiful cape like the one in the film, and she tore it off to reveal her iconic blue dress and
unravelled her hair to a single braid.

My favourite moments were when the Disney Princesses each had a little section.

Rapunzel and Ariel were two of my highlights.

Rapunzel and Flynn both skated on and used two pieces of yellow silk to swing around the stage in the air.

I thought it was quite inventive because the yellow silk looked like Rapunzel’s hair.

Ariel had a similar moment but she was hanging off of the rope and Eric was holding the end of it to anchor her down. (No pun intended).

I did scream rather loudly when Ariel skated on just because she was my favourite growing up.

So, if you’ve got children, or even if you don’t.

Disney on Ice AO Arena Tickets

If you love these characters and are looking for something fun and nostalgic, Disney on Ice is it.

Disney on Ice is on at the AO Arena until December 17th.

You can get tickets by clicking here