Tips for your first Disney on Ice

Disney on Ice presents Frozen will be coming to Salt Lake March 2-6. A few of my favorite bloggers and I have teamed up to share our favorite Disney on Ice tips to help your family have an amazing time! Here are our top ten pieces of advice for your first (and second, third, fourth, fifth ….) visit to Disney on Ice.

1.VERIFY DATE AND TICKET TIME This one seems so simple, but, believe it or not, we showed up at intermission for our first Disney on Ice. Still don’t know how I read the time wrong, but I was so glad that the second half was pretty long! Do not make the same mistake I did!

2. DRESS UP  Sari Totten Olschewski from Lady of Perpetual Chaos says, “My girls LOVED dressing up as princesses. I believe there were a couple pirates in our group as well. Basically any chance to dress up and have princess hair is going to be a good time!” I completely agree! We will be dressed to the nines in Disney gear for Disney on Ice opening night! Don’t have a costume on hand? You can get the authentic Disney costumes within 5-7 days. If you are looking for a less expensive option, watch ZuLily for sales on Disney princess dresses. I’ve seen some darling dresses the past few months for under $20!

Lily loves this Rapunzel dress! She also has a darling Elsa dress. Click on the picture to find out more about where we got them.

If you can’t wait for a ZuLily sale, my daughter loves the Little Adventures Royal Rapunzel Princess Costume we bought her. She has played dress up in it for almost two years and it is still in great shape! It is the dress in the above picture. These will ship to you in two days so still plenty of time to get one before show time! I’ve been asked many times if little boys dress up as well. The answer is – YES! If your little boy is a cars fan, this Tow Mater costume is under $15 and ships in two days! There are tons more Cars and other little boy Disney options on Amazon.com as well. I love this knight costume from Little Adventures!

Don’t forget the hair! Check out this post for Elsa and Anna hair tutorials!

3. ESTABLISH EXPECTATIONS Be sure your children know what to expect as far as souvenirs and snacks before you go. Keep in mind this smart advice from Jennifer Dolan Day of My Daylights! “Before we left, we talked to our three year old about how we weren’t going to be able to buy everything we saw or eat everything we wanted. We let him know what our limits were because we knew we’d get there and end up with a tantrum on our hands. He did want a lot of things but the talk beforehand helped a ton. He got his one toy and was perfectly content with it and the ice cream we snagged!”

4. MAKE IT FUN FOR THE CHILDREN TO EARN My husband and I are having our children earn their souvenirs/treats by working on their goals. We printed them each one of the dozens of adorable tracking charts from Kid Pointz. They are tracking their simple chores, reading time, music practice, etc.! My children appreciate things so much more when they earn them and I am sure that they will be so proud of them.

5.  BE AWARE OF YOUR CHILD’S NEEDS I am so glad that Ashlee Prisbrey from I’m Topsy Turvy reminded me of this tip! “If your children are sensitive to sound, bring noise canceling headphones (although if you forget they do have free earplugs at the information desk – but those [may] feel weird to the kids, too).” My four year old some times gets overwhelmed with loud noises so I am definitely keeping this in mind.

6. RESEARCH THE BEST PARKING If you are coming to the Utah Disney on Ice, I will let you in on a little secret my Dad taught me. Local restaurants will often let you park at their establishment during an event if you put your receipt in the window. We grab a gyro at one of our favorite Salt Lake City restaurants and then it’s just a short walk to the Energy Solutions Arena. Check to see if restaurants in your area have similar policies! TRAX may also be a good option for you – just make sure that you double check train times! If you are in a different state, be sure to check out the parking situation near your arena and see if you can find a good deal!

7. BUILD THE EXCITEMENT You can check out Disney on Ice Youtube Videos here.  My daughter LOVES surprises, but the son likes to know exactly what he is doing. We’ll be showing him the youtube videos in advance.

8.  LOCATE BATHROOMS I recommend making a bathroom trip before you leave home, again at dinner, and again before the show starts – just in case! You can never be too careful with the under six crowd! Make note of the nearest bathroom to your seats just in case you have to sneak out with a little one during the show.

9. BRING BINOCULARS This is my husband’s favorite tip. Even if you have great seats, children love looking through binoculars for a closer look!

10. DISCUSS PERFORMANCE ETIQUETTE Before we even get out of the car, I like to go over a few simple rules with my children. They are pretty basic – stay by family, walk, and use nice voices. For arena events, I add keeping our feet to ourselves – no one likes the back of their seat kicked. This is a high energy performance so cheering and laughing is definitely welcomed, though!

I hope these 10 easy tips will help you enjoy your first Disney on Ice performance! There is still plenty of time to get tickets and be sure to use the code MOM at checkout for a special discount!

WHEN:                        March 2 – 6, 2016

Wednesday, March 2              7:00 PM

Thursday, March 3                  7:00 PM

Friday, March 4                      3:30 PM & 7:00 PM

Saturday, March 5                  11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:00 PM

Sunday, March 6                     11:30 AM & 3:30 PM

 WHERE:               Vivint Smart Home Arena – 301 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

TICKETS:               Tickets start at $20 with limited number of VIP & Front Row seating available (ticket prices range by each performance and subject to change without notice)

Tickets are available for purchase online at Smithstix.com, select Smith’s Grocery locations, charge by phone at 800-888-TIXX or in-person at the venue Box Office.