Disney on Ice presents Magical Ice Festival – JahBella’s Tips and Highlights [Media Invite]

We attended our first Disney on Ice 2 years ago with Jah when he was a teeny weeny little baby ok maybe I exaggerate, he was almost 3 years old then. So we figured it was about time for Bella to have her first Disney on Ice experience since she would be turning 3 in 2 months! Oh how time flies…

With Bella all decked out in her Princess Anna costume (never say never! :p) and Jah in his Marvel Avengers outfit (yes this boy is still holding out for a superhero show), we headed for Disney On Ice presents Magical Ice Festival at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Before we go into the highlights of the show proper, let me take you through some tips that we learnt from today’s experience

Arrive early

While parking didn’t seem like too much of an issue and there was more than enough parking across the road at Kallang Leisure Park, getting a lot right in front of the stadium was perfect for ushering kiddos quickly into the car after a 2 hour long show. (Trust me the parents will need it even if the kids don’t 😉 ) Also coming early would help you beat the crowd queuing to for the bag check and entry and give you some time to leisurely check out the merchandise and F&B.

Bring cash for the merchandise and snacks.

There are some pretty cute and interesting merchandise. We got Jah and Bella a pair of binoculars at $16 each. Perfect for keeping them busy!

Snacks and drinks are also sold inside.

In fact if you are seated in the first few rows, you will be able to get them for the mobile kiosk in front of the rink. Oh and in case your kids ask for popcorn and you do not want to indulge in such a big tub, there are also smaller boxes available for sale (think movie theatre size)

Booster seats are available on a first come first served basis.

But honestly I preferred to go without because they don’t really fit well on the seats. Given that half the audience were kids, it was pretty easy to ensure minimal blockage by seating them strategically behind another kid.

Go ahead, prep your kids for that big Frozen Spectacular thats happening at the end of the show.

Yes 1.5 hours might seem like a long time time in ‘kids light years’ to be waiting for something and I was afraid to oversell what was coming at the end so I had pretty restless frozen hungry kids towards the end of it all. If I had known any better, I would have promised them a Frozen extravaganza which it turned out to be. 🙂

Now for the HIGHLIGHTS!!!

Storylines!

We absolutely love the fact that there were storylines to follow. Rather than a random act or song, we got to revisit a few acts from each tale. Awesome for those who were familiar with the stories because we could enjoy all the little details and perfect for this who weren’t familiar because they were introduced to the likes of The Little Mermaid, Tangled, Beauty and the Beast and Frozen. Who said you had to be a fan to enjoy it! Incredible storytelling!

 
Skills!

The aerial stunts, the ice skating techniques and the synchronised choreography. The spins, twirls, lifts and flips! I can tell you that the kids were not the only ones wowed.
 


  
Set!

The backdrop, costumes, props and effects were phenomenal! Fans of the Disney tales would notice the details and the larger than life similarities. Fireworks, floating lanterns, snow! The amount of snow that fell on the rink during the Frozen segment was truly an effect alright! Without giving too much away, I actually thought that it was quite interesting how they presented a Frozen Anna.

   
Bella was captivated as all the other young princesses were and Jah was hooked on the fight scenes as all young princes/ superheroes would be. :p

 
All in all, it was truly a Disney experience!

 
Disney on Ice presents Magical Ice Festival will be in town from now till 20 March 2016.


Tickets are priced from $25 to $120.

Tickets for Disney On Ice presents Magical Ice Festival can be purchased online via http://www.sportshubtix.sg.

To learn more about Disney on Ice presents Magical Ice Festival, please visit http://www.disneyonice-asia.com/magical-ice-festival/

Disclosure: We received complimentary VIP tickets to attend Disney on Ice presents Magical Ice Festival for a media review. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Disney On Ice 2016 presents Magical Ice Festival [Media Invite]

So after a CNY long weekend and all the massive feasting, it’s about time that we round up our festive mood and get back to the grind right? Wrong!

In fact if you ask me or JahBella, its time for us to look forward to the next holiday…the March School Holidays! 🙂  And there is no better reason to look forward to the March School Holidays then the fact that Disney on Ice will be back in Singapore!!!!

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We brought Jah to Disney on Ice two years back and he was completely enthralled by the smooth skating, larger than life Disney characters. This year is going to be that much more exciting since both kiddos will be able to catch the Magical Ice Festival together and finally meet some of their favourite characters.

In fact Bella is totally thrilled that she will finally be able to meet Elsa and Anna from Disney’s Frozen! (I really should have recorded her screaming “my favourite”!!!! when I told her about meeting them :p).

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And in case you are wondering how interesting can ice-skating princesses be, for the boys. Well Jah is really looking forward to seeing the “Beast” from Beauty and the Beast in action and some “crabby” and “floundering” moves from Sebastian and Flounder from The Little Mermaid.

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Come on! Its Disney after all which means there is something for everyone! Trust me…even for the adults 😉

With an extraordinary line-up of hit songs, memorable scenes and never-before-seen characters to look forward to, here are 10 magical moments behind Disney On Ice to get you all geared up for the show.

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  1. Disney On Ice was founded in 1981 and has since travelled to over 75 countries and 6 continents
  2. The average size of the ice skating surface is 140ft [42m] x 70ft [21m]
  3. There are approximately 180 costumes presented at one Disney On Ice show
  4. And more than 100 people work on these costumes
  5. It takes 18 trucks to transport all production equipment for set-up
  6. And it takes between 12-15 hours to set up one Disney On Ice show
  7. But just about 4 hours to tear down the entire production
  8. Over 80 different colours of paint are used on the 183 props for this production
  9. The youngest performer on this year’s show is 19-years-old and the oldest is 44-years-old
  10. Each performer may change up to 8 costumes in one show

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Oh and while we are at it..here are some Disney trivia to test your Disney knowledge 🙂 How did you fare?

1 . Who helped Young Anna recover from being hit by Elsa’s powers?

Answer: Grand Pabbie.

2. What phrase does Elsa repeat when trying to control her powers?

Answer: “Conceal it…don’t feel it…don’t let it show.”

 3. How many sisters does Ariel have?

Answer: Six , Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista, Andrina

4. What is the object that Ariel’s friend Scuttle calls a dinglehopper?

Answer: A fork

 5. What is Flynn Rider’s real name?

Answer: Eugene Fitzherbert

6. What weapon does Rapunzel use against Flynn when he climbs into the tower

Answer: A frying pan

 7. Name at least three of the enchanted characters that live in the Beast’s castle.

Answer: The Beast, Mrs. Potts, Chip, The Featherduster, Cogsworth, Lumiere, The Wardrobe, Stove (Chef Bouche)

8. What does the Beast give Belle to always remember him by?

Answer: A magic mirror

Disney on Ice presents Magical Ice Festival will be taking from 11 March 2016 to 20 March 2016 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Tickets can be purchased online via www.sportshubtix.sg.

To learn more about Disney on Ice presents Magical Ice Festival, please visit http://www.disneyonice-asia.com/magical-ice-festival/

JahBella’s Mummy

 

 

 

 

 

Hong Kong Holiday (May 2014) – Langham Place Mongkok

During our dating years, it was extremely hard to convince Joel to holiday in Hong Kong and I didn’t quite know the reason for his reluctance. I only found out the reason for it when he finally agreed to visit Hong Kong in 2009. The first thing he said to me as our taxi pulled out of the airport was, “wow! this isn’t like Young and Dangerous at all!” (Yes so now you know which era we are from :p).

So anyway he has been quite in love with Hong Kong since then and  it was extremely easy to convince him to bring the kids there (on such short notice) despite just returning from our Perth holiday.

Family Pic before we jet off!

Family Pic before we jet off!

Enjoying the Social Tree at T1

Admiring the Social Tree at T1

Stickers are extremely serous business! Do not let your child discover your secret sticker stash pre-flight!

Stickers are extremely serous business! Do not let your child discover your secret sticker stash pre-flight!

Pushing his sister around HK Airport

Pushing his sister around HK Airport

So what is there do do with kids in Hong Kong you ask. Everyone would tell you to “Eat and Shop” however we could only manage the ‘eat’, ‘go to Disneyland’ and ‘eat somemore’.

While staying at one of the Disneyland would probably seem like the most obvious choice, we decided to stay in Mongkok instead. We chose the Langham Place Mongkok for its location and also because the the range of room types that were available for families. (Also the hotels at Disneyland were extremely expensive if we wanted to cater for 3 adults and 2 kids 😦 )

We ended up with two rooms that were inter-connected which gave us our privacy but still allowed us to holiday as a family. Staying at Langham Place also allowed us to head down to the streets at night when the kids were asleep and our helper could still watch out for Jah who was in our room.

We managed to go for massages and awesome suppers without worrying about traffic. Staying in Mongkok also meant that we could have our pick of the local food with the kids without worrying that it was past their bedtime (after all we were only a few streets away from our hotel).

Room 1 with a babycot

Room 1 with a babycot

Room 2 with a king size bed

Room 2 with a king size bed

The bathroom in the main room - the other toilet only had a WC

The bathroom in the main room – the other toilet only had a WC

The kids were really delighted by the food that we had (dim sum, char chant eng sets and roasted goose rice!) What can I say, my kids love their Chinese food!

Picking up dinner 5 minutes after we checked in

Picking up dinner 5 minutes after we checked in

Famished after his flight - we managed to pick up dinner right in front of our hotel..yummy!

Famished after his flight – we managed to pick up dinner right in front of our hotel..yummy!

Awesome street snacks enjoyed in the comforts of our room with the fantastic city view

Awesome street snacks enjoyed in the comforts of our room with the fantastic city view

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Snow Ice at a Dessert shop, a short walk from our hotel

Snow Ice at a Dessert shop, a short walk from our hotel

How the loves of my life entertain themselves before food is served

How the loves of my life entertain themselves before food is served

Whack first!

Whack first!

Talk later!

Talk later!

I apologise for the lack of char chan teng pictures. There was a really yummy place in front of our hotel too but yes we were too focused on wolfing down our food each time we went there. I am still dreaming of their Bo Luo Bao and their Satay Beef Noodles.

The only downside of our location was the fact that we had to travel abit to get to Disneyland. (MTR going there and a cab coming back). Given that the kids needed their afternoon naps, we pretty much had to visit Disneyland over two days (a morning and an evening trip).

To be honest, it would definitely be a struggle for me to decide between Langham Place and Disneyland hotels for our next trip. Guess we will just have to see if food or sleep reigns supreme!

JahBella’s Mummy

Birthday Cake Options for a 3 year old – What is allowed and what isn’t

We are fast approaching Jah’s 3rd birthday and what would a birthday be without a birthday cake right? Except we all know that getting a birthday cake for a 3 year old is a mean feat! You see, this is not a 1 year old baby who is not going to be able to eat his cake. This is also not a 2 year old who is just starting to talk and recognize his favourite cartoon characters. This is an opinionated 3 year old whose mind changes everytime you say “ok so you are sure that’s the cake you want?” Worse still, we have to get him TWO cakes, one for his school celebration and one for his home party. Up until recently, these are the combinations that he has requested for.

  • Cars Cake (School), Avengers Cake (Home)
  • Avengers Cake (School), Cars Cake (Home)
  • Mickey Cake with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Daisy and Pete, Donald not allowed to be featured (School), Cars Cake (Home)

Continue reading

Planes Fire & Rescue (Review) – Jah’s first time at the movies

We caught Planes Fire and Rescue (the sequel to Planes) with Jah today. And you know what people always say about sequels? Well in this instance it isn’t true in fact I enjoyed Planes 2 a lot more than it’s predecessor.

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I like how there was a shift in storyline. Rather then just be another sequel on Dusty winning another race, they gave him a career change instead and a very exciting one at that!

In fact the new characters are so awesome that Jah has declared one of them as his favorite. Coincidentally it is also Joel’s favourite but Jah has disallowed that and he has chosen Dusty as a favorite for him. Lucky for me, I get to ‘keep’ my favourite character haha! Continue reading