Two years ago we got invited to go to Disney On Ice with a bunch of friends. My daughter was 7 and I knew she would love going. Here was the problem: we didn’t have a lot of money at the time. Not wanting to miss out on a special opportunity to spend time with my girl, we scrapped up just enough to go. While we were there, she saw the snow cones and really really wanted one. I HAD to tell her no. And as stupid as it was, I really wanted to be able to get her that snow cone.When it was over she said, “You know what would be perfect?” I said, “What?” “A Frozen one….You know, Disney on ICE!” I said, “That would be perfect and when they do we will go!”
Disney On Ice 2014
Disney On Ice 2014This time around I still did’t mind saving a few bucks especiallyso that I could make sure to buy her that snow cone….except I didn’t end up saving any money! Learn from my mistakes!!
So here are a few things I learned:
There are Coupons!
This time aroundDisney on Ice was sponsored by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt. (That’s a mouthful!) So on the boxes of yogurt you could get a code for 50% off your tickets! The tickets are kind ofaffordable to begin with but getting an extra discount is always awesome! They are sponsored by different brands each time so you have to just keep an eye out. I had been wanting to take my daughter to the show but didn’t want to spend themoney and as soon as I saw those coupons I was like, “It’s on like Donkey Kong!”
Hidden Fees
I think it depends who they are selling them through and this time is was TicketMaster. I was super excited to get $17 tickets but I ended up paying $60 total with all the fees. My cheap night out wasn’t turning out so cheap! I would be very aware of the fees being charged before making a purchase!
*Yeah what is up with that $9.65 Service Fee, $.75 Facility Fee, and $4.75 Processing Fee? That’s a lot of fees!!
Parking fees
I got an email from Disney on Ice telling me the parking details. I was shocked when I saw that the parking was $40! Forty dollars in parking!?!? What is it paved in gold? Disneyland itself doesn’t even charge that! That’s a lot of money for parking, in my opinion. That was just the fee that the facility charged. So when you are looking at buying tickets take a look at the place it is held and see what their fees are. When we went a few years ago, the fee to park was $25. Huge difference. You could always park off site and walk in. For us, there’s no way in heck we would have done that, being that it was at night, in the middle of Oakland. I wanted us to survive the night so $40 it was! ha
Food Costs
Of course, the food there is pricey. You should expect to pay about $15 a piece for everything!! The popcorn was $15. The cotton candy was $15. The lemonade was $15. The nice thing about it is that they all come with something fun. They had Olaf hats with the popcorn or crowns with the cotton candy. The snow cones come in cool cups you can take home. So at least you are getting something but just expect to pay $15 for everything you buy. Also, if you don’t want to stand in line, bring cash and the vendors will come straight to you. They will be happy to bring everything to you! Oh and I didn’t see any $4 Dip’n Dots anywhere! I wonder if it depends on the venue. Of course, I bought the girl the snow cone she wanted. This time around we weren’t in the position we were last time.
Souvenirs
I would not recommend buying the souvenirs here. Its kills me because you can buy the same stuff some where else and just bring it!! The shirts they were selling you can get at Target for like $7.00- it just wont have the words Disney on Ice on it. Or the light up toys you can get on sale at the Disney store or at the dollar store. There are even people who sell cheaper versions outside of the venue. Those stuffed princess dolls are at the Disney Store for $20 and sometimes on sale for $10. They also had a spot to take a picture with a cardboard cutout of Anna and Elsathat theywere charging $25 for a picture! They would not let you take a picture with your own camera. Boo! But there was another spot to take your own picture with a Disney on Ice background that was free!
Behold, the beloved snow cone!
I just wanted to pass on this information so you know what to expect and to try and create a fun night for your little ones without breaking your budget…Like I didn’t.
We still had a fun night and it was still worth it to spend that time with my girl!
Oh and for you Disney on Ice experts who knew all of this already, I did a little research and found some fun facts for you!
-Taylor Firth plays Anna and Becky Bereswill plays Elsa. They are professional skaters who have been competing against each other for a long time and now have to play sisters.
-The skater who plays Ariel skates with her actual husband who plays Eric
-There are 227 different costumes
-Some costumes can weigh 40 lbs.
-Snowflake the Snowman is 19 feet tall.
-The skaters will perform a show more than 400 times
-Light tracking technology is used to track the skaters on the ice.
I recommend catching a show if you can and if you missed it this time know that they always come back throughout the years!
We are linked to these parties.
