We just got home from a perfect family night out! We were lucky to be able to go out with our children and Michelle’s parents to see Disney On Ice: Toy Story 3! The show started Friday night at the Quicken Loans Arena and it is a show you can NOT miss out on! It was a fantastic show full of action and adventure with Andy’s toys.
The Rouzzo family at Disney On Ice: Toy Story 3
The show opened up with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck welcoming us and starting the story. They led us right into Andy’s room where he was seen reminiscing with his toys and packing them up as he prepared for college.
The show was a LOT like the movie and that was amazing to us. After the opening scene with Andy and his toys, Andy left the ‘stage’ (ice) and the toys came to life (of course). The army men came out first- from behind the curtain and from up in the ceiling! It was fun watching them do their drills and experiencing the magic Disney brought us with the beginning of this tale of toys come to life.
Imagine if boot camp was this much fun
"You don't know me from G.I. Joe"
Goodies for Sale!
“Mommy, I want a hat.” “Daddy, can I have a sno cone?” Those are things you’re likely to hear if you’re attending this show with kids. As with all big events like this, if you don’t go in with a budget or some set of boundary, you can end up spending way to much. Be sure to have a plan before you go buying everything you or your child(ren) wants. At the Toy Story 3 show, there were so many toys to choose from. Inside the seating area, there were at least three toys that spin featuring Jessie, Buzz, and Mickey Mouse. They were also selling cotton candy with Buzz Lightyear hats, Woody and Jessie Cowboy/cowgirl hats, sno cones inside character cups, etc. etc. etc.
We started out buying Grace a Jessie cowgirl hat. It was very cute and included a braided ponytail on the back of it. Unfortunately, it was way too big for our two year old’s head so we had to exchange it for a different item. But not before I was able to snap the first picture of the night!
Grace in a Toy Story 3 Jessie hat
Then we went with the Buzz spinning toy. It was one of the best looking and was priced at $20 – a little lower than some other toys and only $5 more than the hat. It was a good decision since Grace played with it through the show and even tried to take it to bed with her.
If you think you already paid enough to take your child(ren) to the show in the first place and don’t want to spend the $20 or so on a toy, don’t forget to check the halls for what’s being sold at the tables. I was surprised to see a large variety of other toys available for as low as $10. They have a ton of items to choose from. You can see about half of ONE table here…
Merchant table
Of course there were all sorts of food and drinks available as well.
Michelle says:
I didn’t know what to expect since I have never been to any Disney show or any event on ice. I’ve never even been ice skating! I was super impressed from the very beginning. I could not believe all of the amazing moves and tricks the performers did out on the ice. I loved watching all of the choreographed parts of the show. I can only imagine how hard it must be to learn how to act out so much while on ice skates. Disney on Ice is something I will absolutely be talking about for a while and sharing with everyone I know. Everyone should experience at least one of their shows if not more. It was great, local, live entertainment that was good for both adults and children. (I think my parents even liked it and I know my dad would probably never consider watching the actual Toy Story movies. Well, not unless he needed background noise during a nap. haha)
Dave says:
Experiencing Disney on Ice when I was younger was a fun experience but I was too young to really remember any details about it. Now, being older, I pay attention to many more things about the shows I see and not only do I remember them, but I find myself judging them. This was one of those cases as I found myself watching every little detail of the show for something to nitpick at. I must confess, I found nothing bad to say about the show. The skating talent was phenomenal, and watching Buzz Lightyear perform a backflip on ice was breathtaking. Even better, the entire cast was deeply into character. When the spotlight was on Buzz and Jessie, Woody would smile and wave at the audience with a friendly tip of his hat. I noticed several characters doing things like that. At one point, Bullseye the horse had to pick up Mr. Potato Head’s nose for him. Bullseye had some troubles getting the nose picked up and when he finally did, Potato head hid behind Bullseye and the two put on their own little show. This worked in a way that benefited those who were not paying attention to the characters in spotlight, while at the same time it wasn’t so distracting that it would have taken attention away from those who were watching the spotlight. When you see the characters having fun like that it makes the entire event more enjoyable because it shows you that the actors enjoy doing what they do.
Toy Story 3 had all your favorite characters!
As I said, everything about the show was wonderful and I couldn’t really nitpick at anything specific. If there is anything I would suggest for those who go to see it, watch all three Toy Story movies before going to the show. This will help you understand the flashback scenes and fill in some blanks that the story on ice might have. I recommend the show to everyone who enjoys a good performance and, like me, loves Disney (especially the magic their relationship with Pixar has brought into this world).
Hang in there, Woody!
Darren says:
‘snore…’ OK, so he’s only 5 1/2 weeks old but we couldn’t leave him out. 🙂
Darren was actually quiet the entire show. Maybe it was the fascination of all the sounds and lights, or maybe he was just tired, but either way he was quiet!
Grace, Darren, Grandma and Grandpa
Grace says:
MINNIE MOUSE! We asked Grace if she had fun at the show and she said yes. We asked her what her favorite part was and she said MINNIE MOUSE! We asked what her other favorite part was and she said… MINNIE MOUSE!
She remembers seeing Minnie at Disney’s Animal Kingdom over the summer and I guess the surprise of her being at the Toy Story 3 show made her day! Don’t worry; she did enjoy the actual Toy Story part of the Toy Story show. She also enjoyed eating daddy’s popcorn… just like she did when he took her to see Toy Story 3 over the summer.
Woody's round-up!
Lots-O
Woody and Jessie
Pre-schoolers!
Stranger, from the outside! ooooooooh....
The claaaaaw!
Overall, we had a great time and look forward to the next presentation of Disney on Ice. It truly is a magical experience.
Fantastic review! Looks like you all had a great time. Disney on Ice did an amazing job putting together Toy Story 3 on Ice!
What seats would you recommend? In Detroit they have rinkside $65 vip $50 or club level $25 . I’m woried if we get the closer ones the kids will have a hard time seeing?
Donna – It’s going to vary in each arena. Going by how it was at the Quicken Loans Arena, if you get the rinkside seats, you’ll be right next to the ice and should have no problem seeing. We were about 5 rows or so back from the rink side seats and we had no problem seeing. I always think the closer to the front in any section is usually better. See if your location has a seating chart posted online to see where the different sections are.
I hope you enjoy it! Let us know what you think!
I disagree and unless you have pockets loaded with big cash you better set your kids straight before going in. $7 for simple cotton candy and $20 for a $3 plastic BUZZ sword. After spending $100 for tickets for my family to go see this my twin four year olds were nothing but disapointed that Daddy wouldn’t shell out another $40 for some absolute junk. Sorry but it will be a while before I pay for anything that fattens Disney’s pockets.
Show wasn’t bad but prices on snacks and toys were so hi it ruined it for us.
Dave – We’re sorry that the event was ruined for you because of the ‘extras’ they were selling. Unfortunately this type of event does have some high priced items and of course kids want something. It can be harder with more than one child, I do understand that. However, we did buy our daughter one of the spinning Buzz toys and she’s still in love with hers. Same as a similar toy we got her one year ago at a Dora event – she is still always playing with it and we’ve never even had to change the batteries which is amazing.
One thing I especially liked about the Toy Story event, was that they had some very cheap ‘souvenirs’ on sale as well.
We were fortunate to be able to see Disney’s Toy Story on Ice this year as well. Even though there are the normal souvenirs that cost an arm and a leg my kids didn’t ask for a thing. They were happy to be able to go and knew before hand that we couldn’t afford to buy toys. We took them to a restaurant where kids eat free afterwards and we all had a great time without breaking the bank.
Glad you had a good time, Amy! There will always be things that cost a fortune at those types of events and it all depends on the parents to know how the kids will feel about them. If parents don’t say no, of course kids are going to ask for everything they see. It’s nice to see kids who don’t have to have everything and understand that going to events is something special and the toys aren’t required to have a good time. 🙂
Hi!
My little 3 year old girl and I are heading to the show this weekend. First time around for us! I was glad to read your blog and find out they sell the Toy Story dolls and toys at the event! We’ve been searching all over (quebec, Canada) the local stores for a Buzz, Woody and Bullseye doll… without any luck. All out of stocks it seems! We aren’t in USA so it may be different than the show you’ve seen. I have no idea. All I know is that it’s presented in both french or english versions. We picked the french show.
I hope to get the TS3 toys and hopefully, we’ll leave the place with our heads in the clouds and our hands full! thanks for sharing your experience :o)
Looks like you guys had a great time! I’m planning on taking my 2 year old son on September 18th in Oklahoma City. I can’t wait his room is Toy Story and he has like every Toy Story Toy (well almost). We watch all three of the Toy Story movies over and over. I plan on buying him one toy and one snack and a drink. Can’t wait I’m so excited to see his face. I threw a Toy Story Birthday party for him and had my step son and his friend (they are 21) dress up like Buzz and Woody. My son was in awe. I hope he’s in awe again watching Toy Story 3 on Ice. We have Rink Side seatng.